Gangs: An Introduction provides a wide-ranging overview ideal for courses on gangs. Opening with a discussion of early research and perspectives from the late 1920s until the early 1970s, the book then moves on to cover sociological and legal definitions of gangs; daily life and risk and protective factors; race and immigration; female gang members; drug use and selling; violence and victimization; the cultural criminology of gangs; theories on gangs and gang behaviors; desistance; suppression, intervention, and prevention; and more.

FEATURES

* A focus on theories of gangs, rather than on criminological theories

* Original contributions to the gang literature

* An emphasis on evidence-based practices

* Examples of real-life court cases

* Interview excerpts from gang members, drawn from the author's research

*Media Check! sections in each chapter featuring examples from movies, documentaries, TV shows, and music

Bill Sanders is Professor in the School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics at California State University, Los Angeles. He is the author of thirty publications on gangs, youth crime, substance use, and qualitative research methods, including Youth Crime and Youth Culture in the Inner City (2004).

Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Introduction
A History of Respectable Fears
Estimating the Number of Gangs, Gang Members, and Gang Crimes
Chapter 1. Early Research and Perspectives
18th- and 19th-Century Gangs
Thrasher: The First Gang Researcher
Gangs as Delinquent Subcultures
Differential Opportunity Theory
Lower-Class Culture and Adolescence
Gangs as Near-Group
Group Process and Gang Delinquency
Roles within Gangs: Keiser and the Vice Lords
Street Gangs and Street Workers
Chapter 2. Definitions, Daily Life, Dynamics, and Risk Factors
Sociological Definitions
Legal Definitions
What Gangs Are Not
A Structured Typology
Daily Life
Positive and Negative Aspects
Interrelated Dynamics
Membership
Organization
Subgroups
Intensity
The Causes and Correlates Studies
Protective Factors
Chapter 3. Race, Migration, and Immigration
A Brief Note on Race Relations in American History
Black Gangs
The Crips and Bloods
Latino Gangs
The People Nation and the Folks Nation
A Typology of Mexican American Gangs
Asian and Asian Pacific Islander Gangs
Chinese Gangs
Southeast Asian Gangs
Filipino Gangs
Native American Gangs
White Gangs
Skinheads
Skinheads as Gangs
Nazi Low Riders
Chapter 4. Females
Early Studies and Stereotypes
Increases in Female Arrests and Incarceration
Further Developments in Female Gang Research
Differences and Similarities between Gang Females and Males
The Number of Female Gangs and Gang Members
Different Types of Female Gangs
Female Gang Violence
Sexual Victimization
Identity, Femininity, Sexuality, and Respect
Pregnancy and Motherhood
Prosocial Functions and Post-Gang Lives
Chapter 5. Drug Use and Sales
Substance Use Patterns
Alcohol
Marijuana
Other Illicit Drugs
Attitudes about Hard Drug Use
Drug Addiction
Drug Selling
Myths about Drug Selling
Drug Sales and Violence
Chapter 6. Violence and Victimization
The Definition of Gang-Related Violence
The Prevalence of Gang Violence
Witness Intimidation
Fighting
Firearms
Homicide
Victimization
Chapter 7. Style and Media
Cultural Criminology
The Importance of Style
Interpreting Graffiti
Gangsta Rap
Homology, Diffusion, and Criminalization
The Mass Media
Moral Panics, Policy, and Other Outcomes
The Internet
Chapter 8. Theories on Gangs and Gang Behaviors
Multiple Marginalization
Enhancement, Selection, and Facilitation Hypotheses
Gangs as Resistance
Women's Liberation and Social Injury Hypotheses
Marijuana Normalization
Theoretical Miscellanea
Control Theory
Labeling
Biosocial
Perspectives on Gang Violence
Threat
Locura
Subculture of Violence
Masculinity
Violence as Transcendence
Grounded Culture
Toward a Theory on Gang Fighting
Chapter 9. Prison Gangs
The Emergence of Prison Gangs
The Number of Prison Gangs
Prison Gangs Based on Race
Aryan Brotherhood
The Mexican Mafia
Black Guerilla Family
Differences and Similarities between Street and Prison Gangs
The Relationship between Prison Gangs and Street Gangs
Radicalization and Prison Gangs
Prison Gang Misconduct
Prison Guard Misconduct and Gangs
Leaving Prison Gangs
Recidivism
Responding to Prison Gangs
Chapter 10. Desistance and Leaving the Gang
Desistance from Crime and Delinquency
The Life-Course Perspective
Identity and Agency
Hooks for Change
Displacement and Drug Use
Desistance Miscellanea
Leaving the Gang
Violent Rituals
Positions within the Gang and Gang Organization
A Shift in Peer Network Affiliations
A Reduction in Risk Behaviors and Victimization
Family and Employment
Routine Activities and Disposition
Have They Really Left?
Resisting Gangs
Chapter 11. Public Health Aspects
Gang Youth and Public Health
Unsafe Sexual Behaviors and STIs
Incarceration as Health Risk
Symptoms of Mental Health Illness and Psychiatric Diagnoses
Homelessness
Injuries
Health Miscellanea
Nursing Intervention
Toward a Public Health Agenda for Gang Youth
Chapter 12. Gangs outside of the United States
England
Early Research
South London, 1996-2002
Modern Investigations
Eurogang Research
Holland
Germany
France
Spain
Italy
Northern Countries
Russia
Canada
Israel
Latin America
Mexico
The Caribbean
Central America
Brazil
Australia
China
Chapter 13. Suppression, Intervention, and Prevention
Suppression
Gang Legislation
Civil Gang Injunctions
Police Gang Units
Gang Cop Misconduct
Boston Gun Project
Diversion
Intervention
The Chicago Area Project
Interventionists
The Spergel Model
The Comprehensive Strategy
Problems with Citywide Approaches
Homeboy Industries
Cure Violence
Truces
Prevention
Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT)
Other Gang Educational Curricula
Appendix
References
Credits
Subject Index
Author Index

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