NCJ Number
128834
Journal
Criminal Justice Research Bulletin Volume: 5 Issue: 4 Dated: (1990) Pages: complete issue
Date Published
1990
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Most of what is known about juvenile gangs, their causes, and internal dynamics is based on research conducted many years ago. Gang research in the 1960s was done in the field, employing extensive and intensive observation and other advanced research methods. In the mid-1970s, research shifted towards reliance on police and other law enforcement contacts and data.
Abstract
Concurrently delinquency suppression, rather than prevention, became the primary concern. Sophisticated gang intelligence units developed in major police departments even as private youth agencies pulled back from their work with gangs. Gang members who deal drugs embrace mainstream values in an ironic way -- entrepreneurism, the drive for success -- and most see it as a gateway toward success in legitimate business. Class differences have in some ways become more important than race differences in gang dynamics, but sometimes the two aspects are synonymous, particularly with the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots. 4 notes and 49 references