Understanding Gangs in Contemporary Latin America

Internationalizing the Study of Gang Membership: Validation Issues from Latin America

“…Reflecting on extensive testimonials from three current or former offenders, Moreno et al (2008: 255) observed that the banda (their term, not that of their informants) represented 'a small group linked by a feeling that is momentary, short-term, fleeting and changeable but very strong….There is never a commitment to someone.' Their conclusion resonates with the individualism and instability which is apparent in other testimony and also underlines the absence, in Venezuela, of types of gangs described in other Latin American countries (Rodgers and Baird 2015). While the Venezuelan studies leave no doubt that much delinquent behaviour is not carried out by lone offenders, very little is known about the group dimension of that behaviour.…”

“…As Rodgers and Baird (2015) observe, there is a paucity of research on gangs in Venezuela, and this in a country that has some of the highest rates of violence in the region. While crime is nowadays recognised by Venezuelans as a leading social problem (Latinobarómetro, 2015), youth gangs occupy a vague and minor role in popular thinking about the characteristics and causes of delinquency.…”

“…As a recent review of research in the region indicates (Rodgers and Baird 2015), a longstanding and growing body of studies can be assembled under the heading of 'gang research' in Latin America. Rubio (e.g., 2003;2006; use self-report surveys to examine perceptions of, pathways to, and consequences of gang involvement.…”

Gang Transitions and Transformations in an International Context

“…Police statistics classify up to 70 % of homicides to confl icts between gangs, using the ambiguous category of "settling of scores." Very little empirical research has explored this type of violence in Venezuela or its presumed protagonists (Zubillaga 2007 ;Rodgers and Baird 2015 ). In Belgium , a "gang" category is not even available in homicide statistics, and the only place where "gang crime" is registered at the police level is Brussels.…”

Social Inclusion from Below: The Perspectives of Street Gangs and Their Possible Effects on Declining Homicide Rates in Ecuador

“…According to a recent summary of the literature on Ecuadorian street gangs (Rodgers and Baird, 2015), the emergence of these street subcultures began in the 1980s with the country's two major cities, Quito and Guayaquil, featuring predominantly as their main sites of operation. According to these authors, the gangs are divided into two organizational types, pandillas and naciones, with pandillas operating as locally based, territorial group formations and naciones more as street organizations (Brotherton and Barrios, 2004) with stricter sociocultural norms, hierarchies, and broader spatial and ideological aspirations.…”