NCJ Number
174164
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 15 Issue: 3 Dated: September 1998 Pages: 395-425
Date Published
1998
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This article examines the extent to which street gangs are becoming organized crime groups.
Abstract
Active gang members were asked about gang structure and organization, gang activities, and relationships between their gang and other groups. Gang members were interviewed in an emerging gang city, San Diego, and an established gang city, Chicago. Members of one African-American and one Hispanic gang were interviewed in each city. Roughly equal numbers of members were imprisoned and on probation. With the exception of the Gangster Disciples in Chicago, there was little evidence that gangs were assuming the attributes of organized crime groups. The two San Diego gangs identified as such by law enforcement and social service providers had ceased to be central players on the street within 1 year of that identification. However, the Gangster Disciples in Chicago exhibited many characteristics of emerging organized crime groups and have apparently forged effective and solid relationships with gangs in prison and, to a lesser extent, with gangs in other cities. Even so, there was virtually no penetration into traditional organized crime groups. Tables, references