Gangs

Early twentieth-century U.S. youth gangs emerged in ethnic enclaves and formed along ethnic and racial lines. At that time, youth street gangs were ethnically homogenous, and primarily composed of Jewish, Irish, and Italian members (Spergel 1995). In 1975, almost half of all gangs in the six largest cities were primarily composed of African Americans, approximately 36 percent were Hispanic, almost 9 percent were white, and 7.5 percent were Asian (Miller 1975). The 1998 National Youth Gang Survey (2000) revealed a considerable increase in Hispanic gangs: by the late 1990s, 46 percent of gangs were predominantly Hispanic, 34 percent were African American, 12 percent were white, and 6 percent were Asian.

Although ethnic or racial homogeneity within gangs is the norm, gangs are becoming increasingly diverse. The 1998 National Youth Gang Survey reveals that multiethnic/multiracial gangs account for 36 percent of all American gangs (2000). The most common multiethnic gangs involve Hispanics and whites (Klein 1995). Many Asian gangs are also ethnically heterogeneous, involving youths from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Filipino and various Pacific Islander backgrounds (Klein 1995).

Some research suggests that the type of crime that members participate in varies with the ethnicity of the gang. Drug offenses appear to be more common among African American gangs, property crimes among white and Asian gangs, and Hispanic gangs appear more involved in territorial violence (Spergel 1990). Territorial violence typically occurs between gangs of the same ethnicity or race; thus gang violence is usually intraracial. However, ethnically or racially divergent gangs may come into conflict as a result of sudden changes in an area's racial or ethnic makeup, or when resources become scarce (Thrasher 1927; Spergel 1995).