Officer Paco Domingo is not an ideal "gang cop," since many of his views vary with much of what is known about gangs from academic research. He is a "real" cop in the sense that his views and actions are based on actual incidents and actual court testimony with which the author is familiar through his research. The intent of this format is to help the reader understand street gangs through the eyes of a zealous gang cop as well as through research findings. The author injects himself into the story in his real-life role as a gang researcher and consultant who challenges Domingo's flawed and sometimes corrupt strategies and styles of gang policing. In the course of the book, Paco's character and values are described, and his approach to the policing of street gangs is contrasted with community policing. Chapters also focus on the definition of street gangs and their structures, changes in street gang culture, street gang neighborhoods, gang member characteristics, and street gang crime patterns. Street gang victims are also profiled. One chapter describes Paco's role in an elite gang unit, which addresses how secretive, cohesive, and autonomous such units can become. The final chapter places Paco in court, where his performance as an expert witness parallels the revelations of corruption in the gang unit in the Rampart scandal of the Los Angeles Police Department. 10 recommended readings