GANGS, DRUGS, AND DELINQUENCY IN A SURVEY OF URBAN YOUTH

• NCJ Number: 145959
• Journal: Criminology Volume: 31 Issue: 4 Dated: (November 1993) Pages: 565-589
• Author(s): F-A Esbensen; D Huizinga
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 25 pages
• Grant Number(s): 86-JN-CX-0006; R01-DA-05183
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: An earlier version of this article was presented at the 1992 annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Pittsburgh, PA.

Annotation

Youth gangs--their prevalence, demographic composition, and criminal activities--are examined.

Abstract

Male and female gang and nongang members in Denver were interviewed each year during a four-year span. Even among high-risk urban youths, membership in gangs, particularly delinquent gangs, was found to be low. Approximately 25 percent of gang members were females. Less than 3 percent of youths belonged to delinquent gangs in years 1 through 3; in year 4, when the cohorts were aged 12 to 18, such membership was close to 7 percent. The media-promoted stereotype of gangs as surrogate families for disenfranchised youths was not supported. The majority of gang members were "transient," drifting in and out of gangs. Drug selling and use was more prevalent in gangs than among nongang youths, but did not necessarily involve all gang members; only 28 percent of gang members reported that they sold drugs. "Stable" gang members were more involved in crime than were their nongang counterparts, both before and during their gang tenure, but transient members were not. Gang intervention strategists should not only focus on reducing gang influence over members, but should also consider a finding that the trend toward increasing delinquency is prevalent at least 2 years before gang initiation. 5 tables, 1 appendix, and 52 references