Gangs in America's Communities

Dr. James C. (Buddy) Howell is a Senior Research Associate with the National Gang Center, in Tallahassee, Florida, where he has worked for over twenty years. He formerly worked at the U.S. Department of Justice for 23 years, mostly as director of research and program development in the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. He has published over 50 works on youth and street gangs, and a similar number on juvenile justice and delinquency prevention, and seven books on both topics. His gang publication topics include street gang history; gang homicides; drug trafficking; gangs in schools; hybrid gangs; myths about gangs; risk factors; gang problem trends; gang history in the United States; and what works in preventing gang activity, combating gangs, and reducing gang crime. He is very active in helping states and localities reform their juvenile justice systems and use evidence-based programs, and in working with these entities to address youth gang problems in a balanced approach. Dr. Elizabeth Griffiths is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University-Newark. After completing her Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Toronto, she joined the faculty of the Department of Sociology at Emory University before moving to Rutgers in 2011. She is also a former predoctoral fellow of the National Consortium on Violence Research and a former Junior Fellow of the Centre of Criminology at the University of Toronto. Her research spans multiple substantive and methodological areas, including communities and crime, spatial diffusion of violence, temporal trends in homicide, the emergence of gangs in places, the transformation of public housing, youth crime and the code of the street, the efficacy of drug-free zones, and victimization risk, among others.

"[Gangs in America′s Communities] is one of the most comprehensive treatments of gangs in the marketplace. It begins with the historical perspective and concludes with some excellent suggestions that can be complimented in the classroom. The text from the beginning page to the last is interrelated and interconnected and will be an excellent required or recommended text for your Gangs or gang related courses. I highly recommend its adoption as you will not be disappointed and, most importantly, neither will your students."

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the authorsChapter 1: History of Gangs in the United StatesStreet Gang Emergence in the NortheastStreet Gang Emergence in the MidwestStreet Gang Emergence in the West RegionStreet Gang Emergence in the SouthAnother Wave of Immigrant GroupsThe Institutionalization of Street GangsChapter 2: Myths and Realities of Youth GangsConsideration of Key Myths About GangsChapter 3: Defining Gangs and Gang MembersDefining GangsTypologies of Gang Members and Gang StructuresGang SubcultureGang GraffitiA European Gang DefinitionA Recommended Gang Definition for Practical PurposesDefining Gang MembersDemographic Characteristics of U.S. Gangs and Gang MembersChapter 4: General Macro-Level Theories and Modern-Day ApplicationsThe Chicago School and Development of the Social Disorganization PerspectiveApplication of Social Disorganization Theory to GangsA General Explanation of Gang Origins, Expansion, and ViolenceOther Macro-Level TheoriesChapter 5: Micro-Level Theories: Developmental Life-Course Pathways and Other Micro-Level Explanations for Gang InvolvementLocation of Gang Membership in Developmental PathwaysDevelopmental TheoriesAn Illustration of the Life-Course Model of Gang InvolvementA Broad Developmental Gang TheoryThe Gang Joining Process“The Digital Street”: Gangs on Social MediaApex of Gang Member Criminal ActivityLong-Term Impact of Gang Membership on ParticipantsDesistance From Gang MembershipOther Micro-Level Gang TheoriesChapter 6: Girls and GangsFemales in Early Gang StudiesModern-Day Studies of Female Gang MembersLevel of Female Gang Involvement and Seriousness of CrimesThe Question of Increasing Female Gang InvolvementThe Importance of Gang Gender CompositionFemale Associates of Gang Members: Risks and ReVictimizationGirls’ Unique Treatment Needs and Implications for Prevention and TreatmentChapter 7: National Gang Problem Trends: 1996 to 2012An Overview of Nationwide Gang Activity in the Modern EraNationally Reported Youth Gang Activity From the Mid-1990sPatterns in U.S. Localities’ Histories of Gang ActivityPatterns of Gang Presence in Larger CitiesModal CitiesRegional Variations in Gang PresenceExplaining the Emergence, Persistence, and Decline of Gang ActivityChapter 8: Urban Gangs and ViolenceThe Intensity of Gangs in CitiesSerious Gang Problem TrendsA National Perspective of Gang StructuresKey Structural Features of Violent Gangs NationwideA Social Network Approach to Gang CohesionGunshot Injury Risk Associated with Social NetworksCase Studies of Gang Problems in Large CitiesContextual Characteristics That Contribute to Serious Gang ProblemsChapter 9: What Works: PreventionRisk-Focused, Data-Driven, and Research-Based Gang PreventionA Framework for Prevention and Early InterventionBuilding a Continuum of Effective Delinquency Prevention and Early-Intervention ProgramsChapter 10: What Works: Intervention and SuppressionEvidence-Based Gang ProgramsPromising Gang ProgramsThe Utility of Gang Intelligence DatabasesThe Comprehensive, Community-Wide Gang Program ModelThe Evidence-Based Comprehensive Gang Program ModelProject Safe NeighborhoodsGlossaryReferencesIndex