The organisation of London's street gangs

This article examines a grossly neglected area of the street gang literature: the nature and extent of gang organisation. Based upon fieldwork with gangs in London, UK, this article illustrates how recreation, crime, and enterprise are not specific gang ‘types’, but rather represent sequential stages in the evolutionary cycle of gangs. This article demonstrates not only how gangs typically begin life as neighbourhood-based peer groups, but also how, in response to external threats and financial commitments, gangs grow to incorporate street-level drug distribution businesses that very much resemble the multi-level marketing structure of direct-selling companies. Gang organisation, in turn, becomes a function of gang business. Gang organisation is conceptualised here on three levels: internal, external, and symbolic. This article examines, respectively, the presence of subgroups, hierarchy and leadership, incentives, rules, responsibilities, and punishments within gangs; how gangs interact with the local and larger community; and how gangs associate with symbolic elements of popular culture in order to convey reputation and achieve intimidation.     

Gangs and governance in Russia: the paradox of law and lawlessness

ABSTRACT

The paper addresses the nature of gang governance. It questions the notion that gangs regulate social and economic transactions and create stable orders in certain territories. It shows that, while presenting themselves as upholders of the ‘law’ in their territory, the gangs also create a climate of uncertainty and fear. The gangs manipulate their own unwritten rules and set up traps for residents and businessmen. These traps are designed to deprive non-gang civilians of presumed rights and identities and extort their money. The paper uses Schmitt’s notion of ‘state of exception’ and Agamben’s idea of ‘bare life’ to explain how gangs function.     

Female street sex workers,sexual violence,and protection strategies

Abstract

This paper reviews empirical findings on physical and sexual violence against female street working sex workers, drawing on the findings from the researcher's own study. Thirty-two female street sex workers were interviewed in a city in the South West of England during 1998. The ethical issues of researching female prostitution are discussed in relation to this specific research project. The main findings from the current literature and this original study highlight the possible connections between childhood sexual abuse, entrance into the sex industry at an early age, and continual experience of violence. This paper explores violence from pimps and clients as well as how the street environment exposes sex workers to risk. Concluding discussion explores the self protection strategies of individual sex workers and the female sex work community as a means of maintaining a survivor identity and not a victim identity.     

Slash,Shoot, Kill: Gang Recruitment of Children and the Penalties Gangs Face

Criminal street gang recruitment of minors has proliferated through countless communities in the United States as tensions continue to rise between gangs, communities, and the police. In response, many state legislatures have proposed legislation to combat such influence. However, not only are the proposed penalties too lenient, but some states do not even have laws that prosecute criminal street gang recruitment of minors. This note proposes that all 50 states enact an anti–gang recruitment statute specifically targeting recruiters of criminal street gangs by criminalizing gang recruitment of a minor.     

浅析街头诈骗犯罪问题

街头诈骗已成为当前扰乱社会治安的多发犯罪,其规律及特点是:作案地点有选择,作案手 段多样,作案团伙化、跨区域,侵害对象明确。打击街头诈骗犯罪要从防范工作入手,完善诸警联动、快 速反应机制,做到防得严密,打击及时。     

流浪儿童教育之行动研究

实践中我们总结出了一套名为“分类分层素质拓展教育”的流浪儿童机构内教育模式,即按照长期滞留和短期滞留对流浪儿童实施分类教育,按照文化水平的差异实施分层教育,教育的重点放在素质拓展而不仅仅是文化课教育上。这套模式在实践中取得了一些成效,但仍有一些不足。经过反思我们认为,分类分层教育是流浪儿童机构内教育一种可行的模式,普通中小学教育不能代替流浪儿童机构内教育。引入志愿服务是解决流浪儿童教育师资不足的一条有效途径。     

街面侵财型犯罪的社会化预防

现阶段,街面侵财型犯罪日益突出,已经严重危害到人民群众的财产和人身安全。在治理街面侵财型犯罪的过程中,对其实行社会化预防,是一种超前的治理手段,具有从本质上消除犯罪的意义。街面侵财型犯罪的社会化预防可以按照犯罪学的理论,依照犯罪预测、抑制犯罪动机、限制犯罪机会和条件、预防重新犯罪等分步实行。     

西安大雁塔风景区雕塑群评析

本文分析了大雁塔风景区景观雕塑在景区环境中的布局及雕塑文化的特点,阐述各景区主题与雕塑寓意的一致性及传统雕塑与现代城市广场的和谐,显示了陕西地方民俗民风雕塑的历史性、观赏性和趣味性。     

三维街景地图在多道仪测试中的应用研究

多道仪测试中的证据探索类测试,在国外常借助地图予以实施,这被称为地图测试法。本文使用三维街景地图替代传统的平面图,取得了明显的成效。在一起重大杀人焚尸扬灰案测试中,为了寻找3年前被抛洒的死者骨灰,作者利用三维街景地图,既改进完善了传统地图测试法,又将街景地图测试的形式推广至情节测试。结果显示,较之图片测试法和视频测试法,三维街景地图测试对被测人更生动形象,刺激效果更好,测试结果令人满意。     

TRANSITORY MOBILITY,CULTURAL HETEROGENEITY,AND VICTIMIZATION RISK AMONG YOUNG MEN OF COLOR: INSIGHTS FROM AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY IN CAPE TOWN,SOUTH AFRICA

The coupling of racial and economic stratification has been found to result in a range of adverse outcomes for youth of color, including disproportionate exposure to violence and victimization. Primary explanations of these patterns, particularly at the micro‐level, have focused on the impact of street culture. In this article, we draw from a multiyear ethnography in Cape Town, South Africa, to offer a theoretical elaboration of the place of culture in contributing to victimization risks among urban minority young men. The study is based on data collected from a sample of 26 young men of color who lived on the Cape Flats between 2003 and 2006. Using grounded theory methods, we suggest the import of unequal access to spatial mobility as a multifaceted means by which culture mediates young men's risks for victimization in disadvantaged communities. We find that transitory mobility—conceptualized as youth's temporary access to cultural spaces outside their segregated residential neighborhoods—is an important source of cultural heterogeneity in townships that can intensify the strength of local social identities and outgroup antipathies directed at those whose mobility is perceived as a cultural threat. Transitorily mobile young men's cultural repertoires are a key facet of street efficacy that can either insulate them from risk or heighten their vulnerabilities. Our findings are suggestive of important sources of variation in young men's victimization outcomes in disadvantaged communities, offering insights about factors that shape risks beyond those linked to the victim–offender overlap in high‐risk settings.