ABSTRACT
There are a multitude of strategies designed to deal with the problem or issue of street gangs in the United States. Programs run the gamut from prevention (aimed at the very young) through suppression (designed to stop existing gang members and activity) to legislation (which attempts to make gang activity illegal and prosecutable). However, not all gangs are the same; they are a reflection of the culture 262(whether racial/ethnic or social class) of their members. As such, a one-size-fits-all strategy is inappropriate. This chapter looks at the varied types of ethnic street gangs and the programs currently (and historically) used in gang prevention/suppression, and discusses the potential effectiveness of various programs for different types of street gangs/street gang members.
Although street gangs have existed in the United States since at least the early 1800s, they have only recently diversified their criminal activities. Gangs are, and always have been, for the most part, ethnically based. However, until the mid-to-latter part of the 20th-century gang activity for one ethnic group in an area would decrease with the rise of another (generally more recent) ethnic gang; for example, the Irish street gangs ran the Five Points area of New York City until the rise of the Jewish street gang, who ruled Five Points until the Italian street gangs moved in. As new gangs moved in, they tended to take over the criminal enterprises their prede-cessors engaged in.
However, increased immigration to the United States, and within the United States beginning in the 1940s, led to the concurrent existence of many different ethnic street gangs in many major cities of the United States, all competing for resources and criminal opportunities. This chapter looks at the history and criminal activity of different ethnic street gangs and general law enforcement practices directed at fighting street gangs, and makes some suggestions as to the appropriateness of various types of programs to different ethnicities of street gangs.
