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Introduction

Without a doubt, gangs are intimately intertwined with violence and also promote, facilitate, and perpetuate brutal acts of violence (International Crisis Group 2017; Jütersonke et al. 2009; Klein et al. 2006). Violence perpetuated by gangs is not the sole province of any one gang or any one nation state. In fact, Hagedorn (2005) reminds us of the global impact of gangs as their reach, activities, and violent acts are not confined to local jurisdictions where they might be based, but extends far beyond their local borders and into many countries around the world. In fact, Hagedorn (2005) speaks definitively about the institutionalization of gangs in some cities across the world and the concomitant violence they impose on residents in those jurisdictions, while Thornberry et al. (2003) point out that gang members are extensively involved in delinquent and criminal activities, especially serious and violent activities. Instructively, Rodgers (2017) asserts that a universal feature of gangs is their intimate association with violence. When viewed in a global context, violent acts committed by and in the name of gangs by their members are limitless, pervasive, and borderless and affect individuals of all nationalities, gender, class, age, and socioeconomic status.

Gangs and their members can be found in almost any global jurisdiction, and numerous researches attest to this (Junger-Tas et al. 1994; International Crisis Group 2017; Klein et al. 2006; Rostami 2017). Gang membership and gang violence are no longer confined to poor, inner city neighborhoods, but can be found in semi-urban and rural communities as well, and are no longer limited to traditional all-male gangs but now include girl gangs, transgender gangs, biker gangs, and military-based gangs. Added to this, gang violence is no longer restricted to intra-gang violence (between members of the same gang) over breaches of gang rules or intergang violence (between gangs) based on conflicts over turf and retaliation (US Department of Justice 2018), and/or violent and drug-related crimes, shootings, and wounding of rival gang members, but extends to random targeting of seemingly innocent individuals outside of their sphere of gang involvement to now include threats, intimidation, home invasions, and sex and human trafficking as well as violence against property, such as graffiti, vandalism, and arson (Klein et al. 2006).

What Is a Gang?

Hazen and Rodgers (2014) submit that gangs are global social phenomena that are present across time and space in almost every society on the planet. Instructively, there are different categorizations of gangs, and while this is not an exhaustive list, it includes the following: violent street gangs, motorcycle outlaw gangs, prison gangs, youth gangs, female gangs, and transgender gangs. Despite gangs being a global phenomenon, there is no one universal definition of gangs and gang definitions usually vary by states and jurisdictions. For instance, the National Alliance of Gang Investigators Associations (NAGIA) as cited in Smith et al. (2013, p. 2) defines gangs as “A group or association of three or more persons who may have a common identifying sign, symbol, or name and who individually or collectively engage in, or have engaged in, criminal activity which creates an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. Criminal activity includes juvenile acts that if committed by an adult would be a crime.” Sharp et al. (2006) define a gang as “a group of three or more that spends a lot of time in public spaces, has existed for a minimum of three months, has engaged in delinquent activities in the past 12 months, and has at least one structural feature, that is, a name, a leader, or code/rules” (p. 2). It should be noted that there are many different definitions of gangs (Taylor 2013; Trinidad and Tobago Anti-Gang Act 2011; UNDP 2012); however, due to the constraint of space, these definitions will not be explored in this article.

In spite of this definitional conundrum, Public Safety Canada (2012) points out that several commonalities exist in the global definition of gangs and that the various criteria used to define street gangs have included, but is not limited to, (1) age (e.g., members must be adolescents or young adults); (2) the existence of a group name; (3) distinctive group symbols or defining insignia; (4) control of a specific territory or turf; (5) group organization; (6) number of members; (7) durability or stability; (8) formal or informal gang rules; (9) initiation rituals for new gang members; (10) street orientation; (11) regular and/or continuous group involvement in crime, violence, or delinquency; and (12) common ethnic or racial background.

What Is Gang Violence?

The scale and virulence of gang violence are odious, and its proliferation is a troublesome issue for policy-makers, legislators, police officials, criminal justice practitioners, academicians, and residents around the world. Broadly speaking, gang violence has developed from simple criminal activities into a complex, multifaceted, and transnational problem (Pérez 2013). This is predicated on the notion that, in some part of the world, gang violence is the main cause of death and in others it is the leading cause of injuries and disabilities (Acemoglu and Robinson 2001). In the context of influencers of gang violence, it should be noted that a variety of group and intergroup dynamics may influence patterns of gang violence and of reciprocal and retaliatory violence. Globally, gang violence is also a significant threat to the health, well-being, safety, security, and quality of life for numerous individuals. Communities that are penetrated by gang violence suffer in innumerable ways, including, but not limited to, violence, intimidation, increased resources to safeguard law-abiding citizens and fear of crime and violence.

In the same vein as gangs, gang violence is in need of operationalization in this article. According to the Office For Victims of Crime (2016), gang violence refers to criminal acts committed by a group of three or more individuals who regularly engage in criminal activity and identify themselves with a common name or sign. Seen more broadly, gang violence refers to violent criminal and non-political acts perpetuated by members of a gang against innocent people as well as hostile contacts between two or more gangs and/or gang members. For some people gangs and their violent behaviors are “a phenomenon that can no longer be tolerated” (Sierra-Arévalo and Papachristos 2017); however, in spite of rigorous efforts to eradicate gangs and gang violence from global communities, they still persist.

Theorizing Gangs and Gang Violence

There is a multiplicity of theories and perspectives that seek to account for gangs and gang violence. Some perspectives include peer pressure, risk taking, diffusion of responsibility, support and a feeling of solidarity, alienation from conventional society, lack of opportunities, poverty, racism, family breakdown, and unemployment. Theories include, but are not limited to, the social learning theory which posits that impressionable individuals mimic their peers, family members, friends, and what they view on the television. In other words, some individuals may become gang members and get involved in gang violence as they learn from what they have seen and act it out (social learning). Other theories include the strain theory that is based on Merton’s theory, Cohen’s lower-class rejection of middle-class values, and Cloward and Ohlin who viewed gang membership and gang violence as a conflict between lower- and middle-class values and limited structural opportunities and who posit that illegitimate opportunity structures contribute immensely to the phenomenon of gangs and gang violence, while cultural deviance theories emphasize conflicts in cultural beliefs. Other contributory theories on gangs and gang violence include Walter Miller’s theory which emphasized focal concerns or cultural values that conflicted with middle-class beliefs as well as Marvin Wolfgang’s and Franco Ferracuti’s subculture of violence theory which posits that lower-class youth use violence as a method of solving interpersonal problems.

Conclusion

Gang violence is a global phenomenon (Hauck and Peterke 2010) and a constituent part of the panorama of different forms of violence inflicted upon global communities in the contemporary era. In spite of the exponential expansion of gangs as well as gang violence, effective suppression, intervention, and prevention approaches to break the pervasive cycle of violence by gangs must be implemented urgently and should include community and faith-based organizations, schools, parents, youth, residents, police, and local, city, and national governments.

Cross-References