Gangs Sociology 500

  1. What is the definiton of a Gang according to the author?
    • Involves core members that interact with one another;have a name; wear
    • cetain types of clothing; claim a neighborhood, turf or markerplace;
    • Engage in criminal or delinquent behavior
  2. What is a Primary Group and how to Gangs relate?
    • Intimate, Close, face to face contact, comfortable with members within the group; they thing about things in terms of "We"....Like a family.
    • Many Gang members were missing fathers and needed to share this brotherhood, sense of intimate contact, help figure things out, face to face contact
  3. What type of categories of delinquency are discussed
    Peers, Colleagues (legal, non-legal), Loners
  4. How do Gangs fit into these categories?
    • Gangs posses a subculture similar to Colleagues but act as peers- they come together to share techniques and act together
    • Colleagues commit acts by themselves but will talk with each other and share stroies or thoughts.
    • Loners commit acts by themselves and keep to themselves.
  5. What type of behaviors are Gang members involved in?
    Gang memebers often just spent time hanging out, and will become involved in criminal activity.
  6. What is the law enforcement definition of a Gang?
    must have at least 2 members, usually fall into the 12-24 age group, share a sense of idenity, geographic location is similar, share symbols or colors, require permanance, and involved in criminal activity
  7. What effect does the law enforcement definition have on society?
    It can inflate or mask how many Gangs trust exist
  8. What does turf mean and do all Gangs have turf?
    particular area that gang members claim as their own, not all Gangs have turf as Asian Gangs usually do not have turf
  9. What is the goal of an organized crime group?
    • Make money
    • Gain a sense of Self-Advantage
  10. Who was the Purple Gang and how did they make a lot of money?
    Jewish Gang that make alot of money as Michigan imposed its own version of Prohibition.
  11. What did Joan Moore say about Gangs?
    Sterotypes were being created by media of what Gangs are and they may not all be correct?
  12. What is the Gang Capital.
    Los Angeles
  13. What is considered Juvenille Age
    12-17
  14. What did Thrasher say about Gangs?
    They tend to start out as playgroups and Gang membership was Spontaneous- Altercations with other groups would spark a Gang formation
  15. What type of subculture did Gangs interaction develop
    Toughness, Street smarts, and a sense of arrogance
  16. What two things increased the level of violence in Gang activity
    Guns and automobiles
  17. Describe Prison Gangs
    • Controlled activity inside and outside the Prison.
    • Controlled the outside by linking themselves up with outside gangs to sale drugs.
    • They are the cause of most correctional problems today.
  18. What and where was the first Prison Gang?
    1950s- Gypsy Jokers in Washington's Wala Wala Prison
  19. How did Gang members control the outside?
    • Give commands to vistors who where gang leaders
    • Bribe or extort correctional officers and control them
    • They would get direct contact through phone calls
  20. Discribe the Mexican Maffia Prison Gang?
    • Top down led, highly organized
    • They marked themselves with the letter M and started to protect themselves from African American prisoners. Started in the 1960s. Drugs sales on the outside. Once in they only was out of the Gang was to die.
  21. Describe the Texas Syndicate
    Orginally a California Gang composed of hispanics who were orginally frm Texas. Not accepted as much as the Mexican Mafia but have spread to Texas and Florida.
  22. Describe the Aryan Brotherhood
    • White Gang formed to protect themselves from being targets.
    • They harbored contrversial views.
    • Started in San Quinton and orginally was called the Diamond Tooth Gang.
  23. What do we see with race and Gang makeup
    Gangs tended to be racially homogenous.
  24. What was NY like up to the 1820s?
    Considered a peaceful place until the flux of Irish immigrants
  25. Describe the typical Irish Immigrant
    largely poor and low in terms of education and job skill
  26. Describe the 5 points area
    This is where the Irish come to live and this is also where we would start to see a lot of Gang activity
  27. What was used as a front for these Gangs in the 5 points area
    Grocery Stores
  28. What was the name of one of these Irish Gangs and who was the founder
    • Forty Thieves
    • Edward Coleman
  29. What lead to the downfall of the Forty Thieves
    Edward Coleman was executed for killing his wife
  30. Describe the Bowery area
    This was again an Irish District mostly butcher shops as a front to Gang activity.
  31. How did the Gang activity affect the social climate in NY
    • Many Americans began to discriminate against Irish Americans
    • Citizens demanded control over Gang activity and led to a Rise in Law Enforcement
  32. What is the relationship between Gangs and fire Brigades?
    Fire Brigades was composed of Gang Members who would compete with each other to get to the fire first. The insurance company would only pay those who put out the fire and this led to destructive competitioin among the Fire Brigades
  33. What was Detroit's dominant early Gangs?
    Carl Taylor research says immigrant Jewish and Italians caused population to grow and that is when we would see Gang problems pop up. Cities shifting from agrarian to industrial. The Dominat early Gang was Jewish Gang called the Purple Gang. They made money through alcohol sales during a Prohibition period in Michigan.
  34. Describle the history of Mexican Immmigrants in California?
    Economic boom in Southern California led to Middle Class whites wanting to hire cheap labor for service jobs. These service jobs mostly Asian and Mexican immigrants; However the Government cut off Asian immigrants and encouraged Mexican immigrantion through thte Bracero Program. The Government would turn around and force Mexican immigrants out with Operation wetback in th 1950s
  35. What is the Palomilla Tradition and how could it led to Gang activity?
    This is a Mexican Cultural attitude that boys will be boys and band together. Vigil will argue that this would led to mischief and eventually shift into Mexican Gangs
  36. Describe the Zuit Suitors
    This was a group of Mexican Americans that wore Zuit Suits comprised of a lot of cotton during a time that cotton was rationed. The Zuit Suitors also involved in some crime which led to resentment and became targets for military and other Americans.
  37. Describe the Zuit Suit riots and the White Fence Gang
    Zuit Suitors stood up to the Military and Americans that would want to fight them in the Zuit Suit Riots. They gain respect and would become heroes in their communities. They would led to the formation of the Whtie Fence Gang and the El Hoyo Maravilla Gang.
  38. How did Mexican Americans feels about America?
    They felt that they were marginalized, through deportation and the history of taking of their land
  39. What was the background of the Watts riots, and how is this similar to the Zuit Suit Riots, how was it different than the Zuit Suit Riots?
    African Americans felt that they were ignored in regards to the rights, as well as they were being mistreated. They stood up for themselves in the Watts Riots however, they did not have the same hero effect, as it led to more resentment and Police Patrolling. 1st Supergang formed from Watts Riots
  40. Describe Vice Lords in Chicago
    Started with 8 members in 1957 and moved up to 8000 members by mid 1960s
  41. Describe the Peoples and the Folks Gangs
    • Peoples was a Chicago supergang mostly Vice Lords and Latin Kings
    • Folks was a Chicago supergang mostly Ganster Disciples and Latin Disciples
  42. St. Louis and Gang violence
    mid sized City but still major crime and gang problems.
  43. What is a Theory and its primary characteristics
    • Theories often referred to speculation or best scientific guess. According to Goode, theories must be:
    • 1. Empiricaly verifiable
    • 2. Provide and explanation or account for something
    • 3. Usually explain some class of phenoma
  44. Describe Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham as Classical Theorist
    • Cesare Beccaria believed that humans are rationale and are free to do what they want, Gang memnbers choose to be Gang members.
    • Jeremy Bentham believed in Hedonism- People tend to do what gives them the most pleasure and least pain
  45. What are the Classical Tenants according to Williams and McShane
    • 1. Emphasis on free will
    • 2. Human behavior is hedonistic
    • 3. Focus on morality and responsibility
    • 4. Concerned with polictical structure, everbody should be treated equal
    • 5. Basic rights of all people
  46. Describe Positivism
    Something is causeing you to commit crime such as economic, genes or depression
  47. Describe Ceasare Lombroso as a Positive Theorist
    Criminals are evolutionary throwbacks, the failed to evolve as much as the rest of society.
  48. Describe William Sheldon
    • Three Body types
    • 1. Mesomorphs- Strong athelitic (likely to be criminals)
    • 2. Ectomorphs- Tall, thin, and fragile
    • 3. Endomorphs- Fat, jovial, and extroverted
  49. Positivism is also know as what
    Biological theories
  50. What is the problem with Biological Therioes
    They have little value in explaining gang behavior.
  51. Explain psychological theory
    This is intelligence based, stating that the noncriminal may have a higher IQ and Hereditary could play a role in passing down a criminal gene
  52. Describe Sigmond Freuds parts of the personality as a Psychological Theory
    • Id- Wild Side
    • SuperEgo- Sound of reason
    • Ego- balance between the Id and the SuperEgo
  53. What did Freud say about criminals
    they do not develop a strong ego or superego
  54. describe a psychopathe
    They are not detered by punishment, do not develop life long relationships, and experience no remorse.
  55. Describe Social Learning Theories
    all behavior is socially learned, starting as children from birth. Modeling behavior, we model after people we respect
  56. What is the Social Disorganization theory?
    This is out of the Unicersity of Chicago, Concentric Zone Model explains what is happening in certain zones (neighborhoods) and why the struggle with poverty and crime. Kids in these communties have a weak sense of community and self
  57. What are the four elements of Social Disorganization theory
    • 1. Low income status in area
    • 2. Mixture of differnet ethnic groups
    • 3. Highly mobile residents that move in and out
    • 4. Disrupted families and broken homes
  58. Explain the Strain Theory according to Rober Merton
    This is from the school of Emile Durkheim in which people experience normalessness. The feeling that there are no rules or structure, leading to crime and frustration.
  59. Merton argues that there are some results form this frustration, what are they
    • 1. Conformity, accept being poor
    • 2. Inovation, come up with illegitimate ways to make money
    • 3. Ritualism, accept less loftier goals
    • 4. Retreatism, people fall out of society, using drugs/alcohol
    • 5. Rebellion, reject goals and means, replace them
  60. How did Cloward and Ohlin add to Merton's take on the Strain theory?
    They say this it is correct that people become frustrated and led to the afor mention forms of activity, but they also say that opportunity must exist or access to opportunity
  61. What is Collan's 5 characteristics of lower class delinquent boys
    • 1. Nonutilitarionaism- They commit crimes for the idea of commiting the act
    • 2. Maliciousness- delinquency out of just being mean
    • 3. Negativism- to be different, at odds with society
    • 4. Short term hedonism- immediate gratification
    • 5. Group autonmy- do not recognized common authory figures
  62. What question does Scoial Contro Theory ask that is different from what we normally ask
    Is it in our best interest to turn to crime

    The answer is there are certain controls that keep us in line
  63. According to Hershey what are the 4 elements of Social Bonding
    • 1. attachemnt- tight connections to significant other
    • 2. Commitment- amount of time spent with conventional behavior
    • 3. Involvement- participation into conventional activy
    • 4. Belief- Strong sense in societies values and morality
  64. What does feminzation of poverty mean
    Females tend to have lower paying jobs, and are pushed into certaint types of jobs that pay little
  65. What are the statistics of children living in poverty
    • 12 million children in 2002
    • 11 million children in 2001
  66. What is the Underclass
    According to Wilson, group of people who are poorly educated, unskilled, and have been caught in a category of poverty for generations. Often become dependant on welfare, and although racial undertones are not meant it often describes minorites
  67. What was the impact of the labor market shift
    Lose of manufacturing jobs and increase in service jobs, Service jobs being low paying. Drop in Retail and warehousing jobs as well
  68. What are Maslows hiearchy of needs and what does it mean
    • Pysiological
    • Saftey- security
    • Love and belonginess
    • Self Esteem
    • Self Acutualization

    The lover class may achieve the first two be may never achieve the upper level
  69. What is the relation of employment per Capita ang Gang Homicide
    They are closely linked in Cities
Author
csordner
ID
103310
Card Set
Gangs Sociology 500
Description
Gangs Sociology 500 Exam 1
Updated