Definitions of a gang and impacts on public policy

Achieving Wellbeing and Prosocial Transformation Through Social Mobilisation: An Evaluation of a Gang Empowerment Strategy

“…Similar to Petersen (2000), participants were asked how they defined themselves. In contrast to societal depictions, participant narratives stressed their humanity and reflected membership within a cohesive group, founded upon whānau structures, albeit metaphorical or biologically defined whānau membership.…”

Commentary: Developmental Perspectives on Adolescents and Gangs

“…The simple self‐report of “being in a gang” is insufficient to understand the level of an adolescents’ involvement or the nature of the group with which they are involved. Individuals claiming to be in a gang display marked diversity in their definition of a “gang” (Petersen, ). Bjerregaard () found that a simple follow‐up question to self‐proclaimed gang members (whether theirs was an organized gang or just a bunch of people) created subgroups that differed significantly in descriptions of their gangs' and their own behavior.…”

Using Snowball-Based Methods in Hidden Populations to Generate a Randomized Community Sample of Gang-Affiliated Adolescents

“…No consensus exits on a universal definition of a gang or agreement among gang researchers of a true definition of a gang (Bjerregaard, 2002;Campbell, 1984;Curry & Spergel, 1988;Decker & VanWinkle, 1996;Esbensen, Winfree, He, & Taylor, 2001;Horowitz, 1990;Klein, 1995;Moore, 1991;Petersen, 2000a;Spergel, 1995). Likewise, identifying gang membership has proven even more problematic among young women as their involvement often differs from their male counterparts.…”

“…However, even with an apparent increase in female gang activity and the nature of delinquency occurring within the gang milieu, females and gangs have received little programmatic attention (Moore & Hagedorn, 2001); although, recent years have witnessed a renewed interest in research relating to this topic (Cepeda & Valdez, 2003;Esbensen, Deschenes et al, 1999;Laidler & Hunt, 2001;J. Miller, 2001;Petersen, 2000aPetersen, , 2000bPetersen, , 2003Petersen & Valdez, 2002;Peterson et al, 2001;Zatz & Portillos, 2000). Understanding and identifying issues relating to gangs, violence, and victimization is crucial for developing and implementing effective policies and programs that encompass both public health and criminal justice approaches specific to this growing population of young people (Petersen & Valdez, 2004).…”