Validating Self-Nomination in Gang Research: Assessing Differences in Gang Embeddedness Across Non-, Current,and Former Gang Members

Objective

The study of gang members is closely linked to the self-nomination method. It is timely to revisit the criterion validity of self-nomination, as recent theoretical and empirical advancements in gang disengagement necessitate further differentiating current from former gang members. This study assessed differences in gang embeddedness—a construct that taps individual immersion within deviant social networks—across three groups: current gang members, former gang members, and those individuals who have never joined a gang.

Methods

Data gathered in 2011 from a high-risk sample of 621 individuals in five cities were used to assess the validity of the self-nomination method. Standardized differences in a mixed graded response model of gang embeddedness were evaluated across the three statuses of gang membership.

Results

Self-nomination was strongly related to embeddedness in gangs, even after controlling for demographic, theoretical, and gang-related factors. The strongest predictor of gang embeddedness was self-nomination as a current or a former gang member, although current gang members maintained levels of gang embeddedness about one standard deviation greater than former gang members. Self-nomination was also the primary determinant of gang embeddedness for males, females, whites, blacks, and Hispanics.

Conclusion

The results of this study provide strong evidence in support of the use of self-nomination to differentiate between non-gang and gang members as well as current and former gang members, adding to a body of research demonstrating that self-nomination is a valid measure of gang membership.     

Insider Gang Knowledge: The Case for Non-Police Gang Experts in the Courtroom

Drawing on data from surveys and interviews administered to non-police gang experts, the authors argue that police gang detectives are often erroneous in their definition of gang membership and gang-related crime. Police gang experts often mistake signs of urban youth culture for gang membership and criminal conspiracy. Evidence is presented on the ways in which knowledge about gangs is often determined by the social position of the gang expert. Former gang members and community workers may demonstrate a more nuanced and accurate knowledge of gangs than gang detectives. We see the admission of non-police gang expert testimony to the courtroom as a viable way of countering social perceptions that view aspects of gang membership and racial membership interchangeably and possibly help counter disproportionate prison sentences bestowed upon black and Latino youth.     

Gang Phantasmagoria: How Racialized Gang Allegations Haunt Immigration Legal Work

Critical Criminology - Through an analysis of interviews with Southern California attorneys, supplemented by archival materials, this article contributes to the literature on gangs, critical...     

Six Lines: A Methodological Agenda for Critical Gang Studies

Critical Criminology - In the twenty-first century, the established methodological props for gang research have worn increasingly thin. Place-based definitions involving territorial groups confined...     

Social Network Position of Gang Members in Schools: Implications for Recruitment and Gang Prevention

Schools are venues in which gang and non-gang involved youth converge. It is therefore a likely venue for gang recruitment. The extent to which this occurs depends upon the ability of gang members to connect with non-gang members. In this study, we compare the social network positions of high social status gang members who are well integrated into school networks with low status members who are not. Using network data from the Add Health study (n = 1,822), we find that not only are high status gang members strongly embedded within school networks, but that this status is driven by their ability to connect with non-gang members rather than other gang members (indicated by the high number of friendship nominations they receive from non-gang members). These gang members are potentially in optimal positions to influence others to join gangs. The implications of these results for school-based gang prevention programs are discussed.     

Psychopathy Among Mexican American Gang Members: A Comparative Study

High-risk Mexican American males were assessed for levels of psychopathy. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Screening Version was compared in a random sample of gang members with a matched community sample of violent non-gang members and samples of forensic and psychiatric patients and undergraduate students. Analysis involved t-test, chi-square, and Cronbach's alpha statistics. More than half of the gang sample were categorized as low, 44% as moderate, and only 4% as high on psychopathy. The gang members had higher scores on the total, affective, and behavioral scores than the non-gang members. High scores on adolescent antisocial behavior, poor behavioral controls, and lack of remorse were found in both samples. Gang members scored twice as high as non-gang members on lack of empathy. Both samples were lower on psychopathy than the forensics and higher than psychiatric patients and undergraduates. The results provide grounds for early intervention efforts for this high-risk population.     

Gang Activity and Overall Levels of Crime: A New Mapping Tool for Defining Areas of Gang Activity Using Police Records

In this note, a new method for defining gang activity areas based uponpolice records is illustrated using the Chicago Police Department's1996 incident files. This method is based upon standard geographictechniques and uses a uniform grid that divides the city into 150-msquares. It is shown that this technique may be useful both in describinggang activity areas and in describing the spatial distribution of crime inlarge cities. A strong relationship is found between the number of gangsthat are active in an area and the general level of criminal activity.     

Fear of Gang Crime: A Look at Three Theoretical Models

Gang crime and resulting public fear became a major policy focus during the 1990s, yet few studies specifically focus on fear of gang crime. Guided by social disorganization theory, we test three theoretical models about the individual thought processes leading to fear of gang crime. Using structural equation models, we find that each of these three theories—diversity, disorder, and community concern—is an important predictor of gang-related fear. In addition, we find that the indirect relationships between demographic characteristics, theoretical variables, and fear depend upon which model is tested.     

Gang activity in english prisons: The staff perspective

Abstract

Gang behaviour has been associated with serious problems in American prisons (e.g., Fong and Buentello, 1991). This study explored the possible existence of indicators of gang activity in English prisons. Surveys of problems consistent with gang activity were completed by 374 prison staff in 16 prisons that were representative of the English Prison Estate. Results showed significant differences between categories of institution. The most gang-related activity was reported in male Medium security prisons and Young Offender Institutions. The lowest reported incidence was in both male Low and High security prisons. Female establishments demonstrated levels lower only than Medium security male prisons. Discussion focuses concern on the levels of gang activity apparently present in the Medium security English Prisons and suggests directions for further research.     

Ludic Negation: Thrasher's The Gang and the Creative Foundations of Gang Sociality

Critical Criminology - In the following essay, I describe how one of the most cited but least analyzed texts in gang studies, Frederic Thrasher's The Gang (1927), has informed my approach to...     

Subculture,Gang Involvement,and Delinquency: A Study of Incarcerated Youth in China

The purpose of this study is to examine youth gang phenomena in China employing a two-step approach. The first step is to apply the delinquent subculture perspective to the explanation of variation in gang involvement; the second is to investigate the relationship between youth gang involvement and self-reported delinquency. The data for the study were collected from face-to-face interviews conducted with adjudicated youth offenders incarcerated in a province-run juvenile prison. Structural equation modeling is used to assess the direct and indirect effects of delinquent subculture exposure and gang involvement on three outcome variables of delinquency. The primary finding is that exposure to a subculture of violence is indeed a significant predictor of gang involvement. Importantly, gang involvement is significantly correlated with both violent offending and drug offending.     

MS-13：美国最凶恶黑社会组织

“MS-13”在美国的组织网络迅速发展，在许多城市都有成员。据路透社报道，“MS-13”是美国唯一一个跨国黑帮组织，它的触角还深入到中美洲各个国家。该组织在全世界约有50万成员。     

Gang membership and criminal processing: A test of the “master status” concept

Using data on 370 criminal defendants processed in an urban court, we examine whether gang membership constitutes a master status that influences both charging and sentencing decisions. We first review various formal efforts to confront the “gang problem” in this jurisdiction, and provide a theoretical foundation for treating gang membership as a master status. After deriving hypotheses from this master status characterization of gang membership, we estimate statistical models for gang and nongang members to determine whether different factors are used in processing and adjudicating each. The results provide some support for the characterization of gang membership as a master status. We discuss alternative explanations for the findings and their implications for public policy on gang prosecution and criminal processing.     

青少年黑社会性质组织犯罪的特点与成因分析——以重庆万州区张波、张涛黑社会性质组织犯罪为视角

青少年黑社会性质组织犯罪除了具备黑社会性质组织犯罪的一般特征外，在犯罪主体、组织形式、犯罪行为方式、非法控制程度、经济实力等方面都有其特殊性。青少年黑社会性质组织犯罪的成因，除了犯罪主体的个人原因外，主要是由于在社会转型期，留守儿童存在社会化障碍，社会闲散人员的文化生活匮乏，弱势群体的广泛存在、利益主体的多层次性导致价值观多元化；同时，国家机关公信力下降，社会管理出现局部缺失，这些现象刺激了青少年黑社会性质组织的产生和发展。     

Gang joining in Denmark: prevalence and correlates of street gang membership

This paper examines gang joining among juveniles in socially disadvantaged residential neighbourhoods with gang presence. The analysis is based on a school-based survey among students (n = 1,886) in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. The theoretical framework is inspired by the Eurogang Program of Research—that is, their definition of street gangs was utilized in the study. The results indicate that 13% of the youths aged 13–17 are members of street gangs. The street gang members are more likely to be characterized by poor parental monitoring, weak pro-social values, and high-risk lifestyles compared with other crime involvement groups, including serious offenders; and they commit a disproportionately large number of offences. The results also indicate that proximity to criminal gangs on a higher organizational level than street gangs increases willingness to join such criminal gangs, especially for street gang members, as they are more likely to be in contact with older and more powerful gang members already—for example, they have helped them by being a look-out or passing messages.     

The Enemy Within: The Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Moral Panic

When there is a period devoid of sensationalistic biker news, the public’s concern about outlaw bikers can be quite low. All it takes is one overt act of violence to heighten the public’s fear of Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs are the most current “dangerous class” which have been the subject of a moral panic in Canada. Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs as organized crime bodies are deemed to be the single most serious threat to the country—the enemy within. The gang war in British Columbia is fuelled by drugs supplied by the Hells Angels and there is a wide spread fear that these evildoers are trying to harm and tear apart the fabric of our society. This article provides a critical in-depth analysis of the construction of an Outlaw Motorcycle Gang moral panic with the focus on Canada. The roles played by the media, politicians, and the public in using isolated, violent incidents to support their interests will be examined along with the interactions between these groups and the resultant punitive actions directed toward members of Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs.     

Race and Gang Affiliation: An Examination of Multiple Marginality

Criminological research has historically drawn a connection between race/ethnicity and gang membership. The focus on specific racial/ethnic groups and particular gangs in distinct geographical locations within ethnographic research, along with the lack of a comprehensive explanation, however, has limited this research. Thus, the true nature of the relationship between race/ethnicity and gang membership remains unclear. This research expands the contemporary literature regarding race/ethnicity and gang membership by utilizing multisite survey data to examine Vigil’s (1988 Vigil, J. D. 1988. Barrio gangs: Street life and identity in southern California, Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.  [Google Scholar], 2002 Vigil, J. D. 2002. A rainbow of gangs: Street cultures in the mega‐city, Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.  [Google Scholar]) multiple marginality framework of gang involvement for Whites, African Americans, and Hispanics. Results suggest that multiple marginality is a viable explanation for current gang membership. When examining the applicability of this theory for members of various racial/ethnic groups, important differences appear when examining current versus ever gang membership. For current gang membership, significant differences between racial/ethnic groups exist, with ecological/economic stress variables being significant for Whites and social control/street socialization elements representing the important predictors for African Americans and Hispanics. This pattern changes when examining those reporting ever being in a gang. For “ever” gang membership, social control/street socialization elements predict membership for all groups. Policy implications of these results are discussed.     

Reconceptualizing organizational change in the Comprehensive Gang Model

Organizational change and development is one of the cornerstones of successful crime prevention and intervention efforts, yet it has received little empirical attention in the areas of crime and justice. This lack of empirical attention extends to the national Comprehensive Gang Model, which explicitly states that organizational change and development is a key strategy. Borrowing concepts from the management field, the authors argue that the Comprehensive Gang Model should be reconceptualized so that organizational change and development is the foundation upon which other strategies are built. Application of this re-specified model is demonstrated through a case study in central Massachusetts utilizing learning communities as a vehicle to obtain sustainable change. Assessment of the organizational change and development is also discussed.