Case Study 3

Gang Affiliation

Lineup - starting library

Goals

• what would you target if your goal was to:

  • reduce homicide

  • reduce affiliation

• what unintended consequences do you have to address along the way

Gang engagement and disengagement

• groups that are more organized, rational and legitimate are more likely to attain goals and create sense of legitimacy

• ethnographic research - gang organizations is rudimentary, informal, rather than bureaucratic

• group ties are like most orgs

  • leadership, face to face meetings, differentiated roles/coordinated activities, rules, codes, norms, sanctions, initiation rights

• principle objectives

  • maintaining status, street status of individuals, control of turf, camaraderie/belonging

• prompts for disengagement, exploitation level, maturing out, family change, influence of significant other, weariness of violence, weakened gang ties, marriage — “push/pull” factors

Gang Identity

• self concept derived from membership and emotional attachment

• satisfaction of needs

  • respect, belonging, safety

• prestige level of group

• minimizing uncertainty

• strong gang id → engrossment

Stretesky and Pogrebin

• possession of a firearm functions symbolically as a tool of impression management, rather than just safety

7 year study

• predictors of membership

  • low level gang member → low temperance, low perspective, low responsibility

  • gang leadership → low temperance, forward thinking (about mobility)

  • early age membership (12-13) → low self-esteem

  • gang leadership in young adulthood → higher self-esteem and grandiose-manipulative traits

Violence

• more likely to participate in violent behavior

• gang homicides - more likely committed in public areas, involving vehicles and guns

  • for reputation and lack of private space

• drug involvement increases probability of gang homicides but its not a regular motive

  • drug related factors, intra and inter gang conflict

Post-crack cocaine crisis and “deaths of despair” (Aspholm)

• collapse of open air urban markets

  • more black market trades

  • increase value of illicit substances

Gang Violence Exposure

• victims of gang violence more likely to be males between 12 and 19

• youth exposure to violence → violence, aggression, participation in gang activity, illegal behaviors, intent to affiliate anxiety and depression

wed

• structured workshop working towards memo

bad ideas

prove how gangs are different than fraternity

• frat - have to be older

• high rates of violence; style of violence is different

• frat - privilege communities; gang - unprivileged

• gang - protection; frat - community service

you are given ten million dollars; build me an epic program

• develop something strategic that can make

1. develop a question that you believe is necessary to answer before developing a program to reduce gang affiliation/gang-related homicide

   1. what is the most common reason for why people join gangs?

2. ask you question to chatgpt

   1. ask chat to produce a program, based on these responses to reduce gang affiliation

   2. annotate and correct its research