This book is the third publication from the Eurogang Network, a cross-national collaboration of researchers (from both North America and Europe) devoted to comparative and multi-national research on youth gangs. It provides a unique insight into the influence of migration on local gang formation and development, paying particular attention to the importance of ethnicity. The book also explores the challenges that migration and ethnicity pose for responding effectively to the growth of such gangs, particularly in areas where public discourse on such issues is restricted. Chapters in the book are concerned to address both situations where there have been longstanding problems with street gangs as well as areas where such issues have just started to emerge. A variety of different research traditions and approaches are represented, including ethnographic methods, self-report surveys and interviews, official records data and victim interviews. It will be essential reading for anybody interested in the phenomenon of street and youth gangs.

Excerpt from the year 2017 in the subject Politics - Basics and General, grade: 1,0, University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration of North Rhine-Westphalia; Münster, language: English, abstract: This excerpt is based on the article ‘Gangs, Migration, and Crime: The Changing Landscape in Europe and the USA’ by Scott H. Decker, Frank van Gemert, and David C. Pyrooz, taken from the Journal of International Migration and Integration (2009) 10:393-408. First, a brief summary of the article as well as core information on the authors and the context of research in which the article falls will be provided. A discussion on the intention of the authors follows and different theories about how gangs form (and change) are presented and examined. Based on the research and conclusions highlighted in the article, one can further interpret the results from a comparative point of view, for example with respect to Germany, also commenting on the difficulty of conducting cross-national and cross-cultural research. The question will be: Are there gangs in Germany in the sense of the definition that the article follows?

This book is the third publication from the Eurogang Network, a cross-national collaboration of researchers (from both North America and Europe) devoted to comparative and multi-national research on youth gangs. It provides a unique insight into the influence of migration on local gang formation and development, paying particular attention to the importance of ethnicity. The book also explores the challenges that migration and ethnicity pose for responding effectively to the growth of such gangs, particularly in areas where public discourse on such issues is restricted. Chapters in the book are concerned to address both situations where there have been longstanding problems with street gangs as well as areas where such issues have just started to emerge. A variety of different research traditions and approaches are represented, including ethnographic methods, self-report surveys and interviews, official records data and victim interviews. It will be essential reading for anybody interested in the phenomenon of street and youth gangs.

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.

This new third edition provides an update on what is known about street gangs throughout the world and summarizes some of the major works on street gang phenomena. It focuses on those countries that have a greater presence in the literature. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the topic of street gangs throughout the world. Chapter 2 identifies some of the challenges faced by scholars when studying gangs in different countries. Chapter 3 reviews some of the basic research on street gangs in the United States and Canada. Chapter 4 covers what is known about street gangs in Europe and Russia. Chapter 5 reviews the literature on street gangs in one of the hottest areas of the world for gangs, Central America. In addition, this chapter examines South American and Caribbean gangs. Street gangs in Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Brazil, Mexico, Nicaragua, Trinidad, and other countries are covered. The presence of street gangs and gang violence in these and other countries has been identified as a major factor in the mass migration of refugees to the United States. Chapter 6 reports on the street gangs of Africa. Research on gangs in South Africa goes back decades and the country has a unique history on how gangs evolved. Other countries, such as Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya are developing a body of literature that highlights the distinctive nature of gangs and gang members in these countries. Chapter 7 addresses street gangs in Asia, including China, India, Hong Kong (post-reunification), Japan, and other countries. This chapter provides rare glimpses of gangs in China, a relatively secretive country. Although different in many ways from gangs in Asia, information is also included here about gangs in Australia and New Zealand. Practitioners in the criminal justice and juvenile justice fields will find this book to be a valuable resource.

"[Gangs in America′s Communities] is one of the most comprehensive treatments of gangs in the marketplace. . . . I highly recommend its adoption as you will not be disappointed and, most importantly, neither will your students." —Elvira White-Lewis, Texas A&M University-Commerce Gangs in America′s Communities, Third Edition blends theory with current research to help readers identify essential features associated with youth violence and gangs, as well as apply strategies for gang control and prevention. Authors Dr. James C. Howell and Dr. Elizabeth Griffiths introduce readers to theories of gang formation, illustrate various ways of defining and classifying gangs, and discuss national trends in gang presence and gang-related violence across American cities. They also offer evidence-based strategies for positioning communities to prevent, intervene, and address gang activity. New to the Third Edition: A series of new case studies document the evolution of numerous gangs in large cities, including the community aspect, evolutionary nature, and how cities influence levels of violence. New discussions highlighting the role of social media, insights into how gangs use it to recruit members, and the response from law enforcement. Current nationwide gang trends are discussed to encourage readers to analyze and interpret the most recent statistics for which representative data is available. Updated macro and micro gang theories enable readers to explore a recent encapsulation of leading developmental models. New discussions around female gang members offer readers potentially effective programs for discouraging females from joining gangs—along with highly regarded delinquency prevention and reduction programs that have the potency to be effective in reducing gang crimes among young women. A comprehensive gang prevention, intervention, and suppression program in Multnomah County, Oregon shows how theory was successfully applied to reduce gang activity in a local community. New research on "gang structures" and their rates of crime illustrate the connections between violent crimes and the amount of violent offenders within a gang. Additional discussion of distinguishing features (e.g., typologies) of major gangs, and numerous examples of gang symbols, tattoos, and graffiti has been added to help readers identify and differentiate various types of gangs. Instructors, sign in at study.sagepub.com/howell3e for a Microsoft Word test bank, Microsoft PowerPoint slides, and more!