Introduction

Abstract

Abstract In the past decade, the confluence of gangs and violence has fueled political perceptions of American crime problems. Since 1985, adolescent homicide rates have risen sharply in cities such as Los Angeles, San Diego, and Chicago where gangs are prevalent. The crack crisis of the mid-1980s and the violence that accompanied it further contributed to perceptions that there were more gangs, more teenagers in gangs, and more violent gangs in urban centers throughout the United States than there had been before. These concerns were amplified in the popular culture through movies and hip-hop music that depicted gang life as a stew of violence, guns, drug money, police repression, and exploitation of women. Gangs have always provided an organizational context that leads to elevated rates of violence. Studies comparing gang and nongang members show that gang members engage in more violent crimes than do nongang delinquent youths (Tracy, 1987; Fagan, 1990). Adolescents have higher rates of violence during periods of gang membership than they do either before joining or after leaving a gang (Thornberry et al., 1993). Gang participation during adolescence also appears to increase the proclivity toward and seriousness of adult violent crime, especially among core gang members who have leadership roles in their gangs (Spergel, 1990). Accordingly, whether they are called “sets,” “klikas,” or “nations,” gangs evidently provide a fertile organizational context for individual and collective acts of violence.