Gangs And Crime In America

Throughout the history of the United States, gangs have existed in one form or another, from the violent thugs of old New York to the holdup gangs of the Old West and from Prohibition-era bootleggers to modern-day street gangs. Each type of gang has posed a serious problem for law-enforcement authorities. Police have developed numerous techniques for identifying gangs, tracking their activities, breaking up illegal rackets, and addressing the social issues that contribute to the formation of gangs. Gangs and Gang Crime details the history of criminal gangs and law-enforcement efforts to fight them, from the nineteenth century to the present.a

Comprehensive and balanced, THE COLOR OF JUSTICE: RACE, ETHNICITY, AND CRIME IN AMERICA is the definitive introduction to current research and theories of racial and ethnic discrimination within America's criminal justice system. The sixth edition covers the best and the most recent research on patterns of criminal behavior and victimization, immigration and crime, drug use, police practices, court processing and sentencing, unconscious bias, the death penalty, and correctional programs, giving students the facts and theoretical foundation they need to make their own informed decisions about discrimination within the system. Uniquely unbiased, THE COLOR OF JUSTICE makes every effort to incorporate discussion of all major race groups found in the United States. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

This book is a systematic examination of the nature of America's crime and criminal justice system as defined by its policy-makers at different times and in disparate contexts of social and political realities. By examining legislative documents and court cases and analyzing federal and state policy developments in such areas as drug crimes, juvenile crimes, sex crimes, and cyber crimes, this book provides a historically embedded and policy relevant understanding of how America's system of criminal justice was born, how it has grown, and where it is going. Book jacket.

Contents: The Central America Regional Security Initiative: Disrupt the Movement of Criminals and Contraband; Escalating Violence in El Salvador; El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations. During 2015, El Salvador, a country with a population of 6.5 million people, recorded some 6,657 murders. As a result, El Salvador probably posted the world's highest homicide rate, an alarming 104 per 100,000 people, last year. El Salvador has the highest concentration of gang members per capita in Central America; as a result, gangs are responsible for a higher percentage of homicides there than in neighboring Guatemala and Honduras. The current level and type of violence that El Salvador has experienced-including massacres, killings of police and their families, and extrajudicial killings of suspected gang members-rivals the worst periods of the country's civil conflict (1980-1992). The largest and most violent gangs in El Salvador have origins in and ties with the United States. The 18th Street gang was formed in Los Angeles in the 1960s by Mexican youth who were not accepted into existing Hispanic gangs. The MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha-13) was created during the 1980s by Salvadorans in Los Angeles who had fled the country's civil conflict. Both gangs later expanded their operations to Central America after many of their leaders were deported to the region in the 1990s. Gang cliques (clicas) in El Salvador have maintained ties with gangs in the United States, particularly in the Los Angeles and Washington, DC, metro areas. Although El Salvador has struggled with gang-related violence for many years, homicides have escalated since the demise of a 2012-2013 truce between the country's two largest gangs. Post-truce, the gangs are more fragmented and powerful. Gangs have increasingly become involved in extortion; kidnapping; and drug, auto, and weapons smuggling. Gangs have extorted millions of dollars from residents, bus drivers, and businesses. Failure to pay often results in harassment or violence. In July 2015, gang threats prompted a three-day shutdown of San Salvador's bus system. Gang-related crimes continue to drive internal displacement and illegal emigration.

An eloquent account of the economic, social, and cultural difficulties that disrupt traditional family relationships and push young people into acts of violent, often ruthless, crime.

This book views peacemaking as a broad, encompassing process that is expressed in many different shapes and forms. It blends ancient-wisdom traditions, peacemaking criminology, and restorative justice principles as a way of intervening with offenders in both institutional and community-based settings. Philosophical and spiritual contexts for peacemaking are presented that form a foundation for understanding the potential for peacemaking in criminological thought, the criminal justice system, and society in general.

First published in 1999. This book provides a law and economics approach towards criminal gangs which integrates the tools of economic modelling with criminal law in order to understand and address a contemporary law enforcement problem. The book draws upon ideas from economics, law and law enforcement to investigate the nature and organizational structure of criminal gangs. Law and economics are employed in varying combinations and at varying levels of specificity to generate insights into the organization and behaviour of criminal gangs. These insights are applied to evaluate alternative legal approaches and to inform the design of a new criminal law approach towards criminal gangs. Attention is focused on the organization of criminal street gangs, both because the growth and increasing sophistication of these gangs offer special challenges for law enforcement and because of the potential contributions which such an understanding could yield for economists who have traditionally focused on the organizational structure of legitimate enterprises.

This book takes students on a guided tour of the gang phenomenon through history, as well as current representations of gangs in literature and media. It includes: - A detailed global overview of gang culture, covering, amongst others, Glasgow, Chicago, Hong Kong, and Shanghai - A chapter on researching gangs which covers quantitative and qualitative methods - Extra chapter features such as key terms, chapter overviews, study questions and further reading suggestions. Alistair Fraser brings together gang-literature and critical perspectives in a refreshingly new way, exploring ‘gangs’ as a social group with a long and fascinating history.

Gangs in America's Communities offers a comprehensive, up-to-date, and theoretically grounded approach to gangs and associated youth violence. Authors Dr. James C. Howell and Dr. Elizabeth Griffiths introduce readers to the foundations of gang studies through the origins of gangs, definitions and categories of youth/street gangs, transnational as well as prison gangs (and the distinctions between these arguably different types), national trends in gang presence and gang-related violence across American cities, distinguishing attributes of serious street gangs, and myths and realities. Students and instructors will benefit from the Second Edition’s comprehensive treatment of the state of the literature on individual-level causes and consequences of gang membership. Going beyond the traditional topics covered in most texts in the market, this book uniquely describes specific gang patterns, trends, and cultures within a group-based structure while illuminating the most promising avenues for reducing the presence and seriousness of gangs in American communities.

Several encyclopedias overview the contemporary system of criminal justice in America, but full understanding of current social problems and contemporary strategies to deal with them can come only with clear appreciation of the historical underpinnings of those problems. Thus, this four-volume work surveys the history and philosophy of crime, punishment, and criminal justice institutions in America from colonial times to the present. It covers the whole of the criminal justice system, from crimes, law enforcement and policing, to courts, corrections and human services. Among other things, this encyclopedia will: explicate philosophical foundations underpinning our system of justice; chart changing patterns in criminal activity and subsequent effects on legal responses; identify major periods in the development of our system of criminal justice; and explore evolving debates and conflicts on how best to address issues of crime and punishment. Its signed entries provide the historical context for students to better understand contemporary criminological debates and the contemporary shape of the U.S. system of law and justice.

Edited by Meda Chesney-Lind and Lisa Pasko, Girls, Women, and Crime: Selected Readings is a compilation of journal articles on the female offender written by leading researchers in the field of criminology and women's studies. The individual sections in the book survey four major areas: theories of female criminality, literature on female juvenile delinquents, women as offenders, and women in prison. Girls, Women, and Crime can be used as a stand-alone text or as an excellent supplement to Meda Chesney-Lind and Lisa Pasko's The Female Offender, Second Edition (2003). This dynamic reader is recommended for academics, researchers, and students in sociology, women's studies, criminology, and criminal justice.

As communities face ever-growing gang-related problems, Gangs in America III provides the most up-to-date information on the diverse perspectives and complex issues that arise in our efforts to understand, prevent, and control gang violence and crime.

Violence in America: The History of Crime presents a wealth of new research on the long-term dynamics of murder and other crimes of violence. The contributors clearly identify and diagnose the painful circumstances of recurring epidemics of violent crime that have swept the American society over the past 150 years. Among the possible causes discussed are waves of immigration, the social dislocations of war, and growing concentrations of urban poverty. In addition, this engaging volume offers an evaluation of the traits of political assassins and an assessment of the pros and cons of gun control--and whether or not it will help to reduce crimes of violence. Surprisingly, the contributors to this compelling volume present the idea that the past and present dynamics of violent crime, projected into the future, suggest grounds for cautious optimism. This outlook is based on recent increases in effective criminal justice policies and the widespread efforts to remedy the social disintegration that breeds violent crime. Students and professionals in history, criminology, victimology, political science, and other related fields will find this volume to be essential reading. (For both volumes) "This is a major, timely, and immensely welcome addition to the literature on violence in American society. With fresh scholarship and new insights, it updates a classic study of violence first published in 1969. It would make a valuable addition to courses on American social history as well as classes specifically addressing violence and crime in this society." --John J. Broesamle, California State University, Northridge

In Gangs and Organized Crime, George W. Knox, Gregg W. Etter, and Carter F. Smith offer an informed and carefully investigated examination of gangs and organized crime groups, covering street gangs, prison gangs, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and organized crime groups from every continent. The authors have spent decades investigating gangs as well as researching their history and activities, and this dual professional-academic perspective informs their analysis of gangs and crime groups. They take a multidisciplinary approach that combines criminal justice, public policy and administration, law, organizational behavior, sociology, psychology, and urban planning perspectives to provide insight into the actions and interactions of a variety of groups and their members. This textbook is ideal for criminal justice and sociology courses on gangs as well as related course topics like gang behavior, gang crime and the inner city, organized crime families, and transnational criminal groups. Gangs and Organized Crime is also an excellent addition to the professional’s reference library or primer for the general reader. More information is available at the supporting website – www.gangsandorganizedcrime.com

The Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and its main rival, the "18th Street" gang, continue to undermine citizen security and subvert government authority in parts of Central America. Gang-related violence has been particularly acute in El Salvador, Honduras, and urban areas in Guatemala, contributing to some of the highest homicide rates in the world. Congress has maintained an interest in the effects of gang-related crime and violence on governance, citizen security, and investment in Central America. Congress has examined the role that gang-related violence has played in fueling mixed migration flows, which have included asylum seekers, by families and unaccompanied alien children (UAC) to the United States. Since FY2008, Congress has appropriated funding for anti-gang efforts in Central America. Central American governments have struggled to address the gang problem. From 2012 to 2014, the government of El Salvador facilitated a historic--and risky--truce involving the country's largest gangs. The truce contributed to a temporary reduction in homicides but strengthened the gangs. Since taking office in June 2014, President Salvador Sanchez Ceren has adopted repression-oriented anti-gang policies similar those implemented in the mid-2000s, including relying on the military to support anti-gang efforts. El Salvador's attorney general is investigating allegations of extrajudicial killings committed by police engaged in anti-gang efforts. Successive Honduran governments have generally relied on suppression-oriented policies toward the gangs as well, with some funding provided in recent years to support community-level prevention programs. The Guatemalan government has generally relied on periodic law-enforcement operations to round up suspected gang members.This report describes the gang problem in Central America, discusses country approaches to deal with the gangs, and analyzes U.S. policy with respect to gangs in Central America. Congressional oversight may focus on the efficacy of anti-gang efforts in Central America; the interaction between U.S. domestic and international anti-gang policies, and the potential impact of U.S. sanctions on law-enforcement efforts.Scope of the Gang Problem in Central America * Defining Gangs * Transnational Gangs in Central America * Gang Activities in Central America * Factors Exacerbating the Gang Problem in Central America * Legacies of War and Authoritarian Rule: Arms and Violence * Poverty and a Lack of Educational and Employment Opportunities * Societal Stigmas * Prisons in Need of Reform * U.S. Removals (Deportations) to Central America and the Gang Problem * Country Anti-gang Efforts * Mano Dura (Heavy-Handed) Anti-gang Policies * El Salvador's 2012 Gang Truce and Dissolution * Military Involvement in Public Security and Human Rights * Approaches in Other Central American Countries * Prospects for Country Prevention and Rehabilitation Efforts * U.S. Policy * Congressional Interest and Appropriations * Evolution of U.S. International Anti-gang Efforts * State Department * U.S. Agency for International Development * Department of Justice * Department of Homeland Security * U.S. Treasury Department * Possible Questions for Oversight