A short history of Asian gangs in San Francisco

Abstract

This paper documents the development of Asian gangs in San Francisco. Data for this paper were collected from 73 face to face interviews. Findings indicate that Asian gangs first emerged when a large pool of Chinese immigrant youths who arrived in San Francisco in the late 1960's were forced into self reliance by the city's failure to recognize the needs of its newcomers. The integration of Asian gangs into criminal subculture in the Chinese community, lack of legitimate opportunities available to youths, and hostility from other ethnic and Asian groups fueled subsequent generations of Asian gangs.