Gangs and Crime Old as Time; But Drugs Change Gang Culture (From Modern Gang Reader, P 222-227, 1995, Malcolm W. Klein, Cheryl L. Maxson, et al., eds. - See NCJ-173280)

• NCJ Number: 173296
• Author(s): J H Skolnick
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: Roxbury Publishing Co.
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Interviews with more than 100 youthful drug dealers who were prison inmates in California and with more than 100 California police officers were used to distinguish instrumental (entrepreneurial) gangs from cultural (neighborhood-based) gangs, based on the extent to which gang organization centers on drug law offenses.

Abstract

The analysis indicated that drug sales, facilitated by gang norms and values, have become a pervasive aspect of California gangs. Cultural gangs differ from instrumental gangs in that they exist prior to and independently of the illegal activities in which they are involved. However, some cultural gangs may be evolving toward the instrumental model. A causal link does not appear to exist between gangs and drug distribution, but most, if not all, cultural gang members have their first contact with drugs, either as sellers or users, as members of the gang or the set. Once a youth is accepted into a cultural gang, participation in the drug business can facilitate upward mobility. The shift in cultural gangs toward the instrumental model poses new challenges for law enforcement and local communities.