NCJ Number
138143
Journal
Social Problems Volume: 38 Issue: 4 Dated: (November 1991) Pages: 529-542
Date Published
1991
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article uses research from three recent Milwaukee studies to show that deindustrialization has altered certain characteristics of youth gangs.
Abstract
Deindustrialization has altered the nature of gangs, creating a new association among gangs, illegal drug distribution, and the survival of young adult gang members in a postindustrial, segmented economy. Although neighborhood changes are clearly relevant to gang activities, Wilson's characterization of the underclass as living in neighborhoods from which middle- and working-class African-Americans have fled and abandoned social institutions does not fully apply in cities like Milwaukee. Instead, there are deteriorating neighborhoods with declining resources and fractured internal cohesion. Gang members tend to stay involved with gangs as adults, and many have turned to the drug economy for survival. Poor blacks in neighborhoods where gangs persist have both similarities and differences to Wilson's underclass concept. What characterizes these neighborhoods is not the absence of working people but rather the absence of effective social institutions. Public policy should stress jobs and investment in underclass neighborhoods, program evaluation, family preservation, and community control of social institutions. 70 references and 2 tables