An overview of ongoing research including preliminary results form 2009-2011 survey of college students and police regarding the presence of gangs on college campuses.
1. Gangs & College Carter F. Smith carterfsmith@gmail.com 615-656-3505
2. Given USC’s location in downtown Los Angeles, crime can seem almost inevitable, especially when there are two gangs operating within miles of campus. These groups are active and potentially dangerous, but their threat doesn’t extend to the USC campus, experts say.
17. 3G2 Based on the coining and development of the phrase Third Generation Street Gangs by John P. Sullivan and Dr. Robert Bunker
18. Third Generation Street Gangs Some gangs evolve/transition through three generations Turf gangs Market-oriented drug gangs Mix of political and mercenary elements
19. Three factors determine evolutionary potential Politicization Internationalization Sophistication
21. First Generation Gangs Traditional street gangs - turf orientation Lower end of extreme societal violence Loose leadership Focus on turf protection and gang loyalty Criminal activity - opportunistic and local Limited in political scope and sophistication
22. Second Generation Gangs Entrepreneurial and drug-centered Protect markets - use violence to control competition Broader market, sometimes overtly political Broader spatial or geographic area Sometimes multi-state and international
23. Third Generation Gangs Evolved political aims Operate or aspire to operate globally Garner power, aid financial acquisition, mercenary-type activities Most primarily mercenary Some seek to further political and social objectives
24. Potential Third Generation Gangs: 18th Street Mara Salvatrucha Gangster Disciples Vice Lords Calle Treinta Pagad Hard Livings
25. Third Generation Gangs Economic and military power equal or better than many nation-states. Propensity for indiscriminate violence, intimidation, coercion, transcending borders, and targeting nation-states Significant national security threats Both regional and transnational phenomenon
27. Gangs negatively affect campuses. Developed gangs have sent their members to college to advance the gangs. The mindset and criminal activity of gang members can negatively affect all on campus. Take aways
Editor's Notes
http://dailytrojan.com/2011/01/25/gang-violence-near-campus-not-a-threat-experts-say/Gang violence near campus not a threat, experts sayBy KiraBrekke · Daily TrojanPosted January 25, 2011 at 12:14 am in News(Votes: 9; Avg: 4.56) Loading ...Given USC’s location in downtown Los Angeles, crime can seem almost inevitable, especially when there are two gangs operating within miles of campus. These groups are active and potentially dangerous, but their threat doesn’t extend to the USC campus, experts say.Reform · Jorja Leap, a UCLA professor who works at Homeboy Industries, stands with Fabian Debora, a former gang member, in front of a mural Debora painted as part of the program. - Photo courtesy of Jorja LeapInstead, Jorja Leap, a gang researcher and UCLA professor, said the campus itself motivates, inspires and shows others that a higher quality of life exists.Leap has been working on a five-year study at Homeboy Industries, following 300 gang members as they go through the Homeboy/Homegirl program, which works to counsel young people and to redirect their lives. Leap said all the gang members she has worked with perceive USC as a symbol of opportunity, and most wouldn’t dare bring violence to the campus area.“For them, USC is sacred and they don’t cross the line,” Leap said. “I’m saying this as someone whose been on the faculty at UCLA, and I’m not really interested in propaganda at USC. But this is a phenomenon I’ve seen among the gang members that I’ve worked with.”Dept. of Public Safety Assistant Chief John Thomas said the two gangs closest to campus are the Fruit Town Brims, and the Harpys. Thomas said the Fruit Town Brims are small in comparison to the Harpys, but their area is defined as south of Jefferson Boulevard and west of Vermont Avenue.Leap said these gang members recognize the benefits that USC offers to the community.“Eighty percent of these members love USC, and they want their kids to go to USC,” Leap said. “USC is almost like Switzerland, it’s like a neutral zone and they all observe this.”This rings true for Thomas, who grew up near USC, and ultimately was inspired to attend UCLA.“If it wasn’t for USC, I would never have thought that a college education was a reality. It was the USC students, the people at Doheny, the programs I would go to, being on that campus, and all those things that made UCLA a reality,” Thomas said.Thomas said that gangs don’t often bother students who live in the area, and that the main effect the gang presence has on the community is that it compromises quality of life through intimidation.DPS, LAPD and other departments have been able to identify and closely monitor the majority of the gang members, Thomas said.DPS uses a system called CompStat that compiles all of the crimes that occur every week, according to Thomas. This is part of an accountability process where every week, DPS and other departments dissect the causes of crimes to put together strategies. Thomas said this helps DPS detect patterns of crime earlier, increasing the chances of preventing similar crimes from occurring.“We get a very intimate sense of what’s occurring, where it’s occurring, but usually when we start seeing these patterns, we’re able to jump on them real early to the point where most people don’t see it coming because we’re able to use strategies,” Thomas said.When gang members from the area are released from jail, LAPD officers and other officers often meet with the members to help ease them into a life without crime.Leap and Thomas said that for USC to keep crime rates low, the university needs to maintain community outreach programs as a way to show these at-risk children that a better life exists.“[Community outreach programs are] a win-win. This benefits USC and benefits the community,” Leap said. “The university is kind of a place of enlightenment and it is important USC doesn’t become a place of suppression.”Thomas can personally attest to the value of USC’s community outreach programs.“You walked onto that campus, and you had stepped into a whole other reality, you really did,” he said. “For the folks around [the USC] neighborhood, it’s a blessing to live around USC, it always has been. You felt fortunate.”
With the growing presence of criminal street gang members in the United States, communities everywhere are experiencing the damaging impact of criminal behavior. More than one third of the jurisdictions included in the National Youth Gang Survey (NYGS) experienced gang problems in 2007, the highest number since before 2000. A 2009 report by the National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC) reported the number of gang members in the United States was conservatively estimated at 1,000,000 as of September 2008. This represented an estimate that was 200,000 (25%) higher than the 800,000 reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Deputy Director Pistole in March of 2008. This grant will provide needed localized training for many of the state’s Law Enforcement, Corrections, and Court Officers regarding the growing threat of criminal street gangs.
Campus police (mostly MTSU) surveyed 2009-2010 said . . .
Campus police (mostly MTSU) surveyed 2009-2010 said . . .
Members of criminal street gangs negatively affect our communities with their behavior, and cannot be ignored on college campuses. The more developed gangs have sent their members into the workforce and colleges to advance the intentions of the gangs. Though their physical presence may not be as visible due to limited displays of gang graffiti, clothing, and other indicators, the mindset and criminal activity of gang members can negatively affect all on campus.