Gang Violence

Gang Violence


Gangs, Gang Homicide, and Gang Loyalty: Organized Crimes or Disorganized Criminals
The article Gangs, Gang Homicide, and Gang Loyalty: Organized Crimes or Disorganized Criminals: Organized Crimes or Disorganized Criminals addresses two related questions; the differences between gang and non-gang homicides, and the social organization of gang homicides. The article examined gang homicide in the mid-1990s in St. Louis where homicide rates were high, and where gang violence problems were large. While we are aware that gang members account for a disproportionate amount of violence, we do not have a full understanding of how gang violence is organized.
Some gang violence occur within gangs rather than between gangs which is contrary to popular and law enforcement images of gangs as oppositional groups whose organizational structure leads them to violence with rival gang members. What is viewed as gang violence in one area, may not be considered as gang violence in another. According to Curry and Decker, a crime must be motivated by gang concerns to be considered a gang crime in Chicago. In Los Angeles, a gang crime is one that involves a gang member or gang motive. While Chicago’s definition is more strict resulting in fewer gang crimes, Los Angeles’ definition of gang crimes includes a wider range of behavior which yielded twice as many gang crimes than Chicago, according to a 1990 analysis by Klein and Maxson. Gang homicides can be distinguished from other homicides by a number of characteristics which include: spatial concentration, weapons use, race of the victim and perpetrator, location, drug involvement, age, sex, and victim/offender relationship. Although Boston was not considered a chronic gang city, the findings concerning gang homicides were consistent with those of Los Angeles, and Chicago. Gang homicides disproportionately involved gun assaults, weapons, and drugs. Firearms were one of the strongest correlates of gang...

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