Research not Stereotypes

The Final Three

8. Gangs today are organized crime(or see 9)...

9. Gangs today are just wild peer groups.

Some gangs have always been organized crime. In Chicago Al Capone united neighborhood Italian and Sicilian gangs into what would become the Outfit. Today, some institutionalized gangs are tied to the drug economy and have connections around the world. Most gangs, however, are still unsupervised peer groups. Though some people still think gangs are bureaucracies. See this diagram from the Chicago Crime Commission. Doesn't it look like how a Police Department is organized?

10. You can't do good research on gangs.

Gangs are like any social organization and most members will respond to honesty, reciprocity, and a willingness to learn. Our Milwaukee research certainly had rough spots, but by working with former gang members as 'community researchers' we were able to get past the "performances" gang members put on for outsiders and get "backstage." Check out the talks and essays on field research we have published, some for the first time

Top Ten Stereotypes of Gangs....
And What Research has to say about them

1. Gangs are a Black and Hispanic Problem.

Gangs today are mostly Hispanic and Black, though in the past most gangs were from immigrant white ethnic groups. Racism has shaped the trajectory of US gangs. Rather than assimilate into American society, permanent gangs in Black ghettoes and Latino barrios tesfify to the permanence of racism in American.

2. Gang members come from very poor, broken families.

Gangs are made up of a cross section of the neighborhoods where they live. While many are socialized to the streets, most are from families with troubles, perhaps like yours.

3. There aren't very many girl gangs.

Most research finds between 10% and 40% of gang members in a given neighborhood are female. Law enforcement usually underestimates female gang involvement.

4. Girl gangs are as violent as male gangs.

Males have committed between 80%-90% of violent acts since we have been keeping records. This proportion has not changed. Violence against women, however, appears to be on the increase. Milwaukee research found gang girls are exposed to much less violence than males.

5. Gangs today are totally different than gangs of yesterday or (or see 6)...

6. Gangs today are no different than gangs of yesterday.

Gangs today are mainly unsupervised peer groups, just like in the past. Some gangs have institutionalized in ghettoes and barrios and are deeply involved with the drug economy. This differs from institutionalized gangs in the past which were largely tools of the dominant groups and the Democratic Party.

7. Once you are in a gang, you are "lost forever."

Just like everyone, gang members change as they grow up. Gang members have multiple shifting identities and many become good fathers or mothers, hard workers, and often are quite religious. Just as others who are brought up in the ghetto, legal opportunities are severely restricted and many gang members spend time in prison or are supported by the underground economy.