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Constructing Gangs: The Social Definition Of Youth Activities

University of Missouri-St. Louis

Kimberly Kempf-Leonard

University of Missouri-St. Louis

Despite previous research, there remains no consensus on definitions of who is a gang member, what is a gang, and what is gang activity. This paper examines these issues based on results of a survey administered to two groups involved in responding to gangs—members of a gang task force and officers of an urban police department—and a group of juvenile detainees. Considerable differences are observed among the three groups in their appraisal of the extent and impact of gang activity, number of gangs and gang members, and gang-relatedness of five vignettes. The implications for formulating a policy response to gangs are discussed.

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