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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The intent of this article by Fagan was to analyze the drug-crime relationships among gang members.
METHODOLOGY:
The author employed a quasi-experimental design among gangs in South Central Los Angeles, the University Heights section of San Diego, and neighborhoods on the west side of Chicago. Surveys were conducted in 1984 and 1985 among 151 male respondents who ranged in age from 13 to 20 and were predominantly minorities. The gang members were selected through purposive sampling as respondents identified other potential respondents. This strategy was necessary given the dilemma of identifying a random sample among gang members. Intermediary agencies such as social service organizations, neighborhood advocacy groups, etc., served as the link to these gang members and special care was taken so that a particular gang was not either over represented or excluded from the sampling. Surveys were conducted in groups of 10, facilitated by volunteers from the intermediary organizations, and the participants received a stipend. All items were read out loud by the proctor while the respondents followed along on their own survey. Items in the survey included measures of demography, self-reported delinquency (SRD), drug use and sales, perceptions of other gang members, gang roles, gang activities, gang structure, relationships between gangs, school or work involvement, family life and family approval or participation in gangs. SRD was identified through a 27-item index including behaviors that represented all offenses in the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) with the exception of homicide and sexual assault. All SRD items were ranked categorically from "never" to "several times a year" and referred to the activities of one year. Indices were created from aggregations of homogenous behaviors and derived by summing the reported incidence for nonoverlapping items within scales. Two alcohol items and 7 illicit drug items were also included.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
1) Prevalence: felony theft and drug selling were the most prevalent collective behaviors, with alcohol and marijuana as the most common drugs ingested (both collectively and individually). Extortion received the most prevalent individual rate, and individual rates for both drug use and delinquency were higher for younger gang members. 2) Frequency: a small percentage of members identified with regular (3 or more acts per year) and frequent (12 or more acts per year) involvement, a finding which confirmed prior research on the topic (with robbery as one of the most frequent acts). Marijuana and alcohol received the highest reports of use, with cocaine and heroin as the least frequently reported. Violent acts and drug sales were the least frequently reported, supporting the notion that gang violence was less prevalent than nonviolent behaviors. The prevalence of violence, however, was still higher among gang members than among other adolescents. 3) Typologies of drug involvement among gangs: typologies were constructed from the 11 offense-specific indices and the 10 drug-use items in the appendix. Four clusters were identified through classification and were validated with face validity and internal consistency; no statistically significant verifiers were applied and the clusters were therefore offered cautiously as distinct types of gangs. The four types were: a) Few delinquent activities and little drug use other than alcohol and marijuana (28%); b) high prevalence of drug use, drug sales, and vandalism, with few members involved in nondrug crimes (7%); c) a large number of serious delinquents with extensive involvement in a wide range of activities, but with less drug use than type B gangs (37%); and d) similar to type c but with extensive involvement in drug use and higher rates of drug sales. Drug involvement, therefore, was not consistently related to delinquency or violence, although drug selling seemed more closely related to violence and serious crime. 4) Crime and marginal involvement in gang delinquency and drug use: For all gang types there was variation in the frequency and nature of drug use among the members. 5) Social organization: formal structures were most frequently observed in the most seriously delinquent gangs, where women were also more likely to take on formal, integrated roles within the gangs. There was no support for the theory that drug sales implied a more sophisticated organizational structure among gangs. 6) Social processes: the processes for getting involved in gangs were inconsistent among the different types of gangs, as members tended to identify specific reasons for getting involved (the gangs fulfilled some basic social needs). The processes for punishing gang members after they violated gang codes were more forceful for the violent gang types.
AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS:
Further research needs to be conducted, argued the author, on the reason for differing levels of gang violence, as social organization and processes of gang cohesion offered only a partial explanation.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - 1980s
KW - Illinois
KW - California
KW - Juvenile Gang
KW - Juvenile Offender
KW - Juvenile Violence
KW - Gang Crime
KW - Gang Drug Trafficking
KW - Juvenile Substance Use
KW - Offender Substance Use
KW - Drug Use Effects
KW - Drug Related Crime
KW - Drug Related Violence
KW - Substance Use-Crime Co-Occurence
KW - Substance Use Effects
KW - Substance Use-Violence Co-Occurence
KW - Gang Violence
KW - Juvenile Crime
KW - Urban Youth
KW - Urban Gang
KW - Social Organization
KW - Substance Use Incidence and Prevalence
KW - Drug Use Incidence and Prevalence
KW - Violence Incidence and Prevalence
KW - Crime Incidence and Prevalence
Language: en |