In this paper, I argue for a paradigm shift against general social groupings of organized criminal groups operating throughout the United States. Using Social Constructionism to drive a literature review conducted by way of Discourse Analysis, I spotlight ways in which broad characterizations of "organized crime" led to a mis-handling of gang issues today. Through relying on federally-originating definitions and characterizations, law enforcement and welfare agencies are unequipped for understanding the origins of and motives behind modern gangs and their agendas. The second half of this paper is a case study highlighting the different ways in which gangs may develop and operate despite, in the case of Chicago's Black Gangster Disciples Nation and its splinters, a shared history. If we are to reduce the hold these groups have over urban societies, we must first seek to understand each group individually, pulling out the root issues that drive their actions and how they identify as a form of modern organized crime, that is, "crime that is organized." / Master of Arts

Several studies have examined the effect of gang affiliation on jury decision-making. However, none of such studies have examined how jurors perceive female gang members in the legal system, and how such perceptions may differ based on the geographic location of jurors. In the proposed study, jury-eligible participants from Chicago or Los Angeles will read a vignette about a gang member defendant, whose race and gender will vary. After reading the vignette, participants will be asked about the defendant’s guilt, sentence length, verdict confidence, aggression, and their familiarity with gang laws. It is hypothesized that while male gang members will be perceived as guiltier than females, they will receive shorter sentences. Additionally, while racial minority gang members will be perceived as guiltier, they will receive shorter sentences. Lastly, given the differing racial compositions of Chicago and Los Angeles, the combined effect of race and location will be examined on jury decision-making. These results may help in further understanding how certain types of gangs are perceived, and how these perceptions shape the legal outcomes of gang members.

Incidence of youth and gang violence in the Portland, Oregon metro area has increased dramatically over the past five years. This violence has recently become more spatially diffuse, shifting outwards from gentrified, inner city neighborhoods, towards the city's periphery. These incidents exist within the context of a shifting regional political economy, characterized by a process of gentrification associated displacement and growing, and distinctly racialized and spatialized, inequalities. While gang researchers have long argued a corollary between the emergence of gangs and economically and culturally polarized urban landscapes, the ongoing suburbanization of poverty in American cities suggests a new landscape of uneven power differentials playing out between disenfranchised youth and those seeking to police and prevent violence. This paper provides a critical examination of how local agencies charged with addressing youth and gang violence are responding to shifts in the landscape of violence and navigating the inequitable distribution of wealth and resources in the "progressive" city. Drawing on interviews conducted with police, policy makers and gang outreach workers, the author investigates both perceptions of gentrification's role in youth and gang violence and the spacialities of emerging enforcement and prevention efforts. My findings suggest that prevention and enforcement efforts frequently rely on techniques and models designed to replicate conditions in older, gentrified neighborhoods, while perhaps unwittingly reifying existing inequalities. Ultimately, I hope to reveal some of the links, both at macro-structural levels and those of daily practice, between a shifting political economy and emerging forms of suburban policing.

<p>The objective of the thesis is to study how contacts/relationships are established in prison, and whether this is of significance for co-offending. A further objective is that of studying co-offending among individuals classified as gang members. Data have been collected from the Register of Suspected Offenders for all individuals released from Swedish prisons over a period of six months (n=3,930). Data have also been collected for individuals deemed by prison service officials to be members of various gangs (n=1,310). Twelve individuals (four women and eight men) with experience of serving time in prison have been interviewed. </p><p>The results of the register study show that it is uncommon for individuals who have spent time together at the same prison to be suspected of committing offences together subsequent to release. This was the case for two percent of the entire study population and three percent of the gang members. The co-offending of different gangs has also been studied by means of network analysis. There are substantial variations between different gangs as regards the proportion of suspected offences involving gang members and other individuals respectively, as reflected in both direct and indirect links. The interview study shows that there are different reasons for wanting to establish contacts/relationships with others. For some the intention is to maintain contacts of value for future crimes. A number of different reasons emerged however for why such contacts are discontinued. Inmates return to their old friends, they are re-arrested, women find themselves back in the worlds of men, a long time may pass between the individuals’ respective release dates, they may live a long way apart or drug use, leading to the breakdown of contacts as a result. </p><p>The theoretical framework employed in the thesis proceeds from social exchange theory. For co-offending to take place subsequent to release from prison, the contact/relationship established in prison must be worth something. Trust, contacts with other criminals, the size of an individual’s criminal network, and criminal capital are all relevant in this context. </p>

The objective of the thesis is to study how contacts/relationships are established in prison, and whether this is of significance for co-offending. A further objective is that of studying co-offending among individuals classified as gang members. Data have been collected from the Register of Suspected Offenders for all individuals released from Swedish prisons over a period of six months (n=3,930). Data have also been collected for individuals deemed by prison service officials to be members of various gangs (n=1,310). Twelve individuals (four women and eight men) with experience of serving time in prison have been interviewed. The results of the register study show that it is uncommon for individuals who have spent time together at the same prison to be suspected of committing offences together subsequent to release. This was the case for two percent of the entire study population and three percent of the gang members. The co-offending of different gangs has also been studied by means of network analysis. There are substantial variations between different gangs as regards the proportion of suspected offences involving gang members and other individuals respectively, as reflected in both direct and indirect links. The interview study shows that there are different reasons for wanting to establish contacts/relationships with others. For some the intention is to maintain contacts of value for future crimes. A number of different reasons emerged however for why such contacts are discontinued. Inmates return to their old friends, they are re-arrested, women find themselves back in the worlds of men, a long time may pass between the individuals’ respective release dates, they may live a long way apart or drug use, leading to the breakdown of contacts as a result. The theoretical framework employed in the thesis proceeds from social exchange theory. For co-offending to take place subsequent to release from prison, the contact/relationship established in prison must be worth something. Trust, contacts with other criminals, the size of an individual’s criminal network, and criminal capital are all relevant in this context.

published_or_final_version / English / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992. Photocopy of typescript.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1991.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1988.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1988. / Also available in print.