History of Gangs in the United States

History of Gangs in the United States

National Emergence of Gangs:

• Gangs emerged regionally in this order: Northeast → Midwest → West → South

Development by Region:

Northeast (NYC-centered):

1. 1783–1860s: Early gangs like the Forty Thieves (1826) in Five Points District; Irish/Catholic/Italian youth dominated Boston gangs.

2. 1860s–1930s: Tammany Hall supported gang growth; police began cracking down.

3. 1930s–1980s: Gang activity spread to Harlem, Bronx, Brooklyn; rise in non-white and drug-involved gangs.

Midwest (Chicago):

1. 1860s–1920: Gangs among white immigrant youth; emergence of Black gangs.

2. 1920s–1940s: Growth during the Great Migration; gangs formed for protection.

3. 1940s–1980s: CHA housing projects (e.g., Robert Taylor Homes) central to gang control over drugs, protection, prostitution.

West (L.A.):

1. 1890s–1940s: Originated from Mexican palomilla tradition; formed in El Paso, East LA.

2. 1940s–1950s: Sleepy Lagoon Murder, Zoot Suit Riots triggered gang growth.

3. 1950s–1980s: Crips and Bloods emerged in public housing projects.

South:

• Gangs emerged later due to:

  • Less European immigration

  • Agricultural economy pre-WWII

  • Great Migration reduced minority population

  • Religious culture

  • Fewer parks/public spaces

  • Low Mexican immigration

Gang Goals:

• Territorial defense

• Honor maintenance

• Prestige among peers

Defensive Localism:

• Gangs protect their neighborhood, provide services, uphold honor, and offer protection from prejudice.

Cycles of Violence:

• Escalating retaliatory violence strengthens group identity/cohesion:

  1. Identify threat

  2. Mobilization

  3. Attack

  4. Retaliation

  5. Repeat

Prison's Role:

• Prisons facilitate gang growth by:

  • Providing protection for inmates

  • Consolidating leadership after street crackdowns

Myths and Realities About Gangs

Big Gang Theory:

• Gangs inflate their danger and connections for protection; most youth gangs are not highly organized.

Gang Migration Myth:

• False belief gangs move across the U.S. to form satellites—most are homegrown.

Drugs-Violence Myth:

• Gang involvement in drug trafficking is overstated; many do not control drug markets.

Other Myths:

• Gangs are boring, loosely structured, and membership is often short-term.

• Kids are not always pressured into gangs—many want to join.

• Youth, not adults, recruit new members.

• Gang involvement peaked before the crack epidemic.

Theoretical Explanations – Macro-Level

Chicago School Influence:

• Robert Park: City as a social organism.

• Burgess's Concentric Zones:

  • Zone of Transition = highest crime/gang activity

Shaw and McKay (Cook County):

• Delinquency is ecologically stable, linked to poverty and proximity to the central business district.

Thrasher's Contributions:

• "Ganging" in interstitial areas

• Community conditions:

  • Disorganization

  • Ineffective families

  • Poor schools

  • Bad peers

  • No structured leisure time

Situation Complex: All factors interrelated.

Disorganization Role of Gangs:

1. Gangs thrive when institutions fail

2. Gangs replace those institutions

Howell & Griffiths Gang Emergence Stages:

1. Immigration → social disorder

2. Family/neighborhood breakdown

3. Youth alienation → marginality

4. Gang formation

5. Expansion aided by public housing, prisons, drugs, guns

Multiple Marginality:

• Exclusion due to race, language, economics

Expansion Factors:

• Housing projects

• Prisons

• Drugs/guns

Differential Opportunity Theory (Cloward & Ohlin):

• Blocked legitimate paths → seek illegitimate means through gangs

Subcultural Theories:

• Middle-class measuring rod (Cohen): Lower-class youth create oppositional values and gangs due to status frustration.

Theoretical Explanations – Micro-Level

Developmental Pathways vs. Trajectories:

• Pathways: Individual behavior over time

• Trajectories: Shared patterns across groups

Loeber's Three Pathways:

1. Authority conflict (defiance)

2. Covert (property crime)

3. Overt (violence) – most associated with gangs

Social Development Model (SDM):

• 4 Constructs:

  1. Involvement opportunities

  2. Actual involvement

  3. Skills

  4. Reinforcement → builds social bonds

Interactional Theory (Thornberry & Krohn):

• Key idea: Risk factors in multiple domains lead to gang joining

Howell-Egley Theory:

• Pushes = risk factors

• Pulls = gang attractions (ranked):

  1. Protection

  2. Fun

  3. Respect

  4. Money

  5. Friends

Risk Factors by Age:

• Preschool: Aggressive temperament, impulsivity

• School Entry: Conduct problems, family conflict

• Later Childhood: Peer rejection, school failure

• Adolescence: Drug use, delinquency, deviant peers

Community Risk Factors:

• Disadvantage, delinquent youth, low attachment, drug/gun access

Family Risk Factors:

• Poor supervision, abuse, instability, poverty, gang relatives

School Risk Factors:

• Unsafe schools, victimization, low achievement

Peer/Individual Risks:

• Delinquent friends, early drug use, mental health problems

Protective Factors:

• Supervision, self-esteem, role models, education goals

Vigil's Stages of Joining:

1. Exposure

2. Acceptance

3. Interaction

4. Association

5. Initiation

Consequences of Gang Membership:

• Victimization

• Criminal records

• Dropouts, teen parenthood

• Poor health, depression, incarceration

Theory Summaries:

• Social Control: Weak bonds = deviance

• Differential Association: Learn deviance from peers

• Labeling: Gang label becomes identity

Prevention & Intervention

Gang Initiative Process:

1. Identify risk factors

2. Assess gang presence

3. Provide evidence-based programs

Assessment Questions:

• Who, What, When, Where, Why

Prevention Levels:

1. Primary: General population

2. Secondary: High-risk youth

3. Intervention: Gang members

4. Suppression: Most dangerous offenders

Level 4 Priority: School bonds/safety

Programs:

• PeaceBuilders: Elementary, prosocial behavior

• G.R.E.A.T.: Gang resistance (↓ gang joining by 24%)

• Project BUILD: Youth in detention

• ART: Anger control & moral reasoning

• Aggressive Behavioral Control: High-intensity therapy

Gang Databases:

• Used for intelligence, but risk false identification

Validation Criteria:

• ONE major indicator (e.g., confession, crime for gang)

• OR TWO signs (e.g., tattoos, gang signs, affiliations)

Organized Crime

Definition:

• Continuing criminal enterprise using force, threats, corruption to profit from illicit services

La Cosa Nostra (LCN):

• 24 families governed by The Commission

• Structured like a corporation (Boss → Underboss → Capo → Soldiers → Associates)

• Membership = Italian males, proven criminals

Growth Drivers:

• Tammany Society

• Prohibition (Volstead Act)

Al Capone:

• Built empire in Chicago, earned $105M/year, jailed for tax evasion

Other Groups:

Russian Mafiya:

• Skills-based, not hierarchical; #1 threat (FBI)

Japanese Yakuza:

• Public affiliations, evolved from samurai

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs:

• “Big Four”: Hell’s Angels, Outlaws, Bandidos, Pagans

• Drug production/distribution primary income