Not all gangs are created equal. Although there is no strictly agreed upon definition of what a street gang is, there are certain common characteristics that street gangs possess. There is a group element where the gang serves as a surrogate family for many of the members. There is no such thing as a one-person gang. Symbols are also important to identify who is a member of which gang, and these symbols also create a sense of collective identity.
There are nonverbal (e.g., graffiti) and verbal (e.g., code words) forms of communication that let others know who is part of what gang and the location of a certain gang’s turf. Street gangs also maintain an element of permanence, meaning that they stick around for extended periods of time. The most unique feature of street gangs that differentiates them from prison or motorcycle gangs is their street orientation. Although not every street gang claims turf, it is a common phenomenon among street gangs to place importance on defending their turf. Finally, the key feature of gangs that separates them from any other group is their involvement in crime. When gang members are asked what the gang means to them, they highlight the importance of the gang as a family and their involvement in crime.
Street gangs are an important feature of the criminal landscape in the United States. These groups are hotbeds for criminal activity. According to the 2012 National Youth Gang Survey, conducted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, there were an estimated 30,700 gangs, 850,000 gang members, and 2,363 gang-related homicides in the United States. To take a closer look at the peculiarities of these groups, this article follows the career of a typical street gang member, highlighting the general characteristics of gang members, why they join gangs, the gang structure, the types of crime gang members participate in, and the eventual departure from the gang.
Gang Members
Street gang members are not identical, but there are patterns that arise in age, gender, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and place of residence. Individuals who typically join gangs enter in middle school or the early high school years. The average age of a street gang member is 14–18 years, but there are of course gang members who are much older or younger. The majority of gang members are male, but that is not to say that females are not involved in gangs as well. When it comes to race and ethnicity, those considered to be from the lower rungs of the social ladder are typically those who are joining gangs. This trend can be seen historically. When Italians and Irish were the majority of the immigrants coming to the United States in the 1800s and early 1900s, they were often considered to be on the lower end of the social ladder by U.S. citizens. These were the groups that were forming gangs. Blacks and Hispanics are now often considered the lower rungs of the social ladder, which is why they make up the majority of the gang population. These individuals are drawn from poorer households in densely populated urban cities and neighborhoods. As the next section will illustrate, being in a poor area does not mean an individual will automatically join a gang. Gangs are also not restricted to the poor, and in fact, there is a growing amount of middle- and upper-class youths who are joining.
Joining the Gang: Why and How
When thinking about the process of a joining a gang, one must differentiate risk factors from motivations. As mentioned earlier, living in a poor neighborhood does not automatically make someone join a gang, but that is considered a risk factor because that individual is in closer proximity to gangs in the area. Those living in areas where there are no gangs are not at the same risk of joining than someone living in an area full of gangs. Other risk factors include poor educational or employment potential, poor parental supervision, and exposure to antisocial peers.
Motivations for joining gangs are more subjective to the individual and do not take into account external risk factors like poor neighborhoods and low employment. Family members or peers already in the gang could influence an individual into joining; this is considered a pull. Being pulled into the gang means that the individual is drawn by the gang’s offers. Along with the family aspect, other pulls include protection, money, and a sense of status. For many ethnic Hispanic gangs, membership represents a source of cultural honor. There are also gang members who are pushed into joining gangs. Being pushed into a gang is akin to being forced to join the gang. For example, an individual may fear physical consequences of not joining and may feel compelled to join.
The actual process of being initiated into the gang introduces the individual into the violent culture of the gang. With this initiation, individuals are jumped or beaten in. This process looks similar across gangs in cities across the country. The potential member is forced to take a beating from the members of the gang. The potential member is either jumped in, or they must complete a mission against a rival gang. This mission usually involves the murder of a rival gang member. This initiation process shows new members that violence is important to the gang and is expected.
Gang Structure
One of the reasons why gangs are not all the same is because there are varying levels of organization among different gangs. Some gangs are more organized and some are less so. A gang’s organization is dependent on how well they are able to carry out their activities. A gang that is able to give commands and successfully engage in illicit operations is more organized than a gang that has difficulty in doing so. There are two perspectives with gang organization. The instrumental-rational approach believes that gangs are organized and have a hierarchical leadership structure and that there exists discipline, well-defined roles, and rules of conduct. The unorganized perspective is the informal-diffuse approach. This approach considers gangs to be a group of poorly unified individuals who loosely pursue the group’s interests but are mainly committed to individual self-interest. Street gangs are more likely to be disorganized than organized. Again, these gangs are typically filled with adolescent individuals who have little to no training in management or organizational efficiency.
Gangs that have certain organizational characteristics, either in higher quantity or quality, are considered more organized than those who do not have these characteristics. Gangs that have been around longer are usually more organized than brand-new gangs because they have had more of an opportunity to define leadership roles and structure. Gangs that have rules are more organized than gangs that allow their members do whatever they please. The most organized gangs even have written constitutions that detail rules of conduct. Very much like the criminal justice system, gangs have systems of punishment if one of their members falls out of line and breaks the rules of the gang. Gangs that have specialized roles are more organized than gangs with no differentiation in membership. There are typically three levels of roles in gangs: leaders, experienced gang members, and regular members. Those who are leaders or experienced gang members are more committed to the gang. Regular members could include those on the fringe of the gang or those who have not proven yet that they have a strong commitment to the gang.
Another characteristic of gang organization is gang meetings. Most gangs hold meetings, but for some of the larger gangs, it would be impractical to have every member attend, so usually key leaders and decision makers attend these meetings and disseminate the information to the other members. Some gangs, such as the Gangster Disciples, are so organized that they have strong influences in the political, social, and economic landscape in the areas they reside. There are also some gangs that are so unorganized that they dissipate in a short amount of time.
Types of Crimes
Gangs and gang members do not specialize in specific types of crimes. Gang membership influences all types of criminal behavior. One of the more prominent offenses that gangs participate in is drug use. There is a general consensus among gangs that marijuana usage is fine, but once harder drugs (e.g., cocaine, heroin) are involved, this consensus begins to fade. Many members claim that usage takes away from the group’s overall profits. Those gangs that are more accepting of harder drug usage are also the gangs that are less organized and have less authority over what their members do.
Apart from drug usage, gang members are also often involved in drug dealing. Not every gang is involved in drug dealing to the same degree. The more organized a gang is the more likely they are able to handle larger quantities for distribution. It is more common to see members sell drugs for themselves.
Gun ownership and carrying has symbolic significance and is another widespread act that gang members participate in. The gun is a symbol of power in the gang world. It is perceived to be necessary for protecting oneself against potential attacks from rival gang members. Gang members are more likely to carry guns than nongang members, which could be one of the main influences on their criminal behavior.
Gang members also participate in serious violence at higher rates than nongang members. They must defend their turf from rival gangs, usually by force. They complete missions on rival gangs by participating in drive-by shootings. By being in a gang, an individual is more likely to be a victim of violent crime than the nongang member. Not every gang member is equally involved in gangs, however, so not every gang member is necessarily at the same risk of participating in violence or being victimized. Violence is expected from leaders, who are likely to be high-profile targets for rival gangs, but these expectations are relaxed for fringe members who are not often exposed to the same volume of gang activities.
Leaving the Gang: Why and How
Contrary to popular belief, the average length of gang membership is 1 year. Similar to joining gangs, push and pull factors play an important role in the departure from the gang. Push factors are those internal to the gang that makes membership undesirable. For example, the constant fights and violent lifestyle eventually make membership undesirable and members feel the push to leave the gang. Pull factors are external to the gang and guide a member out of the gang. These factors are typically jobs, social interventions, children, and/ or romantic relationships. Gang researchers David Pyrooz and Scott Decker found that two thirds of former youth gang members studied left because of push factors instead of pull factors. So in an ironic turn of events, many of the reasons why people join gangs become the reasons why they leave.
Depending on the gang and the reason for leaving, this departure process could be painless or painful. Departing members could be met with hostile or nonhostile rituals. Many of the same methods for initiation are used for when a member leaves the gang. They could be beaten out, commit a mission against a rival gang, or be forced to shoot a family member, typically the individual’s mother. That said, Pyrooz and Decker found that only 20% of gang members in their sample were sent off hostilely. For the most part, the gang understands the pressure to leave and sends off the member peacefully.
References:
- Curry, G. D., Decker, S. H., & Pyrooz, D. C. (2015). Confronting gangs: Crime and community. New York, NY: Oxford.
- Decker, S. H., Melde, C., & Pyrooz, D. C. (2013). What do we know about gangs and gang members and where do we go from here? Justice Quarterly, 30(3), 369–402.
- Klein, M. W., & Maxson, C. L. (2010). Street gang patterns and policies. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
- Pyrooz, D. C., & Decker, S. H. (2011). Motives and methods for leaving the gang: Understanding the process of gang desistance. Journal of Criminal Justice, 39(5), 417–425.
- Wood, J., & Alleyne, E. (2010). Street gang theory and research: Where are we now and where do we go from here? Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15(2), 100–111.
Websites
- National Gang Center. Retrieved from https://nationalgangcenter.ojp.gov/