Product Description

UNDERSTANDING STREET GANGS offers a unique and pioneering approach to the street and prison gang dilemma and provides both local and national perspective. This popular book is used by colleges, universities, and academies, and also for advanced officer training throughout the country. The authors are leading authorities on gang activities. No other book offers such insight or understanding into this escalating threat. It covers causative factors, family structure and profiles, socioeconomic pressures, and drugs. It also defines gangs, membership, structure and organization, communication, and measurements of gang violence, offers perspective on gang activity, and suggests possible solutions.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #221559 in Books
• Published on: 2000-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Customer Reviews

Informative, slightly out of date
This book was great for research purposes. Understanding gangs and their signs was pretty much on point. The only complaint would be that it's from the 80's. Lot of the gang MO is still true but there is a section about "Stoner" Gangs, which are 80's metal heads. Basically if you wear a band shirt, jeans and sneakers you fit the dress of a Stoner gang. Their graffiti is band names like Rush and Twisted Sister (this should tell you the age of the book) and "Satanic" things. Also that car clubs are gangs but they don't have a certain style of dress or have graffiti. If you want a good laugh you can read it but for research or academic purposes skip over those sections.
The information on all the other gangs is good. The book talks about their dress, their graffiti, their gang signs, etc. Even on the booking and how they keep gang profiles on each member, showing the documents that they use as well. Good for research or a quick good laugh in some areas.

Understanding Street Gangs
The book is very helpful in learning what to look for provides insight into gang the gangs reason for being .

Good practical knowledge for training cops
I bought this book probably in '87 at Long Beach Uniform. It had good information at the time of publication concering the gangs in the greater LA area at the time. Gang associations, graffiti, turf, activity, and turfs are covered. Crimes known to be done by certain gangs are covered, heredity of the latino gangs, tattos, etc. are both covered and photos shown.
Seems like a good informational book with little narrative about what society should do about them. I was surprised I am the first reviewer of the book. I had thought a policeman or trainee would have long ago reviewed this book.