NCJ Number
149143
Date Published
1991
Length
182 pages
Annotation
Using newspapers and other sources, this volume describes the nature and activities of gangs in Chicago from the early 1970's to the middle of the 1980's.
Abstract
The newspapers that were the major data sources were the Chicago Sun Times and the Chicago Tribune. The analysis revealed that in the early 1970's, gangs were seen as misguided youths who could be redirected toward positive social behavior. The problem centered on vocational training. Researchers offered a variety of causal explanations for gangs. Gang activity increased in 1979; in 1981, a large number of gang-related murders occurred. By the mid-1980's, explanations centered on weaknesses in family ties, the fragmentation of community structure, reduced funding for social services, and a lack of job opportunities. Others have emphasized the role of weak secondary institutions such as the school and primary institutions such as the family, in failing to provide adequate mechanisms of opportunity and social control. Proposed solutions have emphasized the need to involve both community residents and social workers to address the problem of gangs and to focus on both opportunities and control. Appended descriptions of gang identifiers and 46 references