ABSTRACT
Ruth Kornhauser's treatment of gangs relies heavily on Frederic Thrasher's foundational Chicago study of 1,313 gangs. She discusses Thrasher's findings on the relationship of gangs and crime at length: The gang is not "the" cause of delinquency, though it is a facilitating factor. This chapter overviews the patterns of gang crime and discusses the theoretical and empirical directions that the line of inquiry has led recent scholars. It discusses the nature of gang processes later on, but the point is that something occurs within the context of the gang to foster offending, and in particular, serious and violent crimes. Scott Decker describes violence that commonly results from an external threat, as when members perceive a threat to the gangs' territory, reputation, or control of illegal markets. The prevalence of gang members that are female varies by study locale and design, but typically, females constitute one-fourth to just under one-half of all gang members in community samples.
