Gangs are growing in many different social, economic, and political environments coupled with an alarming breakdown of public order. Failures to contain or reduce gang crime in European, Asian, South American, African, and North American cities may be symptoms of fundamental problems threatening the fabric of many societies. The spread of gangs to suburbia and remote locations is a palpable, worldwide threat. But despite nearly a century of scholarly inquiry into street gangs and youth subcultures, no single work systematically reflects on comparative international experiences with gangs. Gangs and Youth Subcultures takes up this challenge. Kayleen Hazlehurst and Cameron Hazlehurst argue that theories of gang behavior in immigrant communities and the influence of transnational crime syndicates are better tested in more than one host society. Similar phenomena would be better understood if placed in a comparative context. To this purpose, the editors assembled expert scholars and policy advisers from North America, Europe, South Africa, and Australasia. Gangs and Youth Subculture lays the groundwork for an explanation of why gangs continue to grow in strength and influence, and why they have spread to remote locations.Kayleen Hazlehurst and Cameron Hazlehurst present new findings and innovative preventive strategies in a clear, concise fashion. No other work brings together experts on gangs and youth subcultures from so many countries. As such, this trailblazing book will interest scholars and teachers of criminology and sociology, justice system administrators, as well as law enforcement officers and youth workers internationally.

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This anthology will allow students the opportunity to analyze gangs and other adolescent subcultures as social phenomena. The book outlines the historical, etiological, behavioral, social, demographic, and environmental characteristics of these prevalent subcultures. Dr. LaTanya Skiffer's experience with gangs is both personal and professional. Both of her brothers were gang members as adolescents. This decision eventually led one of them to spend approximately 15 years of his life behind bars, with the other going in and out of the criminal justice system. This experience led her to focus her education and professional development on criminology and sociology, as well as on the subcultures of gangs and adolescents. Professor Skiffer is currently an assistant professor of criminology at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Dr. Skiffer's research interests include the gang and adolescent subcultures and black female offenders, in addition to race, class, and gender inequality. She has also served on Mayor Villaraigosa's Gang Reduction and Youth Development grant proposal review team and serves as a consultant for the Long Beach Boys & Girls Clubs.

This book brings together historians, sociologists and social scientists to examine aspects of youth culture. The book’s themes are riots, music and gangs, connecting spectacular expression of youthful disaffection with everyday practices. By so doing, Youth Culture and Social Change maps out new ways of historicizing responses to economic and social change: public unrest and popular culture.

Winner, Best Book on Ethnic and Racial Politics in a Local or Urban Setting , Organized Section on Race, Ethnicity, and Politics of the American Political Science Association, 2002 This cross-cultural study of Los Angeles gangs identifies the social and economic factors that lead to gang membership and underscores their commonality across four ethnic groups--Chicano, African American, Vietnamese, and Salvadorian. With nearly 1,000 gangs and 200,000 gang members, Los Angeles holds the dubious distinction of being the youth gang capital of the United States. The process of street socialization that leads to gang membership now cuts across all ethnic groups, as evidenced by the growing numbers of gangs among recent immigrants from Asia and Latin America. This cross-cultural study of Los Angeles gangs identifies the social and economic factors that lead to gang membership and underscores their commonality across four ethnic groups—Chicano, African American, Vietnamese, and Salvadorian. James Diego Vigil begins at the community level, examining how destabilizing forces and marginalizing changes have disrupted the normal structures of parenting, schooling, and policing, thereby compelling many youths to grow up on the streets. He then turns to gang members' life stories to show how societal forces play out in individual lives. His findings provide a wealth of comparative data for scholars, policymakers, and law enforcement personnel seeking to respond to the complex problems associated with gangs.

Featuring both well known and emerging scholars from the UK, the USA and mainland Europe, this fascinating new volume addresses core theoretical and methodological developments before going on to examine key substantive themes in the study of young people's identities and lifestyles.

This updated and expanded new edition continues the theme of the first edition of emphasizing the substantial growth of street gangs throughout the world. Although a substantial amount of research on street gangs has been conducted in recent decades, much of it has focused on the United States. This book summarizes much of the research being conducted in many other countries where the street gang phenomenon is currently developing, which includes poverty, the retreat of the state, increasing income inequality, urbanization, population growth, exploitation, marginalization, underground economies, racism, and ethnocentrism. The introductory section of the text addresses important topics on the various definitions of gangs and youth subcultures and presents methodological issues concerning the measurement of street gang activity in different countries. The second section offers an overview of the primary studies and most recent findings regarding American street gangs. The third section discusses recent and historical findings about street gangs in Europe and highlights studies in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Belgium, Scandinavia, and the Eastern European bloc. The fourth section provides current research on the Western Hemisphere and focuses on Canada, Jamaica, Brazil, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Trinidad, Ecuador, Tobago, and El Salvador and further examines the influence of American-style gangs on the region. Section five addresses street gangs in India, China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Korea with special emphasis on Russia. The sixth section discusses the emerging street gang activity in Africa and Australia, as well as many of the island nations of the Pacific Ocean. The final section compares gang research from the various parts of the world and projects universal trends. This book provides the most current and comprehensive overview of worldwide street gang activity stressing those features that are shared by all gangs regardless of nationality, ethnicity, or gender, and postulates what the future holds for street gangs throughout the world.