street gangs

street gangs Paper details: Assignment #2: Analyze if a street gang is a reflection of the American capitalist system. Is there evidence that the American street gang is a reaction to the capitalist system or is it because of the environment created by the capitalist system (Social Disorganization). Why Are There Gangs? 177 E xplanations of why there are gangs are really part of a much larger con- cern with explaining crime and delinquency in general. In fact, some of the most popular sociological theories of crime and delinquency have actually been attempts to explain gang delinquency or crime (e.g., the theories of Cohen, Cloward, Ohlin, and Miller to be discussed here). Thus, in a sense, this chapter is really a summary of some of the major theories of crime and delinquency. Multiple theories have been offered to explain crime, delinquency, and gangs. Some have taken a strictly sociological perspective, others have come from a purely psychological point of view, while others have been a combina- tion of both of these perspectives. Space does not permit a complete review of all the theories of crime and delinquency and gangs, although the most com- mon theories are included here, and these take a mostly sociological approach to the problem. The theories to be reviewed here can be grouped into eight general categories: 1) social disorganization/social ecology, 2) strain/anomie, 3) cultural deviance, 4) control theory (also known as social bond), 5) social learning, 6)  rational choice, 7) labeling, and 8) critical/Marxist perspectives. Figure 6.1 provides a general summary of each of these perspectives. In this chapter we will provide a general overview of each of these perspectives, fol- lowed by a more detailed discussion of specific representations of these theories. 9781111398194, Youth Gangs in American Society, RANDALLG. SHELDEN - © Cengage Learning 178 Theory Major Points/Key Factors 1. Social disorganization     Crime stems from certain community or neighborhood characteristics, such as poverty, dilapidated housing, high density, high mobility, and high rates of unemployment. Concentric zone theory is a variation that argues that crime increases toward the inner city area. 2. Strain/anomie Cultural norms of “success” emphasize such goals as money, status, and power, while the means to obtain such success are not equally distributed; as a result of blocked opportunities many among the disadvantaged resort to illegal means, which are more readily available. 3. Cultural deviance              Certain subcultures, including a gang subculture, exist within poor communities, which contain values, attitudes, beliefs, norms, and so on that are often counter to the prevailing middle class culture; an important feature of this culture is the absence of fathers, thus resulting in female-headed households which tend to be poorer; youths get exposed to this subculture early in life and become embedded in it. 4. Control/social bond         Delinquency persists when a youth’s “bonds” or “ties” to society are weak or broken, especially bonds with family, school, and other institutions; when this occurs a youth is apt to seek bonds with other groups, including gangs, in order to get his/her needs met. 5. Learning Delinquency is learned through association with others, especially gang members, over a period of time. This involves a process that includes the acquisition of attitudes and values, the instigation of a criminal act based on certain stimuli, and the maintenance or perpetuation of such behavior over time. 6. Labeling Definitions of delinquency and crime stem from differences in power and status in the larger society, and those without power are the most likely to have their behaviors labeled as “delinquency”; delinquency may be generated, and especially perpetuated, through negative labeling by significant others and by the judicial system; one may associate with others similarly labeled, such as gangs. 7. Rational choice                People freely choose to commit crime based on selfinterest because they are goal oriented and want to maximize their pleasure and minimize their pain. A variation is known as routine activities theory, which suggests that criminals plan very carefully by selecting specific targets based on such things as vulnerability (e.g., elderly citizens, unguarded premises, lack of police presence) and commit their crimes accordingly. However, choices are often based not on pure reason and rationality. 8. Critical/Marxist                 Gangs are inevitable products of social (and racial) inequality brought about by capitalism itself; power is unequally distributed, and those without power often resort to criminal means to survive. FIGURE 6.1 Perspectives on delinquency, crime, and gangs. 9781111398194, Youth Gangs in American Society, RANDALLG. SHELDEN - © Cengage Learning traditions, including delinquent and criminal norms. For example, Racketville, a mostly Italian neighborhood, had a long tradition of organized racketeering. Gangs in this neighborhood were mostly involved in the rackets because this was where the criminal opportunities were to be found (Spergel, 1964). In contrast, the area Spergel called Slumtown was primarily a Puerto Rican neighborhood with a history of conflict and aggression. The gangs in this area were mostly involved in various conflict situations with rival gangs (usually over turf). Haulberg was a mixed ethnic neighborhood (Irish, German, Italian, and oth- ers) with a tradition of mostly property crimes; thus a theft subculture flourished. A more recent variation of this theme can be seen in the ethnographic fieldwork of Sullivan (1989). His study of three neighborhoods in Brooklyn (which he called Projectville,  La Barriada,  and Hamilton Park) provides important new information about the relationship between social, cultural, and economic factors and gangs. The three neighborhoods studied by Sullivan varied according to several socioeconomic indicators.These neighborhoods also had significantly different patterns of crime. Hamilton Park had the lowest rate of all three neighbor- hoods,  whereas Projectville ranked first,  and La Barriada ranked second. La Barriada ranked the highest for crimes of violence. La Barriada was a mixed Latino and white area; Projectville was a largely African-American neighborhood. The third area, Hamilton Park, was predom- inantly white.The two neighborhoods with the highest crime rates (Projectville and La Barriada) also had 1) the highest poverty level, with more than half the families receiving public assistance; 2) the highest percentage of single-parent families; 3) the highest rate of renter-occupied housing; 4) the highest rate of school dropouts; and 5) the lowest labor-force participation rates (and corre- spondingly highest levels of unemployment) (Sullivan, 1989:21–27, 98). Sullivan suggests that these differences can be explained by noting; The concentration in the two poor, minority neighborhoods [La Barriada and Projectville] of sustained involvement in high-risk, low-return theft as a primary source of income during the middle teens.The primary causes for their greater willingness to engage in desperate, highly exposed crimes for uncertain and meager monetary returns were the greater poverty of their households, the specific and severe lack of employment opportunities during these same mid-teen years, and the weakened local social control environment, itself a product of general poverty and joblessness among neighborhood residents. (Ibid.:203) A key to understanding these differences, argues Sullivan, is that of personal networks rather than merely human capital. He explains that these personal networks derived from existing patterns of articulation between the local neighborhoods and particular sectors of the labor market.These effects of labor market segmentation were important for youth jobs both in the middle teens and during the ensuing period of work establishment. The Hamilton Park youths found a relatively plentiful supply of CHAPTER SIX 182 9781111398194, Youth Gangs in American Society, RANDALLG. SHELDEN - © Cengage Learning temporary, part-time, almost always off-the-books work through relatives, friends and local employers during the middle teens, most of it in the local vicinity. (Ibid.:103) When these youths reached their late teens, they were able to make use of these same contacts to get more secure and better-paying jobs.The minority youths from Projectville and La Barriada never developed such networks. Sullivan found that among the precursors to a criminal career among most of the youths studied was involvement in some gang or clique of youths. It typically began with fighting with and against other youths. Street fighting was motivated mostly by status and territory. Beginning in their early teens, these youths would spend a great amount of time within what they considered to be their own terri- tory or turf. The cliques and gangs these youths belonged to “were quasi-familial groupings that served to protect their members from outsiders” (ibid.:110). STRAIN/ANOMIE THEORY Strain theory originated with Robert Merton, who borrowed the term anomie from the 19th-century French sociologist E ´ mile Durkheim and applied it to the problem of crime in America (Merton, 1968).The concept of anomie refers to inconsistencies between societal conditions and opportunities for growth, ful- fillment, and productivity within a society (the term anomia has been used to refer to those who experience personal frustration and alienation as a result of anomie within a society). It also involves the weakening of the normative order of society—that is, norms (rules, laws, and so on) lose their impact on people. The existence of anomie within a culture can also produce a high level of flex- ibility in the pursuit of goals, even suggesting that it may at times be appropri- ate to deviate from the norms concerning the methods of achieving success. Durkheim, writing during the late 19th century, suggested that under cap- italism there is a more or less chronic state of deregulation and that industrial- ization had removed traditional social controls on aspirations.  The capitalist culture produces in humans a constant dissatisfaction resulting in a never-ending longing for more and more. And there is never enough— whether this be money, material things, or power. There is a morality under capitalism that dictates “anything goes,” especially when it comes to making money (it certainly applies to the modern corporation). What Durkheim was hinting at (but never coming right out and saying it— this was said very forcefully by Karl Marx) was that a very strong social structure is needed to offset or place limits on this morality. In other words, strong institutions, such as the family, religion, and education, are needed to place some limits on us. But the failure of these institutions can be seen in our high crime rates and the fact that the economic institution is so powerful that it has sort of “invaded” and become dominant over other institutions. (More will be said about this shortly.) The basic thesis of strain theory is this: Crime stems from the lack of artic- ulation or fit between two of the most basic components of society: culture and WHY ARE THERE GANGS? 183 9781111398194, Youth Gangs in American Society, RANDALLG. SHELDEN - © Cengage Learning