Gangs: An Introduction

by Bill Sanders

An Introduction provides a wide-ranging overview ideal for courses on gangs. Opening with a discussion of early research and perspectives from the late 1920s until the early 1970s, the book then moves on to cover sociological and legal definitions of gangs; daily life and risk and protective factors; race and immigration; female gang members; drug use and selling; violence and victimization; the cultural criminology of gangs; theories on gangs and gang behaviors; desistance; suppression, intervention, and prevention; and more.

FEATURES

* A focus on theories of gangs, rather than on criminological theories

* Original contributions to the gang literature

* An emphasis on evidence-based practices

* Examples of real-life court cases

* Interview excerpts from gang members, drawn from the author's research

* Media Check! sections in each chapter featuring examples from movies, documentaries, TV shows, and music

400 pages, Paperback

Published February 22, 2016

About the author

Bill Sanders was born and raised in southern California, and pursued his graduate degrees at Cambridge University and the University of London. His interests primarily include topics related to youth crime, such as street gangs, drug use and 'informal' street economies. He is currently employed as a street ethnographer at Columbia University researching a project funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse about young ketamine injectors on the streets of New York City.