Yes

Coney Island, 1881 – In a town built on blood and money, a charming henchman infiltrates a prominent gang to avenge his family, all while Coney Island is on the rise to becoming America’s playground.

Violence is a pervasive public health issue that disproportionately affects certain populations, particularly young black males in urban settings. Though this population experiences higher rates of violent victimization and perpetration, race should not be analyzed as an isolated variable. The social disorganization theory posits that social, cultural, and structural environmental factors shape a person’s behavior; this theory would suggest that higher rates of violence in young black men can be attributed to environmental factors rather than intrinsic traits like race. Young black males in urban settings experience high rates of poverty and institutional oppression, which primes these communities for excessive psychological trauma. The lasting effects of trauma, through Adverse Childhood Experiences and post-traumatic stress disorder, increase a person’s risk of violent victimization and perpetration, creating a cycle of violence in the community. Likewise, the high rates of firearm ownership create more opportunity for violent confrontation, especially in impoverished areas where joining a gang is perceived as one of the only options for economic and social survival as per the “Code of the Street.” In order to alleviate the burden of violence on this population, the root causes of violence, such as socioeconomic inequity and under-resourcing of disadvantaged communities, must be addressed by providing appropriate social services to those whom are most affected. / Urban Bioethics

This study examined those employment-focused interventions (services, programming, mentorship, other supports) most effective in supporting an individual’s desistance from gang involvement. Utilizing a qualitative approach (interviews, document analysis and nonparticipant observation), this study engaged with individuals and organizations involved in the critical work of gang desistance to learn what makes their practices most effective. The criticality of gang desistance work lies in its efforts to address the thousands of lives continually lost each year as a result of gang-involvement and activity. Where gangs exist in cities, towns and communities across the country (and world, for that matter), the approaches of demonization, marginalization and suppression continue as the overwhelming response to gangs and gang activity. This study highlighted the individuals and organizations offering an alternative, employment-focused approach built on peer- and community-based efforts founded on inclusion and empowerment. Through the data collection, this study intended to identify and detail the practices of the research participants and why they are effective. Beginning with a review of available research within the field of gang desistance, an understanding of the evolving theories of the phenomenon of one desisting from gang involvement were explored, followed by an exploration of why individuals join gangs, the impacts of gang involvement, what prompts gang members to desist, and those interventions most supportive of this desistance. With an emphasis on service providers and leaders with the lived experience of gang desistance, as well as organizations dedicated to gang desistance work, the themes and evidence that emerged from the data collection provided deeper insights into how the process of desisting from gang involvement can be most effectively supported and realized. The outcome of this research pointed to several components of the work of gang desistance that make it most effective. These components focused on the desisting individual and the internal and external elements that both prompted and help maintained their desistance; the types of interventions most conducive to supporting a desisting individual––especially those focused on the individual’s identity desistance and self-efficacy; and, finally, those qualities of those service providers and organizations who provided these interventions and what made them impactful and effective. The findings of this study revealed that there are models, practices and other elements to support individuals toward effectively desisting from gang involvement. The findings also revealed the challenging and dynamic nature of the phenomenon of gang desistance––both for those desisting and those supporting them. Resulting from this nature of the work and the still developing field of gang desistance studies, these findings also offered areas of focus for future research toward a stronger understanding of the process of gang desistance, and, more importantly, the development and implementation of effective gang desistance concepts and practices.

Organized crime currently poses a high threat around the globe. It can be regarded as an international problem with local reach. In addition, gangs exhibit presence in large parts of the world. Criminal activities involving illegal drugs are one common feature among these types of criminal groups. Having acknowledged the detrimental influence that organized crime, gangs and drugs have on both a societal and individual level, a better understanding of how these areas overlap is needed. A significant part of reaching a better understanding is to examine the theories utilized within the research. The aim of this scoping review is to inquire into the literature focusing on the overlap between organized crime, gangs and drugs. Two research questions are answered: 1) Which prominent themes are found in the overlap of organized crime, gangs and drugs? 2) Which theories or theoretical frameworks guide this research? A rigorous search strategy produced a large sample of studies. The software program ASReview Lab was used to make the screening process efficient. In the end, a total of 56 studies were included in this scoping review. Four themes were identified as recurring in the literature. Gang organization, collaboration between criminal groups, governance and gang evolution through drug business are all parts of the overlap between organized crime, gangs and drugs. Several theoretical frameworks were used in the included studies. Theories regarding gang evolution and gang organization were especially prominent. The identified themes opened up for a discussion regarding the challenges of definitions within the areas in focus, the glocal aspect of organized crime and the role of organization in the drug business. A couple of areas were identified as understudied and a future systematic review of the literature can be useful for the societal actors working against organized crime, gangs and drugs.

The media attribute a great significance to criminal events. However, those are not all reported in the same way. The media treatment of one generally depends of its sensationalism. The more impressive the event is, the more importance will be given by the media. Although street gangs have been very much present in the news content for several years, very few studies have assessed the extent to which the phenomenon is appealing to the media in relation to all criminal news. Considering the importance of media content and its impact on our society, the present study focuses on this question in order to determine whether the news about street gangs are treated differently. The sample of this study consists of 417 reports from Radio-Canada’s TV channel and Internet content, from that 210 are related to street gangs and 207 don’t bear on the phenomenon. The results suggest that the audiovisual and digital media present a more specific aspect of the phenomenon. Reports about street gangs are also more detailed and benefit from a greater mediatic treatment, regardless the medium of information used. Independently of the components that determine what make good news, the events involving street gangs and their members seem to receive a special media treatment. / Les médias accordent une grande importance aux faits divers et aux évènements criminels. Toutefois, ceux-ci ne sont pas tous rapportés systématiquement et de la même manière. Le traitement médiatique d’un évènement dépend généralement de son sensationnalisme. Plus un évènement est sensationnel, plus les médias auront tendance à lui accorder de l’importance et à en laisser d’autres, moins sensationnels, de côté. Bien que les gangs de rue soient très présents dans le contenu médiatique depuis plusieurs années, très peu d’études permettent d’évaluer dans quelle mesure le phénomène est intéressant pour les médias par rapport à l’ensemble de l’actualité criminelle. Étant donné l’importance que prend le contenu médiatique au sein d’une société, le mémoire s’attarde donc à cette question, de manière à déterminer si les nouvelles au sujet des gangs de rue sont traitées différemment des autres nouvelles de nature criminelle. Le corpus à l’étude totalise 417 reportages de Radio-Canada diffusés sur leur chaîne télévisée et leur site Internet, dont 210 portent sur les gangs de rue et 207 sont des nouvelles-témoins. Les résultats suggèrent que les médias audiovisuels et numériques présentent un aspect particulier du phénomène au public. Les reportages au sujet des gangs de rue sont également plus détaillés et profitent d’un traitement médiatique plus important que les autres, peu importe le médium d’information utilisé. Ainsi, indépendamment des éléments classiques qui déterminent ce qui fait une bonne nouvelle, les événements impliquant des gangs et leurs membres semble recevoir un traitement médiatique particulier.

L’exode rural des Maori suivant la seconde guerre mondiale a bouleversé le paysage socioculturel néo-zélandais. Cette thèse explore une de ses conséquences directes : l’émergence de gangs maori comme tentative de re-territorialisation de l’espace environnant dans une logique de différentiation par rapport à l’ordre établi. La rupture avec la ville européenne et les traditions ancestrales maori s’imposait. Le gang dit « maori » ne pouvait, et ne peut plus, dès lors être pensé dans le prolongement du tribalisme et du bellicisme maori pré-colonial, analyse figeant le Maori dans des considérations essentialistes. Cette thèse présente le gang maori comme un produit historique contingent et vise, sans cautionner l’approche essentialiste, à déterminer les effets de cette posture analytique sur les pratiques quotidiennes du membre de gang, ainsi que ses rapports au public.Les gangs, qui souhaitaient inventer un espace qui leur était propre, finirent par admettre leur héritage maori, si bien que les membres allaient non seulement réécrire l’histoire de leur organisation en lui trouvant d’autres origines, mais aussi celle du passé maori pré-colonial en y introduisant des éléments propres au gang de rue contemporain / The Maori urban drift after the Second World War has deeply altered New Zealand’s sociocultural landscape. This thesis explores one of its direct aftermath: the emergence of Maori gangs as an attempt to reterritorialise the surrounding space in a logic of differen-tiation from the established order. Therefore, breaking off with the European city and Maori ancestral traditions was required. In this respect, so called “Maori” gangs could and can no longer be thought as the extension of Maori tribalism and precolonial belli-cism. This type of analysis freezes the Maori into essentialist considerations. This thesis introduces the Maori gang in its historical contingent dimension and aims – without sup-porting the essentialist approach – at pinpointing its very effects on gang members’ daily practices and also on their relationship with wider society.The same gangs that wanted to create their own space ended up acknowledging their Maori heritage. As a result, the members were not only to rewrite the history of their or-ganisation, as they found out other origins, but also precontact Maori history as they in-troduced elements that are typical of contemporary street gangs

published_or_final_version / Criminology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

The media attribute a great significance to criminal events. However, those are not all reported in the same way. The media treatment of one generally depends of its sensationalism. The more impressive the event is, the more importance will be given by the media. Although street gangs have been very much present in the news content for several years, very few studies have assessed the extent to which the phenomenon is appealing to the media in relation to all criminal news. Considering the importance of media content and its impact on our society, the present study focuses on this question in order to determine whether the news about street gangs are treated differently. The sample of this study consists of 417 reports from Radio-Canada’s TV channel and Internet content, from that 210 are related to street gangs and 207 don’t bear on the phenomenon. The results suggest that the audiovisual and digital media present a more specific aspect of the phenomenon. Reports about street gangs are also more detailed and benefit from a greater mediatic treatment, regardless the medium of information used. Independently of the components that determine what make good news, the events involving street gangs and their members seem to receive a special media treatment. / Les médias accordent une grande importance aux faits divers et aux évènements criminels. Toutefois, ceux-ci ne sont pas tous rapportés systématiquement et de la même manière. Le traitement médiatique d’un évènement dépend généralement de son sensationnalisme. Plus un évènement est sensationnel, plus les médias auront tendance à lui accorder de l’importance et à en laisser d’autres, moins sensationnels, de côté. Bien que les gangs de rue soient très présents dans le contenu médiatique depuis plusieurs années, très peu d’études permettent d’évaluer dans quelle mesure le phénomène est intéressant pour les médias par rapport à l’ensemble de l’actualité criminelle. Étant donné l’importance que prend le contenu médiatique au sein d’une société, le mémoire s’attarde donc à cette question, de manière à déterminer si les nouvelles au sujet des gangs de rue sont traitées différemment des autres nouvelles de nature criminelle. Le corpus à l’étude totalise 417 reportages de Radio-Canada diffusés sur leur chaîne télévisée et leur site Internet, dont 210 portent sur les gangs de rue et 207 sont des nouvelles-témoins. Les résultats suggèrent que les médias audiovisuels et numériques présentent un aspect particulier du phénomène au public. Les reportages au sujet des gangs de rue sont également plus détaillés et profitent d’un traitement médiatique plus important que les autres, peu importe le médium d’information utilisé. Ainsi, indépendamment des éléments classiques qui déterminent ce qui fait une bonne nouvelle, les événements impliquant des gangs et leurs membres semble recevoir un traitement médiatique particulier.

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