IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT DIFFERING SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL ORIENTATIONS TOWARD A GANG WILL PRODUCE DIFFERING PERCEPTIONS, IF PERCEPTIONS OF A GANG ARE AFFECTED BY SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS. TO TEST THIS GENERAL HYPOTHESIS, DATA FROM RELEVANT SEGMENTS OF THE COMMUNITY WERE COLLECTED, INCLUDING HOME OWNERS, THE POLICE, SOCIAL WORKERS, PROPRIETORS OF BUSINESS, INDIVIDUALS PROVIDING SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY, AND MOTHERS OF GANG MEMBERS. A QUESTIONNAIRE, AN INTERVIEW GUIDE, AND DATA RECORDING MATERIALS WERE EMPLOYED TO COLLECT DATA ON THE GANG AND COMMUNITY REACTIONS. THE GANG CHOSEN FOR STUDY WAS ONE THAT HAD ACHIEVED CONSIDERABLE NOTORIETY THROUGH MEDIA COVERAGE IN VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA. CONSIDERATION WAS GIVEN TO GANG MORPHOLOGY AND TO GANG MORALS AND BEHAVIOR. PERCEPTIONS OF DELINQUENTS VARIED AS A FUNCTION OF SOCIAL ORIENTATION AND PROXIMITY TO THE GANG. BOTH SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL PROXIMITY TO THE GANG PROVED TO BE SIGNIFICANT FACTORS IN HOW IT WAS PERCEIVED. CONTRARY TO THE 'MEDIA PHENOMENON' HYPOTHESIS, PERCEPTIONS OF THE GANG WERE MOST NEGATIVE ON THE PART OF PERSONS CLOSEST TO IT. FAMILY BACKGROUND FACTORS WERE SIGNIFICANT IN THE CREATION OF THE GANG. ALL MOTHERS INTERVIEWED WERE SINGLE PARENTS AND WERE QUITE YOUNG. ECOLOGICAL FACTORS SUCH AS AVAILABILITY OF RECREATION DID NOT SEEM TO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE CREATION OF THE GANG PHENOMENON. A CRITICAL FACTOR RELATED TO CRIMINOGENIC PSYCHOLOGY WAS THE SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF YOUTH IN A COMMON SITUATION WHO HAD A LOT OF UNSUPERVISED TIME TO FILL, THUS CREATING BOREDOM IN THE ABSENCE OF A POSITIVE NORM FOR BEHAVIOR. PROVIDING FOR THE HETEROGENEITY OF THE FAMILY STRUCTURE IN HIGH-DENSITY LOW-COST NEIGHBORHOODS MAY PROVE TO BE AN EARLY INTERVENTION TECHNIQUE WORTHY OF FURTHER CONSIDERATION IN DEALING WITH THE GANG PHENOMENON. REFERENCES AND NOTES ARE INCLUDED. (DEP)