Title: Addressing Community Gang Problems: A Practical Guide. Series: Monograph Author: Bureau of Justice Assistance Published: August 1999 Subject: Gangs, Crime Prevention 241 pages 537,000 bytes ---------------------------- Figures, charts, forms, and tables are not included in this ASCII plain-text file. To view this document in its entirety, download the Adobe Acrobat graphic file available from this Web site or order a print copy from BJA at 800-688-4252. ---------------------------- May 1998 Reprinted August 1999 NCJ 164273 ---------------------------- U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs 810 Seventh Street NW. Washington, DC 20531 Janet Reno Attorney General Raymond C. Fisher Associate Attorney General Laurie Robinson Assistant Attorney General Noel Brennan Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nancy E. Gist Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance Office of Justice Programs World Wide Web Home Page http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov Bureau of Justice Assistance World Wide Web Home Page http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA For grant and funding information contact U.S. Department of Justice Response Center 1-800-421-6770 This document was prepared by the Police Executive Research Forum, supported by cooperative agreement number 91-DD-CX-K058, awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. ---------------------------- The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime. ---------------------------- Foreword Urban street-gang involvement in drug trafficking and violent crime is becoming increasingly widespread--not just in large cities, but in suburban areas and small towns as well. The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) recognizes that programs aimed at combating gang-related activity must incorporate both crime prevention and crime control initiatives to be effective over long periods of time. Accordingly, in October 1991, BJA initiated the development of a prototype model of the Comprehensive Gang Initiative. BJA is pleased to present this monograph, Addressing Community Gang Problems: A Practical Guide, as a product of that initiative. It is a useful tool that provides guidelines for agencies and community groups to develop individualized responses to local gang problems. This practical manual provides a foundation for understanding the diverse nature of gangs, the problems they pose and the harm they cause, and the two analytical models for addressing gang-related problems. Two companion monographs complement this one. Addressing Community Gang Problems: A Model for Problem Solving provides a prototype to assist communities in identifying, analyzing, and responding to gang-related problems as well as assessing the effectiveness of their responses. Urban Street Gang Enforcement focuses exclusively on enforcement and prosecution strategies to protect against urban street gangs and presents strategies to enhance the prosecution of gang-related crimes. Nancy E. Gist Director ---------------------------- Acknowledgments The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) wishes to thank the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) and, in particular, John Stedman and Deborah Lamm Weisel, for their help and guidance in compiling this document. BJA also thanks the following individuals for their contributions: Deborah Lamm Weisel, Chapter 1. Robert P. McNamara, Chapters 2 and 3. Hugh Nugent, Chapters 4 and 7. William Spelman, Chapter 5. Marilyn B. Ayres, Chapter 6. George E. Capowich, Chapter 8. ---------------------------- Contents Executive Summary I. Understanding Gangs and Gang Problems Chapter 1: Introduction o Analytical Models o Organization of the Monograph Chapter 2: Defining the Community's Gang(s) o Which Definition To Use? o Gang Diversity o Community Concerns: What To Do? Chapter 3: Gang Involvement in Drugs and Violence o The Media's Social Distortion of Gangs o Historical Overview of Gangs o Types of Gangs o Gangs and Drugs -- Drug Use -- Drug Selling -- Drugs and Violence o Gangs and Violence o The Relationships Among Gangs, Drugs, and Violence o Community Responses to the Problem Chapter 4: Gang Graffiti o What Are Graffiti? o Are Graffiti a Problem? -- Graffiti as Street Art -- Gang Graffiti o Reading Graffiti -- Alphabets -- Signs and Symbols -- Ethnic Graffiti o Attacking a Graffiti Problem -- Controllers -- Guardians -- Manager -- Offenders -- Tools -- Problem Places o Responses -- Establishing a Graffiti Policy -- Reducing Availability of Graffiti Tools -- Graffiti Removal Campaigns -- Target Hardening -- Discouraging Graffiti -- Providing Alternatives to Taggers -- Encouraging Public Responsibility o Assessment II. Learning About Local Gangs Chapter 5: Needs Assessments for Gang Problems o What Is a Needs Assessment? -- Aren't Communities Already Doing This? -- What Is the Needs Assessment Looking For? o Step 1: Laying the Groundwork -- First Steps -- Scope and Focus -- Getting the Advisory Board To Buy In -- Dealing With Conflict o Step 2: Identifying Current Activities -- Defining What Information To Collect -- Identifying Service Providers -- Collecting Information -- Displaying Results -- Reaping the Benefits of Surveying o Step 3: Identifying and Setting Priorities Among Needs -- Surveying Clients and Their Advocates -- Tracking and Comparing Social Indicators o Step 4: Developing a Consensus -- Presenting Results to the Advisory Board -- Going Public -- Developing Solutions o Conclusion Chapter 6: Addressing Gang Problems Through Strategic Planning o Using the Definition of Gang To Frame Community Responses o Factors in Gang Formation and Membership o Centrality of a Comprehensive Problem-Solving Approach o Building and Sustaining Coalitions -- Functions of Coalitions -- Initiating the Coalition-Building Process -- Making Coalitions Work -- Avoiding Pitfalls o Strategic Planning -- Element 1: Mission Formulation -- Element 2: Organizational Assessment -- Element 3: Strategic Objectives Development -- Element 4: Action Plan Development -- Element 5: Implementation o Strategic Plan Evaluation o Internal and External Communication Strategies o Importance of Diverse Strategies for Community Identity o Team Building -- Assistance From an Outside Facilitator -- Taking Time To Build the Team -- Initial Team-Building Goals -- Stages of Team Growth -- Generating Ideas and Selecting Options o Conclusion III. Responding to Local Gang Problems Chapter 7: Civil Remedies for Gang-Related Harm o Analytical Models -- Gang-Problem Triangle -- Problem-Solving Model o Problem Places -- Residential Sites -- Commercial Sites --Recreational Areas -- Public Places -- Transitional Places o Responsible People o Civil Remedies -- Civil or Criminal or Both? -- Injunction or Damages -- Nuisance Abatement and Zoning Laws -- Trespass -- Waste -- Civil Code Enforcement and Business Licensing -- Residential Rental Properties -- Vacant Buildings and Vacant Lots o Overcoming Barriers to Civil Remedies -- Retaliation Against Individuals -- Getting Public Officials To Cooperate -- Delay on Civil Dockets o Case Examples of Civil Remedies -- 5081 La Paz Drive, San Diego, California -- 609 East Benton, Joliet, Illinois -- 1615-1617 Russell Street, Berkeley, California o Gang-Problem Triangle Applied o Conclusion Chapter 8: Evaluating Anti-Gang Efforts o Process Evaluations -- Specifying the Program Elements -- The Purposes of the Evaluation -- Focusing the Evaluation -- Collecting Data o Impact Evaluations -- Causal Conclusions -- Unit of Analysis -- Levels and Types of Effects -- Appropriate Measures and Data -- Data Collection o Design and Analysis o Overview of Process and Impact Evaluations Appendix A: References Appendix B: Sources for Further Information ---------------------------- Exhibits 1. Narrowing the Gap Between Taggers and Gangs, Lakewood, Colorado 2. How Taggers Dress, Lakewood, Colorado 3. Differences Between Tagger and Gang Graffiti 4. Hispanic Gang Lettering Styles 5. Barrio Lettering in Old English 6. "Corona" in Old English 7. "SSG" in Sharp-Point Letters 8. "Peace" and "Cats" in Bubble Letters 9. "El Blackbird P 12 St" in Loop Letters 10. Swastika in Oriental/American Indian Style Letters 11. Nazi Swastika 12. Six-Pointed Star 13. Five-Pointed Star 14. Hexagram, Pentagram, and Upside-Down Pentagram 15. Celtic Cross 16. Formee Cross 17. Ankh Cross 18. Guides to Hispanic Gang Graffiti 19. Black Gang Graffiti 20. White-Power Graffiti 21. Removing Graffiti: Markers and Surfaces 22. Wheel of Misfortune 23. Austin Project Board of Directors 24. What a Current Activities Survey Can Reveal 25. Matrix Showing Survey Results: Funding Sources for Substance Abuse/Addiction Service Providers 26. Social Indicators Available in Austin, Travis County, and State of Texas 27. Breakdown of Key Social Indicators Available in Austin and Travis County, Texas 28. Map Showing Geographical Breakdown: Births to Teen Mothers in Travis County, Texas, 1989 and 1990 29. Pareto Chart Showing Geographical Data: Neighborhoods at Highest Risk, Child Abuse and Neglect Cases by ZIP Code in Austin, Texas, 1991 30. Time-Series Graph Showing Stability Over Time: Births to Teen Mothers in Travis County, Texas, 1980-1990 31. Time Chart: Teen Births Among Two Age Groups in Travis County, Texas, 1980-1990 32. Environmental Analysis Worksheet 33. Mission Statement Worksheet 34. Organizational Assessment--Critical Issues Worksheet 35. Organizational Assessment--Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Worksheet 36. Strategic Objectives Issues Worksheet 37. Strategic Objectives Successes Worksheet 38. Strategic Objectives Failures Worksheet 39. Action Plan Worksheet 40. Communication Strategy Worksheet 41. Training Plan Worksheet 42. Team-Building Worksheet 43. Gang-Problem Triangle 44. SARA Model 45. Types of Harm Caused by Gangs 46. Gang-Related Problem Places Checklist 47. Persons Responsible for Problem Places 48. Sample Logic Diagram 49. Types of Relationships 50. Levels and Types of Effects 51. Relationship Between Process and Impact Evaluation ---------------------------- Executive Summary Chapter 1: Introduction Contemporary gangs--variously known as youth or delinquent gangs and street or criminal gangs--have become a widespread threat to communities throughout the Nation. Once considered largely an urban phenomenon, gangs have increasingly emerged in smaller communities, presenting a challenge that severely strains local resources. All gang problems are local in nature. Whether rooted in neighborhoods, representing a rite of passage, or providing surrogate families or access to economic opportunity, most gangs are inherently local. Even large-scale gangs with reputed nationwide networks attract local youth and take advantage of local opportunities to carry out gang activities. This monograph presents a problem-solving model that is applied to gang problems. This model is often referred to as SARA, an acronym for the four steps involved in the process--scanning, analysis, response, and assessment. Communities first initiate the problem-solving process by searching for and identifying gang problems--scanning. The second step of the problem-solving process--analysis--involves investigating the specific gang problem in greater detail. In general, analysis helps a community understand the nature of its gang problem--how it is manifested, who is harmed and how, and when the problems occur. Having identified their gang problems and thoroughly analyzed them, communities can proceed to the third step and develop their local response. The final step of the problem-solving process is an assessment of the effectiveness of the response. It can also be used to change the response, improve the analysis, or even redefine the problem. The gang-problem triangle is a method of analyzing or developing a deeper understanding of local gang problems and pointing to fruitful avenues of response. Three elements must be present before a gang-related harm can occur: an offender, a victim, and a place. If a person thinks about each element as representing a side of a triangle, he or she can easily visualize that removing a side of the triangle will cause the triangle to collapse. An important part of the gang-problem triangle is recognizing that there are third parties with responsibilities for each side of the triangle. Controllers are people who, acting in the best interest of potential offenders, try to prevent them from committing offenses. Guardians are people who try to prevent harm from coming to potential victims. Managers are people who oversee places where harm occurs. Identifying the people responsible for victims, offenders, and places and involving them in the development of plans and programs is necessary if communities are to reduce and prevent future gang problems. Chapter 2: Defining the Community Youth Gang The term "gang" carries with it many meanings and evokes a number of images for people. Discussing some of their different characteristics as well as different perceptions about them may contribute to a working definition of gangs. The success or failure of communitywide attempts to address gang problems is likely to rest, in part, on how the problems are understood and diagnosed. The media, the public, and community agencies use the term "gang" more loosely than the law enforcement community. Politicians and law enforcement officials tend to rely on legal parameters such as criminal behavior to define what constitutes a gang. Unfortunately, this perception fails to recognize that many gangs do not engage solely in criminal acts, or even highly visible ones. Compounding the definition problem is the inconsistent use of the term "gang related." Police may classify an incident as gang related simply because the individual involved is a gang member. There is no consensus on a standardized definition of a gang, but there is some agreement on the basic elements. Maxson and Klein developed three criteria for defining a street gang: o Community recognition of the group. o The group's recognition of itself as a distinct group of adolescents or young adults. o The group's involvement in enough illegal activities to get a consistent negative response from law enforcement and neighborhood residents. The centerpiece of Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin's typology of gangs is the concept of differential opportunity. According to this concept, individuals may become involved in gang life and crime simply because legitimate means of success are unavailable to them. Cloward and Ohlin also see a differential opportunity structure for illegitimate means of achieving success. The significance of this finding is that all opportunities--legal and illegal--are often unavailable to most inner-city youth. Cloward and Ohlin conclude that young people are likely to join one of three types of gangs--criminal, conflict, or retreatist--because of differential opportunity. Criminal gangs are likely to exist in stable low-income areas where there are close relationships between adolescents and adult criminals. Conflict gangs develop in communities with dilapidated conditions and transient populations. When criminal opportunities do not exist, conflict gangs fight to gain social status and protect their integrity and honor. Retreatist gangs do not possess the skills to be considered criminal gangs. They retreat into a role on the fringe of society that usually involves heavy drug use and withdrawal from social interaction. A number of other gangs do not fit neatly into Cloward and Ohlin's typology. Tagger crews consist of youth banded together to create graffiti. The main reason for tagging, which is a form of vandalism, is to gain respect from fellow artists and, more important, from members of other tagger crews. Communities can begin to develop strategies and programs to address their specific gang problems by analyzing the types of gangs affecting their neighborhoods. Communities must recognize that the ways in which gangs are defined will, to a large degree, determine the extent of the gang problem in a neighborhood. Moreover, even when one definition is used, such as the law enforcement definition, this too varies from one jurisdiction to another. Chapter 3: Gang Involvement in Drugs and Violence America has become a society almost preoccupied with gangs--especially their relationship to drugs and violence. While it is true that violence among gang members has escalated and involvement in drugs has been a feature of gang life for many years, gangs are now increasingly and almost exclusively blamed for the drug and violence problems of the last decade. This is partly because gangs have grown in number and diversity across the Nation, affecting both large cities and smaller communities. During various times in American history, particularly the 1970s and 1980s, gangs have received considerable media attention. Moreover, in movies, television, radio, newspapers, and even documentaries, the image created about gangs was consistent--they were heavily involved in the drug trade and exceptionally prone to violence. Based on media accounts, the public believes gangs are extremely violent, are involved in drug trafficking, are highly organized, and are a pervasive part of the social landscape. Gangs and the media both benefit from exaggerated portrayals of gangs and gang life. The media attempt to increase their profits by providing the public with sensationalized stories that relate to crime and violence. Increasingly, the media achieve this goal by attributing these events to gangs. As the media continue to portray gangs in this negative light, gang members gain a reputation of being tough and savvy, enhancing their standing in their communities. Another media distortion about gangs relates to their ethnic and racial composition. Gangs are not exclusively a minority phenomenon. Most research has attributed gangs and their associated problems to elements in the social structure--either the social environment or the opportunities associated with being a member of a particular social class. Gangs and violence are associated with urban poverty, and gang life is seen as a source of social identity in the face of impoverished living conditions. Moreover, the social and economic opportunities and living conditions of some groups have not improved--or have become worse. Gang members now may be more likely to be motivated by the pursuit of profit than by the cultural or territorial reasons used in earlier decades. One researcher groups gang characteristics into three categories--corporate, territorial, and scavenger. Corporate gangs focus their attention on making money. Territorial gangs focus on possession of turf, and gang members are quick to use violence to secure or protect what belongs to the gang. Scavenger gangs have very little organizational structure, and gang members are motivated by a need to belong to a group. A number of gangs are involved in using and selling drugs, while others are involved in selling but prohibit use by gang members. Some gangs are highly organized, while others are fragmented, with individual members involved in drug dealing but acting independently of the gang. And still other gangs and gang members are heavily involved in using drugs but do not sell them. The research community has found little evidence of a relationship between drug use in general and violent behavior. However, drug users do commit crimes to support their habits, which can lead to violent crime such as street robberies. Systemic violence, the type of violence most commonly associated with gangs, is a function of the illegal sale and distribution of drugs. This type of gang violence invades a neighborhood's sense of community and poses a risk to innocent bystanders. The best possible explanation of the relationship between gangs and violence is that it depends primarily on the gang's organization. Some gangs are organized to fight, while others are organized to make money, and the level of violence associated with each gang depends on its type. In an expressive violent confrontation, the primary goal of violence is injury. The primary purpose of instrumental violence is to acquire money or property. Gangs specializing in instrumental violence are strongest in disrupted and declining neighborhoods. Gangs involved in expressive violence are strongest in relatively prosperous neighborhoods. Although gang-related violence appears to be increasing, there is little evidence to support the theory that gang involvement in the drug trade is responsible for a substantial proportion of homicides. Moreover, some scholars contend that the connections among street gangs, drug sales, and violence have been overstated by media reports, especially during the mid-1980s when gangs became involved in the crack cocaine trade. Gang involvement in violence and homicide is more often turf related than drug related. In one study of 288 gang-motivated homicides, only 8 were drug related. A 1992 study assessing the relationship among gangs, drug sales, and violence concluded that gang-motivated homicides were less likely than other homicides to involve drugs, and drug-motivated homicides were less likely to involve a gang member. Also, victims of gang-motivated homicides were no more likely to have a history of drug arrests than other victims. Despite recent increases in the use of violence by gang members, especially if their organizational viability or their competitive edge in the drug market is challenged, much gang activity is fairly mundane. A study in Ohio found that gang members spent most of their time acting like typical adolescents-- disobeying parents and skipping school. Chapter 4: Gang Graffiti Graffiti can be petty annoyances by juvenile vandals, attempts at artistic expression, or signs that street gangs have moved into the neighborhood. The public has become concerned about graffiti in the last 10 to 15 years for three reasons: the invention of the spray-paint can, enabling taggers to quickly make big, colorful graffiti that are hard to remove; graffiti on buses and subway cars, which move all over a city; and the association of graffiti in citizens' minds with gangs. There is an important distinction between two major categories of contemporary graffiti. Tagger graffiti, or what some people call street art, are personal expressions of the taggers, and they are an end in themselves, not a threat of something else. Gang graffiti, on the other hand, are intended to represent the presence of a gang. They convey a threat of gang violence in the neighborhood. In New York City, subway graffitists came to be known as "taggers" because they signed their work with their chosen nicknames or tags. To the tagger, the important thing was "getting up," that is, putting his or her tag on as many surfaces as possible. While artistic quality and uniqueness were also important, a tagger's reputation rested on sheer volume. Tagging is now occurring all over the United States, and the gap between taggers and gangs is being closed. Taggers often form into groups called "crews" and adopt crew tags. The larger a tagger crew, the more it begins to look and act like a street gang. While street gangs look down on individual taggers with disdain, they are more likely to regard large crews as a threat that must be dealt with. Then the two begin to act like rival street gangs, even though the crew may have started out with less dangerous purposes. When graffiti are thought to be gang graffiti, they create the impression that the unknown graffitists are gang members, suggesting menace and violence. Gang graffiti tell police officers who is in what gang, what gangs are claiming what territories, who is challenging whom, and who is trying to move or expand. Gang graffiti can become dialogue between gangs and eventually a record of gang wars--from initial territorial claims, to challenges to individuals and gangs, to records of individual deaths. Graffiti are the gangs' daily newspaper, printed for all to see. Graffiti are easy and cheap to put up and entail relatively low risk for the gang graffitist, particularly when compared to other forms of gang activity. Even the risk of getting caught is not terribly threatening to the gang graffitist because legal sanctions, if they are imposed at all, are not heavy. All three sides of the gang-problem triangle--offender, victim, and place--are involved in graffiti. Both taggers and gang graffitists are offenders in the gang-problem triangle. Taggers often target particular victims, such as a public transit system. And gang graffitists often target other gangs in their graffiti. Everyone involved relies on "tools"--the instruments offenders use to commit their offenses and the instruments and devices that guardians and managers use to defend themselves and their property. Spray-paint cans on which different cap sizes can be interchanged are the favorite tools of graffiti writers. The broad categories of graffiti sites are fairly obvious: residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, public, and transitional spaces. Residential properties are at greatest risk of becoming targets of graffiti when the residents and surrounding neighborhood have little stake in the property. Commercial and industrial sites most at risk are those that have broad surfaces on which graffitists can write and those distant from other buildings with exterior surfaces visible to passers-by. Public recreational areas have been particularly tempting targets for both taggers and gang graffitists. Problems get very serious when gangs take over public places as their own domain, intimidating and endangering ordinary citizens. Of public spaces, schools are the most likely to have trouble with gang graffiti simply because gang members, like other youth, have a right to be in school as students. Matching problem properties with responsible people is most difficult with open public and transitional spaces--parks, streets, and street corners. Graffiti are often seen on bridges, street and traffic signs, and billboards. The managers of these spaces, employees of the government agencies responsible for maintaining them, are seldom present because maintenance does not require daily attention. It is important for a community to have an anti-graffiti policy, which may fall to the local government, businesses, community residents, or a combination of these stakeholders. A combination approach is most likely to succeed. Graffitists do not invest heavily in their art, preferring to shoplift rather than buy their spray-paint cans. So an effective first step is to encourage stores that sell spray paints to make them difficult to shoplift. Quick removal of graffiti is a standard anti-graffiti recommendation, the underlying idea being that graffitists soon tire of having their work obliterated and give up. Also, removing graffiti shows that the community will not tolerate them. Taggers may regard removal campaigns as a challenge--a game between them and the community--but even taggers ultimately tire of the game. When property owners are cleaning or repairing surfaces that have been hit, they should consider taking steps to make them less vulnerable. Designers of new structures should take their vulnerability to graffiti into account. If they cannot change the surface, perhaps they can alter access to the surface. The essential problem with both criminal and civil approaches is that graffitists are hard to catch. One alternative to sanctioning offenders is sanctioning victims. Some ordinances require graffiti removal within a relatively short period of time, perhaps a few days. Fines are imposed on property owners who fail to clean up their property promptly. The final step of a graffiti policy is assessing the results of the community's responses. The assessment should determine whether graffiti has completely disappeared from the community or at least been so reduced in quantity and offensiveness that the community no longer regards them as a serious problem. Chapter 5: Needs Assessments for Gang Problems A needs assessment is often the first step in planning a comprehensive solution to the "gang problem." It can help uncover hidden problems, set priorities, and (perhaps most important) help develop a communitywide consensus about what to do. Needs assessments provide local policymakers with an alternative, unbiased source of information. This information is vital if policymakers and service providers are to spend their time and money where it will do the most good. The consensus-building role of the needs assessment has proved especially useful in many places. As long as funding for social programs remains scarce, communication, coordination, and cooperation among service providers is necessary to eliminate duplication and to ensure that the people with the greatest needs are served. There are four steps to conducting a needs assessment: laying the groundwork, identifying current activities, identifying and setting priorities, and developing a consensus. In assembling the team to conduct the assessment, responsibility for big decisions must rest with a large, comprehensive group of "movers and shakers" (the advisory board), while responsibility for implementing the assessment stays with a small team (the assessment team). With few exceptions, the assessment team's first step should be to find out whether anyone has ever conducted a youth needs assessment before. Then three questions need to be answered. First, should the assessment focus on primary or secondary prevention? Second, should the assessment focus on all youth problems or only those very closely related to gangs? Finally, should the assessment team consider all neighborhoods in the city or only those in greatest need? It may help to conduct the assessment in stages. For example, a city with limited knowledge and resources but a serious gang violence problem may start by assessing the potential for gang violence in each neighborhood, with the goal of increasing direct law enforcement efforts. Once the police, prosecutor, and probation agencies know where to focus their immediate efforts, the assessment team can turn its attention to primary prevention opportunities. The board should be kept apprised of where the assessment team is at all stages of the process. Letting the advisory board members in on the nuts and bolts will give them ownership of the project and improve the chances that they will accept the results. The next step in conducting a needs assessment is to identify what services are actually being delivered, where, when, to whom, and if possible, with what effect. Assessors also need to know what services cost and who pays for them. It is usually enough to implement what is sometimes called a "snowball sample." That is, the assessors interview knowledgeable members of the advisory board and review readily available documents to get a first-cut list of service providers. Then they interview the directors of these agencies, collecting necessary information and also asking them to name other agencies that provide similar services. Thus the sample increases in size, like a snowball rolling down a hill. In most cases, a survey of youth, parents, service providers, and others is the centerpiece of the needs assessment--and the most important and difficult part. A series of steps is required to complete a needs survey: o Decide what to ask. o Decide whom to survey and how. o Frame the questions. o Pretest the survey draft. o Conduct the survey. o Analyze and report the results. The survey will ask about the social service needs of gang-involved and at-risk youth. Useful results can be obtained from at least four separate groups: at-risk and/or gang-involved youth themselves; their parents; service providers, including guidance counselors, employment trainers, public health nurses, and others; and community leaders, including presidents of neighborhood associations, elected officials, and business leaders. In conducting a survey, the key is getting a representative sample, not merely a large one. The easiest way to ensure a representative sample is to draw a sample at random from throughout the population and to get a high response rate. People rarely turn down interviewers who come to their door--response rates of 80 percent are fairly common. Telephone interviewers typically get lower response rates--60 to 80 percent. Mail surveys usually get the worst response rates, varying from 10 to 70 percent. Unfortunately, mail surveys are much cheaper than telephone surveys, which are much cheaper than personal interviews. Interviewing is almost certainly the best method to use in surveys of community leaders and service providers. For surveys of youth and parents, the safest course of action is to contract with a local university or market research firm to conduct in-person or telephone interviews. If mail surveys are used, rank ordering is usually simple for both assessors and respondents, so it is probably the best method to use. Questions about the importance of various needs should form the bulk of the survey, but other questions may be needed as well. For example, if the team suspects that current gang prevention programs may be ineffective, it may ask service providers and community leaders for their opinions on those programs. Maintaining a high response rate requires watching return rates carefully and issuing follow-up letters or phone calls when needed. The principal results of a needs assessment survey can usually be presented in a few pages of text (perhaps six or eight) that summarizes the most important results and relationships and backs them up with a few simple tables. A second approach to identifying the highest priorities requires collection of social indicators--basic statistics that show the extent of bad outcomes. For example, the police department can supply the number of aggravated assaults in which the victim was under 20 years of age, which in many places is a good measure of gang violence. The school district can measure the number of fights in schools and the dropout rate for each school and grade. The State employment office can supply the youth unemployment rate. These statistics can then be used to track the size of the problem over time and to compare the size of one city's or neighborhood's problem to those in other cities and neighborhoods. Developing a consensus around a set of priorities is vital to the long-term success of gang prevention and reduction efforts. The solution will probably take continuous and concentrated effort over a long period, and a stable vision backed by widespread agreement is critical to success. ---------------------------- Chapter 6: Addressing Gang Problems Through Strategic Planning Communities with emerging or existing gang problems must plan, develop, and implement comprehensive, harm-specific responses that include a broad range of community-based components. No universal strategy works to address all gang problems. The complexity of today's gangs suggests the need for a comprehensive, multifaceted effort that targets the reasons youth join gangs. Such an effort may involve three programmatic approaches: o Develop strategies to discourage gang membership. o Provide avenues for youth to drop out of gangs. o Empower communities to solve problems associated with gangs through collaboration with law enforcement, parents, schools, youth, businesses, religious and social service organizations, local government officials, and other community groups in a comprehensive, systematic approach. Coalitions are dynamic, single-focused learning and task groups that evolve from the common purposes and needs of diverse organizations and individuals. Through commitment, compromise, and careful planning, they may often be capable of effecting great change in their member organizations and in the communities they serve. It is essential to involve the formal leaders--elected officials, appointed leaders, agency heads, and ministers--as well as the informal leaders--people who influence others by their words and actions. Communities should actively involve all community components that have a potential interest in responding to gang problems. When it is effective, strategic planning promotes team building, a sense of ownership, enthusiasm, and an environment that maximizes a coalition's chances for success. It is the process by which an organization's guiding members envision the organization's future and develop the procedures and operations necessary to achieve that future. Strategic planning can help law enforcement, community-based social services agencies, schools, citizens' groups, and other interested community components establish a common mission and common priorities and minimize parochial perspectives in favor of broader goals. The most effective community efforts use successive levels of networking--cooperation, coordination, and collaboration--to achieve the desired goals and objectives. With commitment from all participating organization heads, a strategic planning team should be created that includes representatives of all participating organizations, such as law enforcement, schools, parks and recreation departments, religious organizations, elected officials, and citizens' groups. Additional members of the strategic planning team may include key interested individuals, such as youth who may have valuable information about potential obstacles and ways to overcome them. The coalition's mission statement is the starting point for the strategic plan, from which all other strategic elements flow. The mission statement should include a statement of philosophy (values and beliefs) as well as a purpose on which all members agree. An important question facing the strategic planning team is whether the coalition has the ability to accomplish its mission--to intervene effectively in the community's gang-related problems by developing and implementing a comprehensive, harm-specific response. The organizational assessment should involve obtaining information on critical issues and ranking the coalition's strengths, weaknesses, future opportunities, and threats. After the strategic objectives have been established (with defined target dates) and tested against the critical issues and the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, the planning team should identify ways in which the coalition might achieve these objectives. Action plans for a harm-specific response to local gangs will vary according to the nature of a community's problems, needs, targeted audiences, and finally, the identified strategic objectives. A coalition may select action plans that include particular methods for identifying current and potential gang members, facilitating conflict resolution among gangs, or working toward graffiti abatement. At its implementation phase, the strategic plan is delivered to participating organization heads. It then becomes important for the organization heads to become visibly involved in the plan's implementation, publicly committing to it and demonstrating this commitment by dedicating the necessary resources and designating the appropriate personnel to ensure its success. A well-designed and well-executed communication strategy, targeting both participating organizations and the community at large, can help ensure successful strategic plan implementation. The evaluation step in program development and implementation should not be overlooked. Program planners need to know how well the overall plan is working and how to improve it. The strategic planning team should conduct evaluations of the strategic plan during implementation and make any necessary changes to ensure the objectives are being met and the coalition's mission is being accomplished. Chapter 7: Civil Remedies for Gang-Related Harm Virtually every crime is also a tort--that is, a civil wrong against people, businesses, or the community for which the perpetrator is civilly liable in damages, subject to court injunction, or both. Gang activity is also likely to violate several civil ordinances, and gang members can be held responsible for the harm they create by these violations. Furthermore, civil remedies can reach other people who make it easier for gangs to operate by their failure to comply with local ordinances or commercial regulations. Someone is responsible for every site where gangs inflict harm, because he or she owns it, manages it, lives there, or works there. The keys to clearing up the harm that a problem place presents are to identify (1) the people responsible for the problem, (2) the people responsible for the place, and (3) the pressures that can be brought to bear on those responsible to remedy the problem. The pressures that can be brought to bear (other than criminal prosecution) fall into two general categories: civil suits for nuisance or trespass and civil code enforcement. Civil lawsuits ordinarily seek to collect damages for injuries to the plaintiff or the plaintiff's property, or to prohibit the defendants from engaging in some kind of conduct. Private citizens, including private organizations, and public officials can both file civil lawsuits. An injunctive suit seeks a court order to stop a present harm or prevent future harm. A damage suit seeks money for injuries that have already been inflicted. An injunction is the most powerful of the equity decrees. Violation of an injunction is contempt of court and can be punished by fine or jail or both. If trespassing gang members cause serious damage to property, they are civilly liable. For example, if gang members set fire to a house, they can be sued for damages as well as prosecuted for arson. Gang members may have no assets at the time of their offense, but civil judgments against them can be renewed for long periods of time, as much as 40 years in many States. Whatever they acquire in the future is subject to attachment to pay the judgment. Nuisance is a legal concept that applies to physically damaging neighboring property, reducing its value, or reducing its enjoyment. Nuisance also takes into account the neighborhood's general nature and refers to continuing abuses rather than isolated incidents. Even if an owner and tenants have not themselves committed any specific crimes or offenses, they remain responsible for how their property is used and what happens there. Therefore, legal action can be directed at owners, tenants, or both to compel lawful use of the property, even though they have done nothing illegal. There are both private nuisances and public nuisances. The difference is that the harm that a public nuisance creates does not affect just one or two neighbors; rather, it affects the general public. For example, public nuisances such as prostitution or crack houses have a negative impact on every property in the vicinity. Nuisance statutes, ordinances, and cases usually refer to "nuisance abatement." Abatement essentially means getting rid of the nuisance--doing whatever is required to bring the problem to an end. Abatement orders can impose specific conditions for continuing to operate a property, including establishing a system for screening tenants and installing security systems to keep gang members off a property. Abatement can be an invaluable remedy to gang-related harms. Examples of nuisances subject to abatement include drug trafficking, prostitution, gambling, trafficking in stolen goods, illegal liquor sales, public drunkenness, harassment of passers-by, loud noise, and excessive littering. It is common in residential zones to regulate how many people can live in a residence, at least in terms of a family. When gangs take over a house, they often violate these occupancy limits. Trespass refers to an owner's right to exclusive possession of his or her property and involves coming onto another's property. Ordinarily, trespass must be an intentional rather than a negligent or inadvertent invasion of someone else's property. But there are important exceptions involving street gangs. Conduct that is reckless or extremely dangerous can be a trespass even though the perpetrator did not specifically intend to invade the victim's property. Driveby shootings certainly fall into the category of reckless conduct. There are several civil remedies for trespass: a suit for damages and an injunction or a suit to oust the trespasser. A trespass is not a criminal trespass unless it is a breach of the peace. The trespasser must intend to violate the rights of the landowner, and the trespass must carry with it at least some implicit intimidation or threat of a breach of the peace. While precise wording may vary, criminal trespass statutes usually forbid going on, attempting to go on, or remaining on the property of another without authority or after being forbidden to do so. Notice against trespass can be either written or oral and can be given in several ways, including personal communication, posting signs on the property, or fencing the property. The owner can designate agents, including police officers, to warn trespassers that they are trespassing and ask them to leave. Refusal to leave the premises after notice is a criminal trespass, meaning officers can make an immediate arrest or seek an arrest warrant allowing them to make an arrest later. Scarcely any aspect of living in a modern American city is untouched by the city's regulatory power. This power to regulate business stems from the city's responsibility to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens. Businesses cannot operate in zones where they are not permitted. Beyond the zoning code, there are building, fire, health and sanitation, and business-licensing codes. When gangs occupy or dominate buildings, they often damage them in ways that violate building codes. They may block exits, overload electrical circuits, clog plumbing, or destroy security devices. A fire escape that is down rather than in its retracted position may show that gang members are using it to get in and out of a building. Open windows and smoke coming from a building may show that people are cooking with open fires because there is no gas or electric service in the building. Such activity clearly violates fire codes. Many places of amusement can also become centers of gang activity. In addition to complying with their basic business licenses, sites such as arcades, poolrooms, and dance halls must comply with fire, health and sanitation, and food service codes. Those that serve alcohol must also have liquor or wine and beer licenses and must comply, for example, with minimum drinking-age statutes. Many gang-related problems arise on rental properties, which are usually subject to intensive local regulation. Rental properties that have fallen under the control of gangs are frequently in violation of several code provisions. City authorities can take action against both tenants and owners to remedy the problems. Not even vacant buildings and lots escape regulation. Weeds on lots must be kept trimmed. Lots themselves must be free of litter. City codes also require that unoccupied buildings be secured against unauthorized users and vandals. Neighbors can call on code enforcement to make sure that owners meet these obligations. Why have civil remedies not been put to better use? There are at least three major reasons for this failure: fear of retaliation, difficulty of getting public officials to cooperate, and congestion in the courts. The fear of retaliation in gang-dominated neighborhoods is the greatest obstacle to getting neighborhood cooperation in confronting problems. The first step may be to get the neighbors to unite--to seek safety in numbers. If citizens are afraid to come forth, then public officials should provide means for them to communicate their concerns without exposing themselves to gang retaliation. The best chance of getting swift legal action is to bring matters into the courts of limited jurisdiction (also called small claims courts). Involved parties should look for ways to keep within the jurisdiction of these faster moving courts, which allow the disputing parties to try their cases without lawyers and have simplified procedures and relaxed rules of evidence. Most code violations and less serious criminal offenses come before courts of limited jurisdiction and can be disposed of promptly. Landlord-tenant courts are often special divisions that can also handle cases promptly. Many gang-related problems are essentially landlord-tenant problems that can be taken to those special divisions. Complicated nuisance suits may end up in courts of general jurisdiction, where it may take a long time for them to be resolved. But if plaintiffs are seeking injunctions rather than damages, they can often get their cases expedited because of the irreparable injuries they suffer by delay. Chapter 8: Evaluating Anti-Gang Efforts Evaluations provide invaluable information for decisionmakers, document the program so it may be replicated elsewhere, and enable public agencies to justify program costs. Evaluation steps include: o Specifying goals and objectives related to the reduction of harm associated with gang problems. o Specifying the target population and time during which the program will operate. o Describing the program's activities in detail, directly linking activities with program objectives. o Constructing a logic diagram of the program that represents the cause-and- effect relationships between activities and accomplishments. o Developing comparisons that show whether the program had the intended effects on the target population. o Specifying other factors that might account for changes in the target population. o Designing data collection instruments. o Developing and analyzing comparisons, which is the data analysis portion of the evaluation. o Drawing conclusions. A process evaluation addresses the elements that characterize the operations and functions of a program, such as organizational structure, policies and procedures, human and technical resources, goals and objectives, and activities. Process evaluations enable managers to shape the program and make midcourse corrections if necessary. Process evaluations also link objectives and strategies. A third use is providing helpful information to other communities interested in building on a particular gang initiative in the future. Finally, process evaluations garner support for the program from participants and others in the community. A logic diagram is a valuable tool that traces a program's elements from the goals to the specific activities. By presenting a graphic illustration of a program's logical structure, this diagram aids the evaluation process, helps managers implement and operate the program, and spells out activities. In addition, this exercise points toward potential measures of effectiveness. Data needs will vary with each program's focus, activities, and specific strategies. Process evaluations use both quantitative and qualitative data, with emphasis usually on the latter. Questions that focus on characteristics such as program emphasis and possible barriers to implementation often require a detailed knowledge of the program and its target. This is best accomplished with qualitative data that allow the evaluator to glean program insights. Open-ended interviews are useful tools because they provide flexibility for the respondent to elaborate and for the interviewer to explore. Some types of quantitative data are appropriate for assessing program growth and development. Interim process measures, such as the number of youth reached in programs and the number and type of arrests, tell the evaluator and program staff whether the project's process objectives are being met and whether the program is moving in the intended direction. Evaluation of the effects of a program involves several design issues that decide the scope and focus of the impact evaluation. These issues include causality, the proper unit of analysis, the various levels of effects expected, the selection of appropriate data, the basics of data collection, and quasi-experimental designs. The unit of analysis for an impact evaluation corresponds to the focus of program activities. If the action being taken aims at individual-level change (for example, improving parenting skills of teenage mothers), an impact assessment must focus on the individual level of their parenting behaviors. On the other hand, if the focus of project activity is to reduce fear of gangs among residents in an area, the neighborhood is the proper unit of analysis. As with other aspects of evaluation, decisions about appropriate measures depend on project objectives and activities. One of the most basic issues about any measure is its validity. Data needs depend on the type of change sought by the intervention. Appropriate use of data depends on the nature of the program and interventions. Whatever kind or combination of data is appropriate, it must be collected systematically and uniformly throughout the evaluation. The instruments or protocols needed will vary depending on the design and the kind of data sought. Obviously, the ideal is a well-implemented program with a high level of success. Whatever the outcome, however, a well-conceived evaluation in which the process and impact portions are linked enables evaluators to make an informed assessment. ---------------------------- 1. Understanding Gangs and Gang Problems Chapter 1: Introduction Contemporary gangs--variously known as youth, delinquent, street, or criminal gangs--have become a widespread threat to communities throughout the Nation. Once considered largely an urban phenomenon, gangs have increasingly emerged in smaller communities, presenting a challenge that severely strains local resources. There is a growing wealth of academic literature about the nature of gangs, the scope and type of their activities, their organizational structure, and their leadership (see bibliography in Appendix A). These books and articles provide a valuable starting point for those interested in expanding their understanding of contemporary gangs. A close reading of the literature points to the inevitable conclusion that all gang problems are local in nature. Whether rooted in neighborhoods, representing a rite of passage, providing surrogate families, or providing access to economic opportunity, most gangs are inherently local. Even large-scale gangs with reputed nationwide networks attract local youths and take advantage of local opportunities to carry out gang activities. ---------------------------- All gang problems are local in nature. Local problems require local solutions. ---------------------------- Local problems require local solutions. That is the focus of this monograph. To address the growing concern about gangs, the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) has developed this monograph, Addressing Community Gang Problems: A Practical Guide. It is a useful tool providing guidance for agencies in developing individualized responses to local gang problems. This monograph evolved from a PERF project funded by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) in 1994 involving communities in four cities. Although serious concerns about gang problems permeated each community, PERF found a dearth of programmatic materials designed to offer meaningful guidance to community groups, which often included residents, business owners, municipal government employees, schools, criminal justice personnel, and others. As part of its work with BJA, PERF developed a manual that offers a process to solve gang problems. That manual, entitled Addressing Community Gang Problems: A Model for Problem Solving, a companion to this monograph, has been published by BJA. Community-based organizations, however, often need more indepth guidance on specific issues related to gangs. This monograph provides the reader with a practical foundation for understanding the diverse nature of gangs, the problems they pose and the harms they cause, and the two analytical models for addressing gang-related problems. This monograph includes a brief theoretical overview of key gang issues relevant to community groups and discusses some specific approaches to analyzing and responding to gang problems. It by no means sets forth all the possible responses to gang problems, but it does provide practical guidance--including worksheets and planning documents--to assist community groups. Each chapter can be used separately to address specific community needs. This monograph and the manual, Addressing Community Gang Problems: A Model for Problem Solving, complement a companion document published by BJA entitled Urban Street Gang Enforcement. The Urban Street Gang Enforcement monograph focuses exclusively on enforcement and prosecution strategies to protect against urban street gangs and presents strategies to enhance the prosecution of gang-related crimes. Analytical Models Two analytical models--a problem-solving model and a gang-problem triangle model--are suggested throughout this monograph to help communities understand and develop effective solutions to local gang problems. The two models are briefly discussed here to familiarize the reader with them. ---------------------------- The problem-solving model SARA includes four steps: scanning, analysis, response, and assessment. ---------------------------- The problem-solving model that is applied to gang problems in this monograph is often referred to as SARA, an acronym for the four steps involved in the process--scanning, analysis, response, and assessment. Communities first initiate the problem-solving process by searching for and identifying gang problems--scanning. This involves narrowing the community's view of a general gang problem to a more specific problem, such as gang graffiti, drug sales, or driveby shootings. Each problem necessitates a different response. The second stage of the problem-solving process--analysis--involves investigating the specific gang problem in greater detail. The gang-problem triangle model, described in the next section of this chapter, is useful for analysis. This gang-problem triangle model can help break gang problems into parts to be analyzed more easily. In general, analysis helps a community understand the nature of its gang problem--what form it takes, who is harmed and how, and when the problems occur. Even a common gang problem such as graffiti can be analyzed: When do the graffiti incidents occur? Where do they usually happen? What type of tool is used to apply the graffiti? Only when a community can answer basic questions about the who, how, when, and where of a gang problem is it time to develop a response to the problem. Having identified their gang problems and thoroughly analyzed them, communities can develop specific responses directed to these harms. Typically, community groups hear about an innovative program for addressing gang-related problems and try to implement that program without regard to the unique characteristics of their local gang. This is a natural response although usually not effective. Implementing afterschool activities for 7th through 10th graders, for example, is likely to have little impact on a gang problem in which 12th graders are causing the harm. Communities following the SARA model, however, can conceptually link specific problems with specific local responses. The final stage of the problem-solving process assesses the effectiveness of the response. Assessment can determine whether the problem was eliminated or reduced. Assessment also can be used to change the response, improve the analysis, or even redefine the problem. Assessment means more than deciding that the gang went away. A well-planned assessment may indicate that neighbors are less fearful, the incidence of graffiti is reduced, or driveby shootings have diminished. These reductions of harm are important outcomes that should be thoroughly documented. As referred to previously, the gang-problem triangle model is a method of analyzing or developing a deeper understanding of local gang problems and pointing to fruitful avenues of response. This analytical model stems from the concept of a fire. Three elements are needed for a fire: Fuel (something that will burn), heat (to set the fuel on fire), and oxygen (without which the fuel will not burn). If one of these three elements is missing, the fire will never start. If one element is removed, a burning fire will go out. Part of a firefighter's job is to determine which of the three elements will be easiest to remove. If one thinks about each element as representing a side of a triangle, one can easily visualize that removing a side of the triangle will cause it to collapse. ---------------------------- The gang-problem triangle includes three elements: an offender, a victim, and a place. ---------------------------- Similarly, three elements must be present before gang-related harm can occur: An offender, a victim, and a place. An offender is someone who is motivated to commit an offense, such as painting graffiti or committing a robbery. A victim is a desirable and vulnerable target who must be present for the harm to occur. And, of course, there must be a physical place in which the victim and the offender converge, usually at the same time. If these three elements show up over and over again, removing one of the three elements can break the pattern of offending and prevent future harm. By identifying the elements that are easiest to remove and working to remove them, communities can significantly reduce their gang problems. An important part of the gang-problem triangle is a recognition that there are third parties with responsibilities for each side of the triangle. Controllers are people who try to prevent potential offenders from committing crimes. Guardians are people who try to prevent harm from coming to potential victims. Managers are people who oversee places where harm occurs. Thus, in an incidence of gang graffiti, one could consider parents or teachers as controllers, police as guardians of the victims in areas where graffiti occurs, and building owners as managers of the places where graffiti occurs. Identifying the people responsible for victims, offenders, and places where crime occurs and involving them in the development of crime prevention programs is necessary if communities are to reduce or prevent future gang problems. ---------------------------- Considering the many different types and characteristics of gangs, crafting a universal definition of a gang is both impossible and impractical. ---------------------------- Organization of the Monograph This monograph is organized into three major sections: Understanding Gangs and Gang Problems, Learning About Local Gangs, and Responding to Local Gang Problems. Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 make up Section I, Understanding Gangs and Gang Problems, which provides a basic description of gangs, including their variations, and an omnipresent gang problem, graffiti. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the monograph, describing its development, the two analytical models presented in it, and the organization of the material. Chapter 2 outlines the continuing debate over what defines a gang and how to classify gang-related crimes. Both subjects are integral to determining the scope of gang-related problems and the solutions that are likely to be effective. What exactly is a gang? Are all gangs involved in criminal activity? What is the extent of drug use and sales among gangs? Why do people join gangs? Chapter 2 explores these questions in detail and describes the difficulties in defining the term "gang." Considering the many different types and characteristics of gangs, crafting a universal definition of a gang is both impossible and impractical. This chapter suggests that communities develop a local understanding of their own gangs and develop local strategies and programs to address the problems posed by the particular gangs threatening their neighborhoods. The mass media's sensationalized accounts of driveby shootings and drug- related crime have popularized the notion that gangs are highly organized, involved in sophisticated drug-trafficking networks, and consist only of poor males of color, among other characteristics. Chapter 3 exposes common myths, discussing the relationship among gangs, drugs, and violence. It also describes the range or types of gangs that exist, the varying activities of gangs, their diverse organizational structures and leadership, and their differing involvement in criminal activities, including drug use and sales. Chapter 4 distinguishes between tagger graffiti which are designed as art or self-promotion, and more traditional gang graffiti, which are meant to mark territorial claims and convey violent, threatening messages to rival gang members. Important for understanding and solving the graffiti problem at the community level is identifying the people creating the graffiti, the tools they use, the places where graffiti appears, and the people responsible for these places. This chapter suggests that once these elements are identified, the community-- local government officials, law enforcement officials, business owners, and residents--may take action, such as implementing an antigraffiti policy, reducing the availability of graffiti tools, and developing graffiti-removal campaigns to prevent or reduce the impact of graffiti. Chapters 5 and 6 make up Section II, Learning About Local Gangs, which involves documenting and analyzing local gang activity through comprehensive needs assessments and developing local strategies to address gang problems. How do communities begin to address their gang problems? Who should be involved in the problem-solving process? What problems should be tackled first? Chapter 5 provides a framework for conducting a needs assessment--the first step in planning a comprehensive solution to gang problems. In general, needs assessments provide a complete picture of all community needs and show which needs are being met, which are not, and which are most pressing. In addressing gang problems, needs assessments allow community stakeholders--social service providers, school administrators and teachers, parents, law enforcement officials, neighborhood organizations, and local government officials--to identify problems, set priorities in addressing those problems, and build a communitywide consensus on the appropriate response. As planning instruments in the problem-solving process, needs assessments help communities identify problems and point toward possible solutions. ---------------------------- Parents, youth, church leaders, social service providers, law enforcement officials, teachers, and public officials . . . can be instrumental in addressing local gang problems. ---------------------------- Chapter 6 describes how to develop an effective community coalition, as well as design and implement a strategic plan with specific long-term objectives and clearly defined strategies to solve or prevent gang problems. This chapter illustrates the need for cooperation, coordination, and collaboration among coalition members to overcome potential obstacles, such as resource sharing and turf issues, that may threaten the success of their efforts. Chapters 7 and 8 make up Section III, Responding to Local Gang Problems, which describes some effective responses to gang problems that may have widespread value for antigang efforts, in addition to the process of evaluating local gang programs. Parents, youth, church leaders, social service providers, law enforcement officials, teachers, and public officials are among the many community stakeholders who, together, can be instrumental in addressing local gang problems. Each person or group has a different and valuable perspective on the problems that gangs pose. Traditionally, communities have looked to the law enforcement community to address gang problems. This limited view overlooks other useful tools such as civil suits and civil code enforcement. Chapter 7 focuses on the places where gang problems occur and suggests several civil actions that individual residents and local government agencies may take to address gang problems. Evaluating antigang programs is difficult but necessary to ensure the success of these efforts. Chapter 8 provides tools for local government agencies, community-based organizations, and others to assess their gang prevention and intervention programs. Although seldom used, program evaluation is a useful management tool. It provides information on how effectively resources are used; documents a program's specific objectives, strategies, and outcomes so that the program may be replicated; provides feedback on a program's strengths and weaknesses so that it can be adjusted; and helps to justify the use of scarce resources. This chapter stresses the importance of linking program policies, strategies, and resources (processes) to desired outcomes or effects (impacts). Thus, evaluating program processes by directly relating them to their intended impacts is an effective way to assess program successes. ---------------------------- Chapter 2: Defining the Community's Gang(s) The term "gang" carries with it many meanings and evokes a number of images for people. For some, a gang is a small group of four or five adolescents who loiter on a street corner. For others, the term may identify graffiti artists, drug users, Nazi skinheads, or a group of highly organized youth whose purpose is to make money from drug dealing. A discussion of some of the different characteristics of gangs may contribute to a working definition of gangs. As this paper discusses, diverse perceptions and definitions of gangs present particular challenges to communities as they attempt to deal with gang problems in their neighborhoods. Many experts correctly believe that the success or failure of communitywide attempts to address gang problems is likely to rest, in part, on how the problems are understood and diagnosed. There is also the difficulty of people attributing criminal behavior to gangs instead of the responsible individuals. "Gang related" has become a favored term to describe much of the crime that exists in many neighborhoods. This, like much of the popular understanding of gangs, is a distortion of fact. So how does one define a gang? ---------------------------- Many experts correctly believe that the success or failure of communitywide attempts to address gang problems is likely to rest, in part, on how the problems are understood and diagnosed. ---------------------------- Which Definition To Use? The media, the public, and community agencies use the term "gang" more loosely than the law enforcement community. Through sensationalized media accounts, people have come to equate gangs with highly organized drug distribution networks (Fagan, 1993). While drug use and selling have been a feature of gang life for many years--some gangs are indeed involved in drug trafficking--the perception has arisen that all gangs are highly organized and heavily involved in the drug trade. Gangs indeed are more visible than in the past and gang violence has increased--due, in part, to their involvement in drug trafficking (Huff, 1990b). The image of the driveby shooting has also become a common perception of gang life for many citizens (see, for instance, Sanders, 1994). In sum, the public's definition of a gang describes a group of individuals--mostly inner-city youth--who are highly organized, heavily involved in the drug trade, and very dangerous. Politicians and law enforcement officials tend to rely on legal parameters to define what constitutes a gang. In fact, most of the definitions of youth gangs come from various law enforcement agencies. However, these formal definitions often reflect only high-profile gangs or the ones that present the most pressing problems for police. Thus, from the law enforcement point of view, criminal behavior appears to be a key component of the definition. For example, the Miami Police Department defines a gang as "a group of persons joined together to commit acts of violence or any other anti-social behavior." The Los Angeles Police Department defines a gang as "a group of juveniles and/or adults in a geographic area whose activities include the unlawful use of force, violence, or threats of force and violence to further the group's purpose" (Citizens Crime Commission of Tarrant County, 1991). This is the most common definition used, but it fails to recognize that many gangs do not engage solely in criminal acts, or even highly visible ones. Compounding the definition problem is the inconsistent use of the term "gang related," which is often used to describe the criminal activities of an individual gang member rather than the coordinated activities of the gang itself (Horowitz, 1983). While some definitions of gang-related behavior do, in fact, properly use the term, much of what is labeled as gang-related behavior is really not gang related at all (Maxson and Klein, 1990). Police may classify an incident as gang related simply because the individual involved is a gang member. Maxson and Klein (1990) refer to this as a member-based definition. Other departments may use a motive-based definition, whereby an incident is gang related because the individual gang member acts on the gang's behalf. Experts on gangs also have great difficulty in reaching consensus on what constitutes a gang, partly because youth gangs and delinquent groups have characteristic differences. In the 1950s and 1960s, researchers viewed the delinquent gang and the delinquent group as identical (Spergel, 1990). The tendency to consider youth gangs and delinquent groups as the same continues today, especially when juveniles are studied. However, when older adolescents and young adults are considered, researchers are quick to point out that distinctions need to be made (Spergel, 1990). ---------------------------- [M]uch of what is labeled as gang-related behavior is really not gang related at all. ---------------------------- One way to distinguish between the two is to compare gang behavior with delinquent-group behavior. Research has shown that gang members engage in significantly more criminal behavior than members of delinquent groups; they have higher rates of police contact, more arrests, and more drug-related offenses. Moreover, gang membership tends to inhibit what is known as the "maturational effect." Most youth become less likely to engage in further criminal behavior as they grow older; this is not the case with gang members. According to one estimate (Tracy, 1987), gang membership increases the probability of criminal activity. There is no consensus on a standardized definition of a gang, but there is some agreement on the basic elements. According to Maxson and Klein (1989), there are three criteria for defining a street gang: community recognition of the group, the group's recognition of itself as a distinct group of adolescents or young adults, and the group's involvement in enough illegal activities to get a consistent negative response from law enforcement and neighborhood residents. Even this definition presents problems because it implies a negative relationship between the community and the gang and ignores the possibility that gangs may have a positive relationship with the residents. In fact, Sanchez-Jankowski (1991) found that gangs often have a positive relationship with their local communities and may serve as a local police force. The debate continues and it will not be resolved here. Even the experts on the study of gangs have not arrived at a common definition of gangs in this country. However, a certain level of knowledge about the different types and characteristics of local gangs is necessary before communities can begin to address their gang problems. Gang Diversity To understand the issue of gang diversity, which, in turn, affects how a gang is defined, it is helpful to describe some of the different types of gangs. As mentioned previously, the public's understanding of gangs in the United States has been colored by media accounts of gang activities and gang life. These sensationalized events have led many people to believe that gang membership always involves violence and participation in the drug trade. This is not necessarily the case. There are indeed a number of gangs involved in drug trafficking, which presents a host of problems for some communities. However, there are other types of gangs that may not seriously threaten a community but still may raise issues of public concern. Descriptive categories called typologies help classify and distinguish among the types of gangs. While there are several different typologies of gangs, Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin (1960) provide one of the easiest to understand. ---------------------------- People who see themselves as failures within conventional society . . . may become involved in gang life and crime simply because legitimate means of success are unavailable to them. ---------------------------- The centerpiece of Cloward and Ohlin's theory is the concept of differential opportunity. According to this concept, people in all levels of society share the same success goals; however, those in the lower class have limited means by which to achieve their goals. People who see themselves as failures within conventional society will seek alternative or innovative ways to achieve success. Thus, individuals may become involved in gang life and crime simply because legitimate means of success are unavailable to them. Cloward and Ohlin also see a differential opportunity structure for illegitimate means of achieving success. The significance of this finding is that all opportunities--legal and illegal--are often unavailable to most inner-city youth. Cloward and Ohlin conclude that young people are likely to join one of three types of gangs--criminal, conflict, or retreatist--because of differential opportunity. Criminal gangs are likely to exist in stable low-income areas where there are close relationships between adolescents and adult criminals. In such environments, adolescents are recruited into organizations that serve as training grounds for successful criminal careers. During this apprenticeship, more experienced members of the gang supervise the new members and limit any activities that might jeopardize the gang's profits. Over time, the new members learn the techniques and attitudes of the criminal world and are introduced to the middlemen of the crime business--fences, pawn shop operators, and drug suppliers, for example. ---------------------------- Where criminal opportunities do not exist, many gangs have used violence as a means of gaining social status. ---------------------------- In perhaps one of the most thorough examinations of criminal gangs, Chin (1990) describes the characteristics of Chinese gangs. Chin argues that Chinese gangs are closely associated with and controlled by powerful community organizations and are intertwined with the economic and social structures of their communities. Thus, they are an integral part of community life. Chinese gangs are also influenced to a great extent by Chinese secret societies known as Triads and the norms and values of the Triad subculture. Often, adult criminals in the community serve as role models and mentors for these gang members. The primary activity of Chinese gangs is making money. Members invest a considerable amount of money in legitimate businesses and spend a lot of time negotiating business deals. Thus, these gangs do not experience the deterioration and poverty that other types of gangs experience. Rather, Chinese gangs grow and become economically prosperous by maintaining ties with the economic and political structures of their communities. In other words, there is a cultural component to the success of Chinese gangs--they have a certain legitimacy within the community based on the historical experience of the Triad societies (Chin, 1990). Conflict gangs tend to develop in communities with dilapidated conditions and transient populations. There are no successful adult criminal role models from whom youth can learn criminal skills. Violence is thus used as a means of gaining status. Conflict gangs fight to protect their integrity and honor. By doing so, they gain admiration from their peers, which helps them to develop a positive self-image (Klein, Maxson, and Miller, 1995). Over the years, many conflict gangs have adopted colors to signify membership. The Bloods and the Crips use red and blue, respectively. These gangs, composed primarily of African Americans, tend to be very territorial. Members write their gang name, monikers, names of dead members, or gang slogans on walls, sidewalks, trees or any object in public view. The Bloods and the Crips have recently focused on the drug trade as a means of gaining financial success, although like many African -American and Hispanic gangs, they derive their status primarily from the use of violence (Klein, Maxson, and Miller, 1995; Vigil, 1988). In cases where criminal opportunities do not exist, many gangs have used violence as a means of gaining social status. Retreatist gangs seek success through both legitimate and illegitimate means. Some may have been involved in criminal activities or used violence but have not been accepted as conflict gangs. In addition, these gangs do not possess the skills to be considered criminal gangs. Cloward and Ohlin (1960) refer to this group as double failures. They retreat into a role on the fringe of society that usually involves heavy drug use and withdrawal from social interaction. Vietnamese youth gangs, especially in Southern California, are good examples of retreatist gangs. In reaction to the significant problems they have encountered in becoming assimilated into mainstream American culture, Vietnamese youth have developed a retreatist attitude toward gang life. For example, drug dealing in Vietnamese gangs is perceived as too risky and to be avoided; however, drug use--especially cocaine--is heavy. Vietnamese gang members have adopted a low-profile approach by avoiding conspicuous gang symbols such as tattoos or hand signs. The few symbols and signs used as indicators of gang affiliation are easily concealed. In manner of dress, these gangs attempt to blend into the social landscape to avoid the attention of police. Finally, the structure of Vietnamese gangs tends to be unorganized and fluid. Membership changes constantly, and the rituals and practices of traditional gangs are noticeably absent (Vigil and Yun, 1990). A number of other gangs do not fit neatly into Cloward and Ohlin's typology. For example, some gangs engage in serious criminal activity, but many if not most gangs have few organizational or economic goals. Although these gangs may not pose a serious threat to a community, lesser threats remain. For example, while not engaged in serious delinquency, tagger crews are one of the latest groups to receive classification under the gang label. Tagger crews consist of youth banded together to create graffiti. Crews compete with each other to see who can put up the most graffiti in a given time period or area. In his book Renegade Kids, Suburban Outlaws, Wayne Wooden (1995) describes the dynamics of tagging as well as the motivations behind it. The main reason for tagging, which is a form of vandalism, is to gain respect from fellow artists and, more important, from members of other tagger crews. ---------------------------- The main reason for tagging . . . is to gain respect from fellow artists and, more important, from members of other tagger crews. ---------------------------- Developed as part of the emerging hip-hop culture, tagging has taken on a life of its own. What was once a tool for street gangs to stake out their turf is now considered sport by a growing number of youth. According to police officials, in 1993 there were 422 active crews in the city of Los Angeles and approximately 30,000 taggers in more than 600 crews countywide (Wooden, 1995). To many experts, the popularity of tagging is associated with "gangsta" rap music as well as the emergence of traditional gangs in suburban America. Rather than merely mimicking the vandalism and criminal behavior of urban gang members and taggers, suburban tagger crews are forming to compete with or oppose them. These taggers travel from suburban areas to the inner city, leaving their marks (called pieces) along highways to indicate their presence. As Wooden states, tagging has both passive and aggressive aspects. Tagger crew members are not striking out against a particular person or group, but rather are reacting to the lack of attention from society. Thus, society becomes the object of their frustration. In the early literature on female gangs, female gang members were defined solely in terms of their relations to male gang members. Female gang members were classified as either tomboys or sex objects; the latter seems to have been more popular. In the 1950s, according to one account in New York City, virtually all the female gangs were affiliated with male gangs (Campbell, 1990). Their functions included carrying weapons, acting as spies, and providing sex for male gang members. Twenty years later, Miller (1975) identified three possible roles for female gang members--as independent units, as regular members in what he calls coed gangs, and as female auxiliaries of male gangs. In the past, the identity and social survival of female gangs depended on their affiliation with male gangs. However, current research on female gangs, principally among Hispanic girls, has taken a different turn. Recently, Anne Campbell (1990) has found that many female groups are no longer simply extensions of male gangs. Female gang members manage their own affairs, make their own decisions, and often engage in a system of norms that is similar to that of male gangs, such as sanctioning a member for failing to support another "homegirl" in a fight or failing to identify herself as a gang member. Thus, while some research continues to identify female gangs as extensions of their male counterparts, the evidence is far from conclusive. ---------------------------- Many female groups are no longer simply extensions of male gangs. Female gang members manage their own affairs, make their own decisions, and often engage in a system of norms that is similar to that of male gangs. ---------------------------- Community Concerns: What To Do? The problems of diversity and the changing definitions of gangs present a host of difficulties for community leaders. Communities can begin to develop strategies and programs to address their specific gang problems by analyzing how local law enforcement officials define a gang and by analyzing the types of gangs affecting their neighborhoods. There are a number of things to look for. First, communities must recognize that the ways in which gangs are defined will, to a large degree, determine the extent of the gang problem in a neighborhood. Moreover, even when one definition is used, such as the law enforcement definition, this too varies from one jurisdiction to another. It is thus important for community leaders to determine how their law enforcement community defines a gang. Another problem that communities should consider is the tendency to assign responsibility to an entire gang for the activities of one gang member. As mentioned previously, individual gang members often engage in activities that are not connected to the gang as a whole. Thus, many activities labeled "gang related" may not, in fact, be gang related at all. As community leaders struggle to understand these definitional problems, they must also recognize the wide diversity that exists among gangs. It is important to understand the age and ethnic distribution of the community's population, as well as its social and economic structures. These community characteristics may help to assess the likelihood of gang activity and to identify the types of gangs that may emerge in the community. Once a gang has been identified, it is important to characterize it accurately. As was mentioned, not all gangs are the same and not all gangs are involved in the same types of activities. Communities must clearly understand the nature of their gangs and the problems associated with them before undertaking any strategies or programs. It is also important that communities determine if economic and recreational opportunities are already available to their youth. In addition, communities should determine whether they have numerous gangs nearby, for competition between gangs could easily escalate into a gang war. Finally, being able to identify and recognize gang graffiti and symbols may help provide insight about future gang activity. This is especially true if a gang identifies a particular area as its turf. The task of defining and identifying a gang is not easy. As the following chapters indicate, the problems posed by gangs will not be solved quickly or easily. The lack of a clear understanding of gangs is likely to continue to frustrate communities as they attempt to find solutions to their gang problems. ---------------------------- Chapter 3: Gang Involvement in Drugs and Violence Urban gangs are one of the most pervasive problems confronting society. America has become a society almost preoccupied with gangs--especially their relationship to drugs and violence. While it is true that violence among gang members has escalated and involvement in drugs has been a feature of gang life for many years, gangs are now increasingly and almost exclusively blamed for the drug and violence problems of the last decade (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1989). This is partly because gangs have grown in number and diversity across the Nation, affecting both large cities and smaller communities. The problem has gone beyond the inner cities to small-town America. ---------------------------- Gangs are now increasingly and almost exclusively blamed for the drug and violence problems of the last decade. ---------------------------- As with many social problems, Americans have increasingly looked to the legal system for solutions (McNamara, 1995). In the absence of effective informal means of controlling behavior such as family or community rules of behavior, society has become dependent on the use of formal social control--the criminal justice system (Spergel and Curry, 1990). This has been the primary approach to the emergence of gangs. However, while legal remedies may help to ease fears about gang violence and drug-related crime, one social institution cannot be exclusively relied on to perform the work of many. The criminal justice system struggles to fulfill its responsibilities. As a result, the problems caused by gangs require not only a better understanding of the problem--a goal researchers have been hard pressed to achieve--but also reestablishment of informal social controls at the community level. Many sociologists suggest that the only way to solve social problems is by enhancing the sense of community shared by its members. As the number of people who feel they have a responsibility to other community members increases, individuals are more likely to put the community's needs ahead of their own. Through community involvement, effective solutions to shared problems are likely to emerge. This is clearly the case with gangs--the most effective solutions must come from within the community itself. These solutions can only come, however, after a clear understanding of the nature of the gang problem. This chapter explores the relationship among gangs, drugs, and violence and attempts to show that this interplay of factors is anything but clear. An understanding of the gang problem is clouded not only by the variations in gang characteristics but also by the quality of information communities receive about gangs. The Media's Social Distortion of Gangs Are there links among gangs, drugs, and violence? On the surface, this may seem to be a simple question with an easily attainable answer. However, an understanding of the nature of the problem as well as its possible solutions may be distorted by the type of information available on these subjects. While some misinformation may stem from a community's denial of a gang problem--a situation found in many police departments (Huff, 1988a, 1988b, 1989; Hagedorn and Macon, 1988)--the media's distortion of gang-related information also plays a role. During various times in American history, particularly the 1970s and 1980s, gangs received considerable media attention. The media became the public's primary source of information about gangs. Moreover, in movies, television, radio, newspapers, and even documentaries, the image created about gangs was consistent--they were heavily involved in the drug trade and exceptionally prone to violence. ---------------------------- Society has a paradoxical relationship with crime: Americans are terrified of being victimized by crime but at the same time fascinated with crime stories. ---------------------------- There are two primary reasons for this characterization. First, gangs and the media both benefit from exaggerated portrayals of gangs and gang life. The news media, in all forms, are in business to make a profit. As such, the more exciting or dramatic the story, the more likely it is to capture the public's interest. Society has a paradoxical relationship with crime: Americans are terrified of being victimized by crime but at the same time fascinated with crime stories. The media attempt to increase their profits by providing the public with sensationalized stories that relate to crime and violence. Increasingly, the media achieve this goal by attributing these events to gangs. Gangs also benefit from this situation. For many gang members, gaining a reputation of being tough and savvy allows them to move up their social hierarchy. As the media continue to portray gangs in this negative light, they actually enhance gang members' standing in their own communities. The more a media story focuses on gang violence, the more it serves the gang's interest. The second problem is one of access. The media have a limited amount of time and space in which to "tell the tale" (Van Maneen, 1988), and very often the information they receive is either limited or reinterpreted by the reporter to fit the story's framework. Thus, in those cases where the details of a particular crime are unknown, it is common for reporters to recast the description and broadly categorize the crime as gang-related (Sanchez-Jankowski, 1991; Conklin, 1992; Spergel and Curry, 1990). In addition, reporters, especially those wishing to spend an extended amount of time with gang members (for example, for documentaries), often have difficulty gaining access to gangs. The most common methods reporters use to learn about gangs are reading other media accounts and interviewing gang members. However, these methods suffer from several limitations, including the truth and accuracy of gang members' responses. These problems also plague social science researchers. The difference, however, is that reporters usually interview gang members only once, while researchers often spend months--sometimes years--learning about the lives of gang members. Thus, for a number of reasons, the information obtained from the media on gangs is distorted to the point that the public believes gangs are extremely violent, are involved in drug trafficking, are highly organized, and are a pervasive part of the social landscape. This distorted view of gangs influences not only an understanding of the problem, but also has an impact on social policy. ---------------------------- It is not necessarily race that explains gang life, for gang members usually come from socially and economically disadvantaged communities. ---------------------------- Another distortion the media portray about gangs relates to their ethnic and racial composition. Gangs are not exclusively a minority phenomenon. Although poor nonwhite communities have produced the largest number of gangs, lower class white communities have had gangs in the past and continue to produce them. It is not necessarily race that explains gang life, for gang members usually come from socially and economically disadvantaged communities. Thus, many of the media's portrayals of gangs do little more than perpetuate existing myths that contribute to the gang problem in this country. Historical examination of gangs shows that no exclusive pattern characterizes gangs or gang life. Historical Overview of Gangs Concentrations of gang research have occurred at three fairly distinct times in this century. The earliest studies were part of an effort by University of Chicago researchers to study the effects of social disorganization in rapidly growing urban areas (Thrasher, 1927; Shaw, 1930; Shaw and McKay, 1942). The most influential study of gangs in the early part of this century was Thrasher's The Gang, published in 1927. Thrasher identified 1,313 different gangs in Chicago and provided the foundation for generations of researchers concerned with the gang phenomenon. Thrasher's study was the first truly sociological analysis that did more than simply describe the gang problem. He addressed some of the social-psychological issues that prompt individuals to join gangs, such as the quest for adventure. Thrasher also looked at how gangs are organized, how leaders emerge, and how authorities respond to gangs. Similarly, Shaw and McKay (1942) argued that the homes of the poorest and most recent immigrants often had high rates of street crime and delinquency due to the breakdown of their capacity for social control. Social disorganization theorists argued that the concentration of crime and disorder in certain areas of the city was due to the breakdown of social relationships to the point where a community's coordination, teamwork, morale, and social control were impaired. Thus, for this first wave of studies, the explanation of gangs focused on the lack of stable social structures in certain parts of the city. The second wave of studies began in the mid-1950s and lasted for approximately 10 years. This group of studies focused on community subcultures. Albert Cohen (1955) argued that delinquent gangs are primarily a lower class, male phenomenon. Lower class boys have the same aspirations as middle-class ones; the problem is that their legitimate opportunities to succeed are often severely restricted. Cohen argued that lower class boys create a subculture--a gang--in reaction to their environment. In contrast, Walter Miller (1958) held that there is no need to create a delinquent subculture because lower class culture itself includes a set of characteristics, such as toughness, smartness, trouble, and excitement, that accounts for higher rates of delinquency and gang life. Thus, delinquency was explained as a natural reaction to living up to the expectations found in a distinct lower class culture. ---------------------------- Gangs serve as substitute families and provide a sense of belonging in addition to offering a ladder of social mobility for some gang members. ---------------------------- Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin (1960) contended that not only are legitimate avenues for success blocked for some individuals, but illegitimate ones are as well. Their typology of subcultures--criminal, conflict, and retreatist--has been an important tool for identifying the types of activities in which an individual may engage. Recent research on gangs also identifies three types--hedonistic, drug-oriented gangs; instrumental, theft-oriented gangs; and predatory, violent gangs--that correspond remarkably well to Cloward and Ohlin's typology (see for instance, Huff, 1989). Both the early and mid-20th-century studies, in one way or another, attributed gangs and their associated problems to elements in the social structure--either the social environment of the city or the opportunities associated with being a member of a particular social class. In many ways, the research on gangs from the 1980s to the present--the third wave--resembles the gang research of the 1920s. As in previous eras, there is a tendency to associate gangs and violence with urban poverty and to characterize gang life as a source of social identity in the face of impoverished living conditions. What has occurred, however, is that the social and economic opportunities and living conditions of some groups have not improved or have become worse. As a result, in many cases, gang life appears to have taken on much more severe or dramatic consequences. Short (1990a), for example, has argued that members are involved in gangs for longer periods of time and are beginning their affiliation with gangs at a younger age and extending it into early adulthood. He also believes that gangs have become increasingly entrenched in economically depressed communities. Hagedorn and Macon (1988) found similar patterns in Milwaukee, and Fagan (1990) argues that gang membership may now be motivated more by the pursuit of profit than by the cultural or territorial reasons used in earlier decades. Fagan also notes that gang members tend to be more violent than in previous decades. In the absence of stable family and community structures, gangs still serve as substitute families and provide a sense of belonging in addition to offering a ladder of social mobility (Bell, 1953) for some gang members. In sum, the study of gangs in this country reveals a wide variety of reasons why members become involved in gangs, as well as the benefits of gang membership. If policymakers, community leaders, and police officials are to design and implement effective strategies to control gang activity, they must understand the diversity of gangs in terms of their characteristics as well as the numerous functions they serve for members. This recognition of diversity also helps to organize the links among gangs, drugs, and violence. Types of Gangs Building on Cloward and Ohlin's (1960) typology discussed in the previous chapter, Taylor (1990) groups gang characteristics into three categories-- corporate, territorial, and scavenger. Corporate gangs focus their attention on making money. There is a clearly defined division of labor, and the criminal activities gang members engage in are committed almost exclusively for profit. Territorial gangs focus on possession of turf, and gang members are quick to use violence to secure or protect what belongs to the gang. While there is some level of organization in these gangs--clearly defined leaders and particular objectives and goals of the gang--it is less refined than in corporate gangs. Finally, scavenger gangs have very little organizational structure, and gang members are motivated by a need to belong to a group. The crimes that gang members of this category perform are usually impulsive and often senseless. There are no objectives or goals for the gang, and the gang members tend to be low achievers who are prone to violent and erratic behavior. ---------------------------- In some gangs, using drugs is an important means of gaining social status. In others, drug use is forbidden, especially if the gang is involved in selling them. ---------------------------- It is impossible to describe every characteristic of every gang. Thus, making general statements about the violent nature of gangs and their involvement in drug trafficking is difficult. The remainder of this chapter investigates the complex relationships among gangs, drugs, and violence as they relate to a variety of gang characteristics. Gangs and Drugs Drug Use Most researchers agree that drug use, drug selling, and crime, especially by youth, are strongly related. However, it is difficult to automatically associate these activities with gangs because gangs have diverse characteristics and behaviors (Fagan, 1989). Although gang members are more involved in drug use, drug dealing, and criminal activity than other youth (Fagan, 1989), gang membership does not necessarily lead to involvement in any of those activities. In some gangs, using drugs is an important means of gaining social status. In others, drug use is forbidden, especially if the gang is involved in selling them. Chinese gangs, for example, have strict rules regarding drug use (Chin, 1990). In other gangs, members are discouraged, but not prohibited, from using drugs (Cooper, 1987). In still other cases, gangs forbid the use of the drug they sell but tolerate the use of other drugs (Mieczkowski, 1986). Finally, some gangs use drugs but do not deal in them at all. For example, Vietnamese gangs use drugs but avoid dealing since it is considered too risky and will attract attention (Vigil and Yun, 1990). Drug Selling Considering the recent economic decline occurring in many cities, the underground economy has begun to play an even more important role in low-income communities. It seems likely that youth in these neighborhoods have become involved in drug dealing (Skogan, 1990). It also seems likely that gangs, which in many cases have formed in response to these conditions, have organized themselves around money-making opportunities. However, the research is mixed. In some cases, gangs have become highly organized around drug selling. For example, Skolnick (1990) makes a distinction among instrumental, entrepreneurial, and cultural gangs. This distinction is based on the degree to which gangs are organized around the drug business. Based on interviews with 100 young drug dealers and 100 law enforcement officers in California, Skolnick concludes that gangs, especially entrepreneurial gangs, dominate the drug trade in Northern California. Other research suggests that while individual gang members may sell drugs, it is not necessarily a function of the gang as a whole (Waldorf and Lauderback, 1993; Quicker, Galeai, and Batani-Khalfani, 1991; Decker and Van Winkle, 1994; Hagedorn, 1994; Fagan, 1989). In sum, whether one is examining drug use or drug selling, the relationship between gangs and drugs has not been clearly defined or understood. A number of gangs are involved in using and selling drugs, while others are involved in selling but prohibit use by gang members. Other gangs are highly organized--almost corporate--in their organizational characteristics, while others are fragmented, with individual members involved in drug dealing, but acting independently of the gang. And still other gangs and gang members are heavily involved in using drugs, but do not sell them. ---------------------------- The research community has found little evidence of a relationship between drug use in general and violent behavior. ---------------------------- Drugs and Violence There are essentially three ways to describe the relationship between drugs and violence (Collins, 1990). First, the physical and psychological effects of use of certain drugs can result in violent responses. This is especially true of crack cocaine, where the user often experiences a sense of paranoia that leads to violent outbursts (Goode, 1989; Lee, 1981). PCP is also known to cause extremely violent behavior. However, the research community has found little evidence of a relationship between drug use in general and violent behavior. Recent research indicates that drug users typically report that their drug use has no relation to violence (Collins, Powers, and Craddock, 1989). Second, the most common association between drug use and violence involves users committing crimes to support their habits. This can lead to instances of violent crime, such as street robberies. Available research supports this explanation (see for instance, Johnson et al., 1985; Chaiken and Chaiken, 1982; Inciardi, 1981). Finally, systemic violence, the type of violence most commonly associated with gangs, is a function of the illegal sale and distribution of drugs. Examples include territorial issues relating to a gang's share of the illegal drug market or, more simply, a transaction between seller and buyer in which a dispute occurs (Skogan, 1989; Little, 1995). This is the type of gang violence on which the media focus their attention, perhaps because it extends beyond the participants in the drug trade, invades a neighborhood's sense of community, and poses a risk to innocent bystanders. However, systemic violence has a number of protective advantages for individual gang members. Through violence, a gang can control competitors and expand markets (see for instance, Moore, 1990; Fagan, 1993; Goldstein, 1985). ---------------------------- The type of violence most commonly associated with gangs is a function of the illegal sale and distribution of drugs. ---------------------------- Gangs and Violence Of all the characteristics associated with gangs, perhaps none is more important to the general public than violence. As was mentioned, gang-related violence evokes great fear in the public; however, it is not well understood. As with the relationship between drugs and gangs, a clear understanding has not yet emerged concerning the relationship between violence and gangs. Perhaps the best symbol of the growing problem of gang-related violence is the driveby shooting. In fact, given their notoriety in the media, driveby shootings have become synonymous with gang violence. In his book, Gangbangs and Drivebys, William Sanders (1994) describes the essential features of driveby shootings. He contends that drivebys are basically retaliatory measures against an offending gang and that the value of participating in drivebys is grounded in the need for gang members to maintain and enhance their reputations. There is also an economic side to Sanders' explanation. He contends that as the involvement in the drug trade expanded for a number of gangs, turf wars escalated. While the battle for turf has always been a common feature of intergang behavior, drug markets have exacerbated the problem. In general, research on the causes of gang violence has focused on two factors--the influence of gang leaders on members and gang members' lack of social status. One body of research argues that gangs become involved in violence as a result of gang leaders who are psychologically impaired. Their need for violence translates into group violence by virtue of their leadership position. Many observers who subscribe to this theory attribute the problem to the pathology of drugs, especially drugs that induce violent and psychotic behavior. A second body of research most often cites a lack of social status as the primary cause of gang member violence. This research concludes that most gang members feel they have been deprived by society or their own community of the status they are due. The use of violence by gang members reintroduces or enhances their status. This school of thought is based on the idea that violence emerges in low-income communities where it is a natural byproduct of social life. Violence becomes the means by which physical and social goals are achieved. As Sanchez-Jankowski (1991) argues, "violence is the currency of life and becomes the currency of the economy of the gang." ---------------------------- Some researchers conclude that most gang members feel they have been deprived by society or their own community of the status they are due. The use of violence by gang members reintroduces or enhances their status. ---------------------------- There is also a tendency to view gang-related violence as intertwined with a gang's efforts to achieve its goals, such as when an organized gang involved in drug dealing punishes a noncompliant customer. However, evidence supports the idea that much of what we refer to as gang violence is actually committed by individual gang members who do not undertake this activity to further the gang's objectives (Kornhauser, 1978; Sanchez-Jankowski, 1991). The best possible explanation of the relationship between gangs and violence is that it depends primarily on how the gang is organized. Many studies of gangs have found that there are different types of gangs--some are organized to fight while others are organized to make money--and that the level of violence associated with each gang is dependent on its type. For example, using a variety of data collection techniques, Block and Block (1993) collected information from police records of lethal and nonlethal street-gang-motivated crimes, examined temporal and spatial patterns of those crimes, and described the criminal activities of Chicago's four largest street gangs over a 3-year period. In this study, Block and Block make a distinction between instrumental and expressive violence. They argue that the dynamics of violence depend on the degree and type of the offender's motivation. In an expressive violent confrontation, the primary goal of violence is injury, while other motives are secondary. The primary purpose of instrumental violence is not to hurt, injure, or kill but to acquire money or property. According to the Blocks, gang-motivated violence often contains many expressive aspects, such as defense of one's street reputation, membership in a particular gang, and defense of gang territory. However, some gangs engage in instrumental violence involving possession or sale of drugs. One of the most important findings from the Blocks' study is that gang involvement in violence and homicide is more often turf related than drug related. Only 8 of 288 gang-motivated homicides analyzed in this study were drug related. Moreover, certain types of crimes were clustered in specific neighborhoods. Gangs specializing in instrumental violence were strongest in disrupted and declining neighborhoods. Gangs involved in expressive violence were strongest in relatively prosperous neighborhoods. The value of this study is to show that gang-motivated crime is not random. It occurs in specific neighborhoods and during particular time periods. Some gangs spend a great deal of their time expanding and defending their turf, while others are actively involved in the drug trade. The authors point out that to understand and solve gang-related violence, one must understand the problem in light of the chronic conditions that exist in neighborhoods where gang violence occurs. Another important variable in understanding the extent of gang violence is the direction of gangs' organizational structures--vertical/hierarchical or horizontal. Gangs with a vertical/hierarchical organizational structure are likely to indulge in group rather than individual violence; however, these gangs generally avoid using violence at all. This type of gang tends to focus on making money, which typically overrides individualistic acts of violence. In addition, these gangs are able to exert greater control over their members. For example, Chinese gangs are likely to use violence, but only in carefully prescribed instances. Chinese gangs are also able to exert control over individual gang members, which reduces the probability of attracting the attention of law enforcement (Chin, 1990). ---------------------------- Gangs with a vertical/hierarchical organizational structure . . . tend to focus on making money, which typically overrides individualistic acts of violence. ---------------------------- In contrast, gangs that have a horizontal structure tend to have less control over their members. While some of these gangs may include cliques or subgroups that can be very organized and able to control their members, the gang as a whole is a loose collection of factions with limited organizational coordination. While the organizational characteristics of gangs help to explain the incidence and prevalence of gang violence--with money-making opportunities acting as an intervening variable--there are some exceptions. For instance, Jamaican Posses are highly organized in their drug-trafficking operations, but their use of violence is partly due to cultural factors. While the evidence on this inverse effect is scant, it is something to consider when discussing the explanations of gang violence. Although it seems that gangs are less likely to engage in widespread violence as their level of organization increases, this conclusion should be used with caution. This is not to suggest that some gang members shun violence. Violence is common and frequently lethal in gang life. Conflicts can arise from intragang authority struggles, intergang quarrels over turf (sometimes related to drug markets), and perceived threats to a gang's reputation and honor. What is especially disturbing in this regard is the increased firepower of heavy automatic weapons, which makes outbursts of violence more deadly. The Relationships Among Gangs, Drugs, and Violence Research on the relationships among gangs, drug trafficking, and violence is inconclusive. On one hand, it appears that gang-related violence is increasing. For instance, in 1993 gang members were involved--as suspects or victims--in about one-third of all homicides in Los Angeles County (Maxson, 1995). Moreover, between 1980 and 1989 the homicide rate in Los Angeles was more than double the rate for the State of California (Meehan and O'Carroll, 1992). A prevalent theme in this city during the late 1980s was that a substantial proportion of the growing number of homicides was attributable to increasing gang involvement in both drug dealing and drug use. For example, Skolnick et al. (1989) found that street drug dealing in California was dominated by African-American gangs organized specifically for the purpose of distributing cocaine. This theory about the relationship between violence and drugs had broad appeal and was accepted in the media as well as in official reports (California Council on Criminal Justice, 1989). In contrast, Meehan and O'Carroll (1992) suggested that it is possible that violence relating to territory or turf is of a different type than violence associated with drug dealing. Despite its popularity, there is little evidence to support the theory that gang involvement in the drug trade is responsible for a substantial proportion of homicides (Klein and Maxson, 1989; Meehan and O'Carroll, 1992). Moreover, some scholars contend that the connections among street gangs, drug sales, and violence have been overstated by media reports, especially during the mid-1980s when gangs became involved in the crack cocaine trade (Maxson, 1995). This perception of a close relationship among gangs, drug sales, and homicides has been challenged by a number of recent studies. For instance, in an elaborate study that drew from several different databases, Meehan and O'Carroll (1992) assessed the relationship among gangs, drug sales, and violence. They concluded that gang-motivated homicides were less likely than other homicides to involve drugs and drug-motivated homicides were less likely to involve a gang member. Finally, victims of gang-motivated homicides were no more likely to have a history of drug arrests than other victims. In sum, they conclude that gang conflicts that result in homicides are often independent of either involvement in the drug trade or the use of drugs. ---------------------------- Gang-motivated homicides were less likely than other homicides to involve drugs and drug-motivated homicides were less likely to involve a gang-member. ---------------------------- Despite recent increases in the use of violence by gang members, especially if their organizational viability or their competitive edge in the drug market is challenged (Fagan and Chin, 1990), gang life may not be as dangerous as it appears to be. In fact, many researchers have found that much gang activity is fairly mundane. In Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, Huff (1989) found that gang members spent most of their time acting like typical adolescents (for example, disobeying parents and skipping school). Similarly, Sullivan's (1989) study of Brooklyn gangs revealed that gang members derived a sense of satisfaction by engaging in relatively minor acts that were perceived as taking advantage of a system that they felt was stacked against them. Consequently, despite the fact that there is a greater prevalence of individual gang violence, especially in gangs that have a horizontal organization, much of what passes for gang-related violence is not gang related at all. This does not suggest that gang violence is random, unrestrained, or even confined to certain groups. What it does suggest, however, is that the relationship between gangs and violence is complex and has yet to be completely understood. In summary, what most gang members find attractive about violence is the things it sometimes can secure for them. Violence is the vehicle by which objectives can be achieved when other alternatives are unavailable. Gang violence, like drug use, varies considerably among gangs. ---------------------------- Gangs that are able to secure lucrative illegal ventures seem to be less likely to engage in violence. ---------------------------- One characteristic that helps to explain gang violence is the level of organization a particular gang possesses. This, in turn, is based on the money-making ventures in which the gang is involved. Gangs that are able to secure lucrative illegal ventures seem to be less likely to engage in violence. Thus, the type of gang that emerges or moves into a community depends, in large part, on the availability of legal and illegal economic opportunities within it. The availability of illegal opportunities is an important factor. As Cloward and Ohlin (1960) pointed out several decades ago--a conclusion still relevant today--in highly organized communities with many illegal opportunities, entrepreneurial gangs may emerge (Taylor, 1990). In disorganized communities where there are few illegal opportunities and criminal role models to regulate illegal behavior, "fighting" gangs--highly competitive and violent drug-selling organizations--may emerge. Finally, in areas where gang members have failed to succeed in the legitimate market as well as the illegitimate one, retreatist gangs may emerge (Cloward and Ohlin, 1960). These gangs rarely engage in violence and are perhaps the least harmful to a community since their activities pose little threat to the social order of a neighborhood. Community Responses to the Problem Review of the literature on gangs essentially leads to two important conclusions--gang activities vary widely and are tied to the characteristics of the particular gang's community, and the catalysts for dangerous and illegal gang activities are found in the deteriorating economic conditions of our inner cities. With respect to the first point, it seems clear that traditional interdiction efforts have had only limited effects on the problem. As such, communities must actively develop less coercive intervention techniques that will complement more traditional law enforcement approaches. It is also important to distinguish between hardcore gang leaders who are involved in the most serious forms of criminal behavior and peripheral gang members. Hardcore leaders should be the focus of the criminal justice system, while peripheral members may benefit from community or diversion efforts. As the research clearly indicates, the solutions to gang-related problems are inextricably woven into recent changes in the economic structure of American society. Deindustrialization (due largely to technological advances), competition in the global economy, and the relocation of industry have led to the decline of numerous jobs for many unskilled or semiskilled workers. This is especially true for teenagers in inner cities, whose unemployment rates are much higher than the national average. Thus, our early understanding of gangs as caused by social and economic constraints continues to provide a compelling explanation. As Huff (1989) has argued: Youth gangs are symptomatic of many of the same social and economic problems as adult crime, mental illness, drug abuse, alcoholism, the surge in homelessness, and multi-generation "welfare families" living in hopelessness and despair. While we are justly concerned with replacement of our physical infrastructure (roads, bridges, sewers) our human infrastructure may be crumbling as well. Our social, educational, and economic infrastructures are not meeting the needs of many children and adults. Increases in the numbers of women and children living in poverty (the "feminization" and "juvenilization" of poverty) are dramatic examples of this recent transformation. To compete with the seductive lure of drug profits and the grinding despair of poverty, we must reassess our priorities and reaffirm the importance of our neighborhoods by putting in place a number of programs that offer hope, education, job skills, and meaningful lives. It is worth the cost of rebuilding our human infrastructures since it is, after all, our children whose lives are being wasted and our cities in which the quality of life is being threatened. ---------------------------- To compete with the seductive lure of drug profits and the grinding despair of poverty, we must . . . reaffirm the importance of our neighborhoods by putting in place programs that offer hope, education, job skills, and meaningful lives. ---------------------------- Researchers have examined the effectiveness of intervention programs and have pinpointed four common strategies. The first intervention involves organizing neighborhoods in a way that leads to the reduction in the number of gangs in a particular community. The second targets the problems identified by Huff (1989, 1990a) by creating jobs, training, and other opportunities to lure people away from gang life. The third strategy--arresting and incarcerating gang members--is the most common response to gangs. The fourth strategy is a comprehensive approach that involves various local agencies in the development of community-based approaches to solving the gang problem. This approach also includes media campaigns targeted to potential gang members (Spergel and Curry, 1990; Spergel et al., 1994). ---------------------------- Chapter 4: Gang Graffiti In the Book of Daniel, King Belshazzar was terrified when fingers of a hand mysteriously appeared and wrote four strange words on his palace wall. He became even more frightened when his seers could no