NCJ Number
137894
Date Published
1990
Length
6 pages
Annotation
A typology of youth gangs in metropolitan Toronto was developed using information gathered from interviews with police officers and social workers, direct observations of youth, discussions with victims of youth gang assaults, and a review of newspaper and other media stories from 1989 and 1990.
Abstract
The seven categories presented in this typology include fashion or social, ethnocultural, political and pseudopolitical, violent (sociopathic), crime-focused or delinquent, street youth, and volatile groups. The descriptors used to highlight the distinguishing characteristics of each group's membership or activities should be considered only as a conceptual framework. Some general trends in the youth gang phenomenon in Toronto emerged during this research. There has been an alarming increase in weapons possession among students who want to protect themselves from being harassed by youth gangs. While most of these students carry knives, guns are starting to appear in the schools. Younger students are becoming involved in violent activity, although there is no evidence to suggest that gang activity is related to drug dealing on a large scale. Much of the recent youth gang activity appears to be gratuitous violence, lacking the same class, race, and cultural factors driving the phenomenon in the United States.