NCJ Number
172179
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 13 Issue: 4 Dated: (November 1997) Pages: 301-308
Date Published
1997
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article provides an overview of some recent research findings on Asian gang activity in the United States.
Abstract
The research projects upon which this analysis is based were organized and conducted by the National Gang Crime Research Center. The findings presented here were gleaned from research on the larger gang problem. They show that although two-thirds of all U.S. cities currently report some degree of a gang problem, the problem posed by Asian gangs or Asian gang members is less substantial. Only one-fourth of American cities have reported that Asian gangs or Asian gang members are active in their jurisdictions. Further, most Asian gang members do not belong to exclusively Asian gangs. Although additional research is underway to provide another test of this concept, apparently only approximately one-fifth of Asian or Chinese gang members belong to what might be regarded as Asian gangs. The vast majority belong to more integrated gangs. There is little basis for concluding that Asian gangs are distinctive among gangs. Although differences are found in a comparison of Asian citizens with non- Asian citizens in the general population (Song, Dombrink, and Geis, 1992), a strong homogenizing influence affects gang life in the United States. The result is a remarkable similarity among gangs and gang members for a large number of variables. Some experts, however, continue to believe that certain crimes (home invasion, kidnapping, extortion, etc.) are peculiar to Asian Gangs, but there is no significant evidence of this. 17 references