ABSTRACT
Immigrant groups and ethnic identification have been crucial in understanding the formation and proliferation of gangs from the earliest studies (Thrasher 1927) to the present (Martinez and Lee 2000). The earlier studies underscored the role of European immigrants in the formation and expansion of gangs in Chicago. Just as in the USA, migration to and within Europe is of importance for the emergence of gangs. Obviously, there are similarities, but the context of the two continents is different. These differences reflect divergent political, economic, and migratory patterns. Because of the political and economic transformations, migration patterns to and within the USA evolved earlier than those in Europe. Consequently, the gang phenomenon in the USA is older, while in most European countries gang formation – or at least that owing to immigration – seems to be relatively new.
