A pluralistic approach to the definition, classification, and explanation of gangs

Abstract

The extensive impact of gang-related harms on communities has led to a broad range of stakeholders investing in attempts to respond to gangs. Resultantly, many gang definitions, typologies, and explanations have been developed and adopted. This uncoordinated multiplicity has presented significant difficulties for developing shared understandings and responses to gangs across relevant parties. To overcome such pitfalls, researchers have begun to pursue a framework of unificationism through the establishment of consensus definitions of gangs, cross-disciplinary research teams, and unified theories for gang occurrences. Drawing upon insights from other disciplines, we argue against the adoption of an overarching unificationist framework instead endorsing a pluralistic approach to gang research. We develop a novel framework – The Conceptual Framework for Gang Research – for guiding the coordinated construction/adoption of a multiplicity of conceptual tools specifically tailored to facilitate the diverse aims of gang researchers and demonstrate the utility of this approach over current conventional approaches. • We consider the limitations of the current pursuit of unification in gang research. • The roles of conceptual strategies in science are discussed. • A pluralistic approach to the coordination of gang research is endorsed. • We present The Conceptual Framework for Gang Research .