ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book includes the study of the interactional structure of the situation in the tradition of Erving Goffman. The key concept used in this book to account for the nature of gang violence and patterned behavior of gangs is grounded culture. The book considers both the sociological and the social contexts of the meaning of gangs. It identifies five key elements of gangs: violent or criminal behavior as a major activity of group members; group organization with functional role division, chain of command; identifiable leadership; group members in continuing recurrent interaction; and group identification with and claiming control over identifiable community territory. A major sociological explanation of gang behavior centers around the idea of a delinquent subculture. Boys growing up in such subcultures are socialized into the oppositional values as solutions to structural problems in achieving legitimate success goals.
