How Gangs Work: An Ethnography of Youth Violence

by James Densley

Drawing on extensive interviews with gang members, this book provides a vivid portrayal of gang life. Topics include the profiles and motivations of gang members; the processes of gang evolution, organization, and recruitment; gang members' uses of violence, media, and technology and the role of gangs in the drugs trade and organized crime

Genres: Crime

225 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Judith]

“This book demonstrates that gang members are to a large extent rational agents who optimize under the constraints of their harsh life conditions. Gangs, in turn, are rational organizations that evolve to punish fraud and fault but reward industry and ingenuity.” (p.3)

“To paraphrase the author David Frum (2009), if the gang is a mirage then interventions based on that mirage can only lead us deeper into the desert.” (p.4)

“Since the 1970s, income inequality among working-age people rose faster in Britain than in any other rich nation. The share of the 1 percent of income earners doubled from 7 percent to 14 percent today.” (p.27)

“Bespoke web pages decorated with emblems ripped from designer clothing and premium liquor brands and aspirational images of marijuana leaves, stacks of dollar bills, automatic weapons, and scantily-clad women, enable gangs to broadcast criminal achievements, threaten rivals, honour incarcerated members, even mourn ‘fallen soldiers’ lost to gang violence.” (p.100)

“I also met with a police officer who worked a high-profile case in which gang members bought their own music on iTunes and Amazon websites using stolen credit cards in order to profit from the royalties. (Smith, 2009)” (p.104)

“As the great New York Times columnist Red Smith once said, you do not need to have experienced something in order to do it: ‘If that were true, then only dead men could write obituaries.’” (p.165)