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U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

March 2001

Female Gangs: A Message From OJJDP A Focus on Research For many years, female gangs were regarded simply as satellites of male gangs and rigorous research to Joan Moore and John Hagedorn better understand them was rarely undertaken. This oversight has The proliferation of youth gangs since 1980 methodological problems with many re- resulted in gaps in our knowledge has fueled the public’s fear and magnified ports on female gangs. This Bulletin sum- about the and young women possible misconceptions about youth gangs. marizes both past and current research on who are at risk for gang involvement To address the mounting concern about female gangs and draws attention to pro- and juvenile delinquency. youth gangs, the Office of Juvenile Justice grammatic and research needs. It consid- Part of OJJDP’s Youth Gang Series, and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP’s) ers the underlying reasons for female this Bulletin represents a step toward Youth Gang Series delves into many of the gang membership, assesses the delin- rectifying the deficiencies of prior key issues related to youth gangs. The series quency and criminal activity of female research. It summarizes past and considers issues such as gang migration, gang members, examines how ethnicity present research and tracks the rise gang growth, female involvement with and norms may influence female in the number of female gangs and gangs, homicide, drugs and violence, and gang behavior, and discusses the long- the increased public recognition of the needs of communities and youth who term consequences of gang membership female gang involvement as a live in the presence of youth gangs. for females. It concludes with some significant social problem. proposals for future research. Much of the research on gangs has ig- The authors consider the motivations nored females or trivialized female gangs.1 for female gang membership, assess Influential early studies of gangs, which Early Reports: A the delinquency and criminal activity for years shaped the research agenda, History of Stereotypes of female gang members, examine concentrated almost exclusively on Gangs are studied because they are of the influence of ethnicity and gender males. The implicit message of these norms on female gang behavior, and studies was that female gangs were unim- social concern. That concern stems from typically “masculine” acts of vandalism, discuss the long-term consequences portant. Even within the past decade an of gang membership. Recommenda- expert commented: “The notion seems to violence, and other serious threats. It was often assumed that females did not tions for future research are also be that female gangs and their members offered. are ‘pale imitations’ of male gangs” take part in such behavior, so early (Spergel, 1995, p. 90). researchers were not interested in the Girls and young women who are at delinquency of female gang members.2 risk for gang involvement deserve Given the lack of research, much of what Researchers and journalists saw gangs as our attention and assistance. This has been written about female gangs and a quintessentially male phenomenon. Bulletin provides a historical and then reproduced in textbooks has been Thus, most early reports focused on research context that will enable us based on the reports of journalists and whether female gangs were “real” gangs to better understand this serious social workers and on the statements of or merely satellites of male groups. One societal problem and to determine male gang members. With the exception review concluded that in these early its solutions. of a very few early studies, gang research- studies, “girls were defined solely in ers did not begin to take female gangs se- terms of their . . . relations to male gang riously until the 1980’s, when Campbell’s members” (Campbell, 1990, p. 166). (1984a) book on New York gangs ap- peared. Even now, there continue to be “ objects or tomboys”—these are the determine how each kind of gang struc- (cf. Moore, 1991). Finally, field images that, until recently, dominated the ture affects the members’ behavior (Miller, research, although its reports are usually literature on female gang members. Indi- 2000a). Existing information does indicate, limited to one time and place, can offer vidual females were portrayed in terms however, that joining a gang—regardless additional insights. For example, in San of their sexual activity, with an occasional of the gang’s structure—is a significant Antonio, TX, field research has identified mention of their functions as weapon act for an adolescent female, often with groups of girls who consistently hang out carriers for male gang members (e.g., important consequences later in life. with male gangs. Even though they rarely Spergel, 1964). Even when describing define themselves as gangs, they may be female gang members as tomboys, re- seen as “gangs” by outsiders (Valdez and searchers emphasized that the females’ Number of Female Cepeda, 1998). In some cities, females motivations were focused on males. Miller Gang Members constitute up to one-third of the members (1973, p. 34), for instance, explained that Both male and female gangs proliferated in some gang cliques but are completely “the behavior of the [girls] . . . appeared in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Although the absent in others (Moore, 1991). to be predicated on the assumption that percentage of gang members who were the way to get boys to like you was to be Surprisingly, female gangs are somewhat female is difficult to ascertain, all sources more likely to be found in small cities and like them rather than [sexually] acces- agree the numbers were significant. sible to them.” Campbell (1984a) points rural areas than in large cities. Their ethnicity varies from one region to an- out that “sex object” and “tomboy” are Nationwide surveys of law enforcement both variants of the “bad ” role. Good agencies provide the most widely used other, with African American gangs pre- dominant in the Midwest and Northeast girls are modest and feminine; bad girls data, although they have limitations. The are not. first such survey, conducted in the mid- and Latina gangs predominant in the 1970’s, estimated that 10 percent of all Southwest (National Youth Gang Center, These studies were conducted before gang members were female (Miller, 1975). 2000). women entered the labor market in such Some 20 years later, in 1992, another na- large numbers as they do today. It was an tionwide survey found that only 3.7 per- Being in a Gang: era when most people viewed homemak- cent of all gang members were female ing as the only acceptable goal for women. (Spergel, 1995). A criminologist associ- The Background The studies reflected the widespread no- ated with the latter survey commented Joining a gang is a significant, poten- tion that for males, gang membership that this low proportion may have re- tially life-altering, event. The reasons for might involve delinquency, but it does not sulted because 32 percent of the sur- any single juvenile’s joining a gang are violate gender-role norms. However, gang veyed jurisdictions did not, “as a matter complex and personal. Though most membership for females was more shock- of policy,” identify females as gang mem- females join gangs for friendship and ing because it involved real deviance and bers (Curry and Decker, 1998, p. 98). Two self-affirmation (Campbell, 1984a, 1987; seriously violated gender-role norms. other nationwide surveys of law enforce- Moore, 1991), recent research has begun The accuracy of early descriptions of fe- ment agencies, conducted in 1996 and to shed some light on economic and fam- male gang members as sex objects and 1998, estimated that 11 percent and 8 per- ily pressures motivating many young tomboys is difficult to judge because cent, respectively, of all gang members women to join gangs. there are not enough reliable data in were female (Moore and Terrett, 1998; these reports. Most historical information National Youth Gang Center, 2000). Economic and Ethnic about female gangs comes from journal- Other sources provide figures that are Forces ists (e.g., Asbury, 1927; Rice, 1963), who much higher than most law enforcement Throughout the 20th century, poverty and were likely to emphasize the sensational, estimates. In surveys of youth in a wide economic marginality were associated and from social workers (e.g., Hanson, range of cities, for example, the propor- with the emergence of youth gangs, but in 1964; Welfare Council of New York City, tion of self-identified gang members who the 1980’s and early 1990’s, the loss of 1950), who were likely to emphasize mem- were female ranged from 8 to 38 percent, hundreds of thousands of factory jobs bers’ personal problems. Both sources and the proportion of females surveyed made conditions even worse in America’s fed the “bad girl” stereotype. who claimed gang membership ranged inner cities.3 Hagedorn’s (1988) study of However, in retrospect, the early skepti- from 9 to 22 percent (Bjerregard and gang formation in Milwaukee, WI, a city cism about whether female gangs were Smith, 1993; Cohen et al., 1994; Esbensen then suffering economic decline, shows “real gangs” seems odd. It seems to have and Huizinga, 1993; Esbensen and Des- that although the parents of most gang been based on a very narrow view of what chenes, 1998; Esbensen and Osgood, members usually held good jobs, these a gang really is. Gangs—male and female 1997; Fagan, 1990). Such surveys provide jobs had disappeared by the time their alike—differ greatly from one another. a valuable supplement to police sources, children were grown. It is not surprising Those differences affect the behavior of despite some limitations (which are dis- that gangs proliferated rapidly during young members and their chances of ma- cussed on page 4). The high number of this period, not only in Milwaukee but turing into conventional, law-abiding female gang members recorded in self- throughout the Nation.4 (See Hagedorn, adults. A female gang may be autonomous report studies may reflect the younger 1988, 1998; Moore, 1991; Padilla, 1992; or allied with a male gang, or female gang ages of survey respondents compared Taylor, 1990, 1993.) An informal economy members may be part of a fully gender- with the ages of youth on police rosters: flourished. Although much of the work integrated gang (Miller, 1975). Unfortu- females tend to drop out of gang life at associated with this economy was legal, a nately, there is not enough information to earlier ages than males, often because of substantial portion involved drug dealing

2 and other illicit activities, and gang mem- bers joined in. (See page 5 for a more ex- tensive discussion of the drug-dealing ac- tivities of female gang members.) In Chicago, IL, for example, economically successful gangs—female and male— became significant community institu- tions, sometimes offering resources and protection to neighbors (Venkatesh, 1996, 1998). Female gang members have been affected not only by these economic shifts but by recent changes in the welfare system. Welfare has been an important economic resource for many of them. In Los Ange- les, CA, for example, Mexican American gang members active in the 1950’s and 1970’s became pregnant, on average, at age 18. They tended to rely on welfare, combined with work and help from their were more likely than those of male gang Sex: Stereotyping and , to survive (Moore and Long, members to include drug users and per- Victimization sons arrested for crimes (Moore, 1991, 1987). Similar patterns were found in Mil- “Sex object” was one of the early stereo- 1994). Another study found that almost waukee in the 1990’s (Hagedorn, 1998). types of female gang members, and the two-thirds of female gang members inter- However, welfare reforms introduced in interest in the sex lives of female gang viewed in Hawaii had been sexually the mid-1990’s have reduced or elimi- members still persists. Early reports abused at home. Many had run away and nated welfare payments. Because female about the easy sexual availability of fe- had joined gangs to obtain protection gang members often face significant barri- male gang members came almost exclu- from abusive families (Joe and Chesney- ers to legitimate employment, it is unclear sively from male gang members (e.g., Lind, 1995; Chesney-Lind, Shelden, and what they will do to replace welfare Short and Strodtbeck, 1965). Even some Joe, 1996).5 A recent report sums up support. recent reports present similar male per- young women’s reasons for joining a ceptions as fact, with no attempt at Ethnic marginality often lies behind eco- gang: “[T]he vast majority noted verification (Sanchez-Jankowski, 1991). nomic marginality. In the 1920’s, most problems as contributing factors,” citing However, male gang members may be in- gang members were children of European drug addiction and abuse as the most dulging their own fantasies. In a recent immigrants (Thrasher, 1927). By the common problems (Miller, 2000b). 1980’s, most were African American and study, male gang members told research- Latino. In recent years, large-scale immi- Joining a gang can be an assertion of in- ers that group sex was an initiation ritual gration from Spanish-speaking countries dependence not only from family, but also for female gang members, but female gang and from Asia has changed the ethnic from cultural and class constraints. In members dismissed the idea as ludicrous composition of the United States. Increas- joining a gang, young Puerto Rican (Decker and Van Winkle, 1996). women in New York felt that they would ingly, gangs tend to be Latino and Asian In Los Angeles, a large random sample of be able to express themselves as assimi- (National Youth Gang Center, 2000). Be- male and female Mexican American gang lated Americans, spending money freely cause ethnicity is closely related to gen- members was asked about the role of and standing up for themselves. “[They] der roles (as discussed on page 6), this women in the gang (Moore, 1991). Half of construct . . . an image of the gang that nationwide shift in ethnicity has impor- the male members claimed that female counterpoints the suffocating futures tant implications for female gangs. members were “possessions.” This re- they face” (Campbell, 1990, p. 173). In Los sponse not only referred to the females’ Angeles, Mexican American gangs were Family Pressure sexual exploitation but also reflected the described as “a substitute institution . . . males’ general need to be in charge. The There is one aspect of female gang life [providing] meaning and identity” other half of the male members felt that that does not seem to be changing—the (Quicker, 1983, p. 28) or “their own sys- female members were respected and gang as a refuge for young women who tem in which they [could] belong,” in the treated like family. (About two-thirds of have been victimized at home. The avail- absence of “clear or satisfactory access the female members vehemently denied able research consistently shows that to adult status” (Harris, 1988, p. 166). In that they were treated like possessions.) high proportions of female gang members San Francisco, CA, a large, multiethnic have experienced sexual abuse at home. study of female gang members describes In San Antonio, where there are many In Los Angeles, for example, 29 percent of them as “resisting normative forms of Mexican American gangs but few female a large representative sample of Mexican ” but also as “devising alterna- gangs or gang members, most females American female gang members had been tive forms of femininity” (Joe-Laidler and who associate with male gang members sexually abused at home, and their homes Hunt, in press). are respected. But “hoodrats”—females involved in “frequent partying, drug

3 using, participation in illegal activities Sources of Information Among other questions, these surveys and multiple sexual encounters”—are not About Female Gang typically ask about respondents’ gang in- deemed worthy of respect (Valdez and Offending volvement and about whether and how Cepeda, 1998, pp. 6–7). often they have committed certain of- There are three major sources of informa- fenses. These surveys are the only source Although male gang members may exag- tion about female gang members’ crimi- of information about how the delinquency gerate their sexual domination over fe- nality and delinquency: law enforcement of gang youth differs from that of nongang male members, there are reports from agency reports, surveys of at-risk youth, youth. However, youth answering a ques- females that they have been sexually ex- and field studies. These sources supple- tionnaire may be tempted either to con- ploited by males within the gang. In San ment each other and offer a basis for ceal or to exaggerate delinquency. Since Francisco, females from an immigrant Sal- drawing some conclusions about female most surveys are anonymous, such self- vadoran gang reportedly often were sexu- gang members’ offending. reports are difficult to verify. However, a ally victimized by male gang members, study of middle school males in Chicago although this rarely happened in a nearby Law enforcement agency reports. Law enforcement reports on arrests of female found that a little more than half (51.5 Mexican American gang (Brotherton, percent) of those who self-reported both 1996). Sexual abuse and exploitation by gang members have been compiled for several large cities. They offer the only delinquency and gang involvement had male gang members were also reported also been identified by the police as by some subsets of female gang members information available about female gang members’ actual involvement with the delinquent (Curry, in press). Almost all in Columbus, OH (Miller, 1998); Milwau- of the youth whom police identified as kee (Hagedorn, 1998); Phoenix, AZ justice system. However, because police have traditionally underarrested females, gang members also self-reported gang (Portillos, 1999); Chicago (Venkatesh, membership (Curry, in press). This study’s 1998); and Los Angeles (Moore, 1991).6 these reports may well understate the involvement of female gang members in finding of a disparity between self-reported Some of these reports may have been and police-reported delinquency rates from females who were only marginal to crime (see Chesney-Lind, Shelden, and Joe, 1996; Taylor, 1993).7 Only one nation- may indicate that respondents exag- the gang. In Milwaukee, for example, fe- gerated their delinquency, escaped police males controlled admission to their gang wide survey of law enforcement agencies (conducted in 1992) asked about the detection, or dropped out of the gang (a female auxiliary to the male gang), but before the police were able to identify female “wannabes” seeking to become criminality of female gang members (Curry, Ball, and Fox, 1994) and, as noted them. members thought that males controlled admission. The male members tricked previously, that survey probably underes- Field studies. Field studies have a vener- timated the problem because, “as a mat- some female wannabes into group sex by able tradition in gang research and con- telling them it was an initiation ritual. It ter of policy,” many jurisdictions did not tinue to be a major source of insight count females as gang members (Curry was not, and females who participated in about gang life. Many of these studies, the group sex did not become members of and Decker, 1998). An additional problem however, do not raise the issue of crimi- with law enforcement agency reports as a the gang (Hagedorn and Devitt, 1999). A nality, and most are confined to one time similar situation existed in Phoenix (Por- source of information is that jurisdictions and one place, making it difficult to gener- often differ in how they identify an of- tillos, 1999). Evidence of sexual exploita- 8 alize from their findings. More important, tion of female gang members at home and fense as “gang related.” since gang females are usually difficult to within their gangs is one reason for con- Surveys of at-risk youth. Surveys of at- reach, researchers often report on very sidering female gang membership a seri- risk adolescents (who are usually con- small and/or seriously unrepresentative ous social concern. tacted at a school or social service samples of female gang members. Al- agency) provide a different perspective. though field research offers a level of Delinquency and Criminality of Female National Youth Gang Center Gang Members As part of its comprehensive, coordinated response to America’s gang problem, Whether female gangs are seen as a the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) funds the serious problem depends in large part on National Youth Gang Center (NYGC). NYGC assists State and local jurisdictions the level of their delinquent and criminal in the collection, analysis, and exchange of information on gang-related demo- activities and the types of offenses they graphics, legislation, literature, research, and promising program strategies. commit. Unfortunately, getting definitive NYGC coordinates activities of the OJJDP Gang Consortium, a group of Federal information about these topics is difficult. agencies, gang program representatives, and service providers that works to It means working through many detailed coordinate gang information and programs. NYGC also provides training and studies, often conducted in several cities technical assistance for OJJDP’s Rural Gang, Gang-Free Schools, and Gang-Free that differ in important ways. The findings Communities Initiatives. For more information, contact: of these studies are not easily general- National Youth Gang Center ized, but some conclusions can be drawn. P.O. Box 12729 This section reviews three major sources Tallahassee, FL 32317 of information, draws some general con- 800–446–0912 clusions about female gang members’ de- 850–386–5356 (fax) linquency and criminality, and then focus- E-mail: [email protected] es on female gang members’ involvement Internet: www.iir.com/nygc in drug dealing.

4 understanding of individual motivation Some might conclude from these data show that between 1993 and 1996, either and gang social structure not available that female gang members are not vio- drug offenses or violent offenses were the through other sources, findings from such lent enough to be of concern. However, most common cause for arrest of female studies must be approached critically. an 11-city survey of eighth graders un- gang members (see table).10 dertaken in the mid-1990’s found that Law enforcement records document but Levels of Offending more than 90 percent of both male and female gang members reported having do not explain these high rates of drug Many, but not all, female gang members arrests for female gang members. engaged in one or more violent acts in are involved in some kind of delinquency the previous 12 months (Esbensen and Several field studies, however, provide or criminality. Youth surveys consis- some related insights into female gang Osgood, 1997). The researchers found tently show that delinquency rates of that 78 percent of female gang members members’ participation in drug dealing, female gang members are lower than perhaps the most important criminal reported being involved in gang fights, those of male gang members but higher 65 percent reported carrying a weapon activity of the 1990’s. In the early 1980’s, than those of nongang females and even Moore and Mata (1981) interviewed 85 for protection, and 39 percent reported nongang males (Esbensen and Huizinga, attacking someone with a weapon heroin-addicted Mexican American female 1993; Bjerregard and Smith, 1993; Fagan, gang members about their experiences in (Deschenes and Esbensen, 1999). These 1990). In Rochester, NY, for example, 66 and similar findings prompted the au- dealing heroin in Los Angeles. Female percent of female gang members and 82 dealers, who were often addicts them- thors of this study to recommend that percent of male gang members reported gang prevention and intervention efforts selves, frequently obtained their stock of involvement in at least one serious delin- heroin from their own suppliers and occa- be directed specifically at females. quent act, compared with only 7 percent sionally from relatives. A few females be- of nongang females and 11 percent of gan to deal drugs when their dealing hus- nongang males (Bjerregard and Smith, Drug Dealing bands went to prison. Most female 1993). By contrast, a survey of youth in Drug offenses are among the most com- dealers were working for someone else, three cities—Chicago, Los Angeles, and mon offenses committed by female gang although there were a few powerful fe- San Diego—classified 40 percent of female members. In Los Angeles County, an male career dealers.11 The drug-dealing gang members and 15 percent of male analysis of lifetime arrest records of fe- patterns of these women may be used— gang members as, at most, “petty delin- male gang members revealed that drug with caution—to illustrate drug-dealing quents.” The three-city study also found offenses were the most frequent cause for patterns of other Mexican American that although 33 percent of the female arrest (California Department of Justice, gang members prior to the cocaine/ gang members and 43 percent of the males 1997). Special tabulations from Chicago crack epidemic that began in the reported using hard drugs, almost one- third of the females and 25 percent of the males said they were not using drugs or alcohol at all (Fagan, 1990). Gang-Related Charges for Female Arrestees in Chicago: 1993–96

Types of Offenses Female Arrestees In general, female gang members commit With Gang-Related Charge (%) fewer violent crimes than male gang mem- Offense* 1993 1994 1995 1996 bers and are more inclined to property Violent (total) 46.9 40.3 34.4 38.5 crimes and status offenses.9 These gender Homicide 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.1 patterns were found in a nationwide 1992 survey of law enforcement agencies and Simple battery 17.6 16.1 14.1 14.9 also in analyses of data on arrests from Mob action 9.7 5.7 3.8 4.8 Honolulu, HI, and Chicago (Curry, Ball, All other violent offenses 19.4 18.4 16.5 18.7 and Fox, 1994; Chesney-Lind, Shelden, and Drug (total) 36.4 37.9 44.4 37.7 Joe, 1996; Block et al., 1996). In Chicago, Cocaine possession 14.3 9.8 8.8 2.6 the disparity was very large. Not only Crack possession 7.0 11.6 13.9 15.6 were male gang members more likely than female gang members to commit serious All other drug offenses 15.1 16.5 21.7 19.5 crimes, but there were a great many more Prostitution 0.8 1.5 4.1 9.8 male gang members than females (and Property 5.1 3.4 4.4 5.1 police may also have been more likely to Weapons 3.7 4.3 2.5 2.8 arrest males). Between 1965 and 1994, the Liquor 5.6 10.7 7.3 3.5 number of arrests of male gang members Other 2.2 1.7 2.7 2.3 was much greater than that for females: “[t]he ratio of males to females was 15.6:1 Note: Percentages may not total 100 because of rounding. Total number (n) of cases per year: 1993, n=2,023; 1994, n=2,029; 1995, n=2,021; 1996, n=2,193. for nonlethal violence [and] 39:1 for drug offenses,” and only 1.1 percent of offend- * With the exception of vice offenses (drug, prostitution, and gambling), gang-related offenses are defined by referring to the motive of the offender. Vice offenses are considered gang-related if they ers in gang-related homicides were female involve a known gang member. Almost all liquor offenses involve underage drinking. (Block et al., 1996, p. 10). Source: These data were drawn from special tabulations provided to the authors by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (1998).

5 mid-1980’s in most cities. By extrapolat- in Detroit’s gangs back to the 1950’s, but of her field notes, Fishman argued that ing from the Moore and Mata findings, it it was not until the 1970’s, with the grow- although the women in this gang were can be estimated that 20 percent of all ing presence of hard drugs and the emer- likely to play subordinate roles, they also Mexican American female gang members gence of more criminally oriented (“com- showed elements of autonomy, commit- in this period may have dealt heroin at mercial”) gangs, that females began to ting “male crimes” and invading rival gang some time during their careers. play a more active role. By the 1980’s, territory (Fishman, 1988, 1998). Auton- corporate gangs dominated Detroit’s omy was the keynote in a study of African A 1990’s study (Moore and Hagedorn, street economy, and by the 1990’s, fe- American female gang members in Phila- 1996) of African American and Latina males were involved in both autonomous delphia, PA, in the 1970’s. Most of the female gang members in Milwaukee (all-female) and gender-integrated selling gangs were gender integrated and seemed documents a very different situation. crews. Taylor’s study leaves little doubt to reflect : “The female is Many more females were dealing drugs, that the position of females in the drug- an intrinsic part of the gang’s group iden- although they were less likely to do dealing business has changed, contempo- tity who participates in gang activities . . . so than were males. About one-half raneous with the devastating collapse of rather than just ancillary activities” of the female gang members and three- job opportunities in Detroit’s inner city (Brown, 1977, p. 226). Taylor, studying quarters of the male gang members had and the parallel collapse of neighborhood Detroit gangs (1993), concurs. Former fe- sold cocaine at some time in their lives. social structures.12 Taylor’s historical male gang members reported that even The proportion was higher for Latina perspective provides a context for other though police ignored them, they were females (72 percent) and Latino males studies discussed in this Bulletin. As drug just as involved in gang warfare, drinking, (81 percent) than for African American dealing became more common among and sex as the male members of their females (31 percent) and males (69 per- gang members, autonomous female deal- gangs. Taylor also found females in all cent). In at least one African American ers occasionally emerged. There is also types of gangs—from rowdy neighbor- gang neighborhood, two drug houses a great deal of local variation, as shown hood groups to corporate, drug-dealing were run independently by females by the contrasting roles of Latinas in enterprises. whose male relatives were in a gang. Los Angeles (Moore and Mata, 1981), Further evidence of autonomy among Af- These findings indicate that, by the 1990’s, Milwaukee (Moore and Hagedorn, 1996), and San Francisco (Brotherton, 1996). rican American female gangs was found drug dealing was much more common in a substantial field study comparing among female gang members in Milwau- African American and Latina (mostly kee than it had been among female gang Puerto Rican) gangs in Milwaukee in the members in Los Angeles a decade earlier. A Ethnicity and Gender 1990’s. African American females were 1990’s study in San Francisco found that Roles in the Gang more likely than Latinas to feel that they, drug dealing in an African American gang Most female gangs are either African not the male gang members, controlled was important enough to cause a rift be- American or Latina, although there are their gangs. By the time they had reached tween male and female gang members. Fe- small but increasing numbers of Asian their late twenties, most of the African male members became so dissatisfied with and white female gangs. Autonomy and American and Latina females had ceased the income they were receiving from male male dominance, which are ongoing is- to participate in their gangs. African dealers that they withdrew from the gang sues for all female gangs, tend to vary Americans were more likely than Latinas and went into business for themselves with ethnicity. For example, gender ex- to be employed, less likely to be on wel- (Lauterback, Hansen, and Waldorf, 1992). pectations in each ethnic group might fare, more likely to have moved away A later report on this female gang con- suggest that African American and white from their old gang neighborhoods, and trasted its complete control over drug deal- female gang members would be more au- less likely to use cocaine (Hagedorn and ing with the less extensive or nonexistent tonomous and Latinas more subordinate Devitt, 1999; Hagedorn, Torres, and Giglio, drug-dealing activities of females in two to males. They usually are, but not al- 1998). The comparison showed that “[f]or other gangs: a nearby Mexican American ways. In other words, there is no univer- Latinas, . . . gang membership tended to gang, whose female members were permit- sal ethnic continuum. Indeed, some fac- have a significant influence on their later ted to deal as independent individuals, and tors related to female autonomy and male lives, but for African American[s] . . . the an immigrant Salvadoran gang, whose fe- dominance affect gang members regard- gang tended to be an episode” (Moore male members were subservient to the less of ethnicity. Male unemployment and and Hagedorn, 1996, p. 210). male members and were not allowed to the incarceration of the many males who deal drugs (Brotherton, 1996). Female gang are convicted of illegal economic activi- Latina gangs (Mexican Americans in the members (mostly African American) in Co- ties remove males from both Latino and Southwest and Puerto Ricans in New lumbus, OH, also reported being explicitly African American households. As a result, York) have been studied more than Afri- debarred from selling drugs (Miller, 1998). women must rely on their own resources can American female gangs. Latina gangs have been continuously present in Los Taylor (1993) presents the most extensive to support themselves and their children. Angeles since the 1930’s. Interviews with examination to date of drug dealing by a large, representative sample of Latina female gang members. He followed up his African American and females and Latino males from Los Ange- study of Detroit’s dangerous “corporate Latina Gangs les gangs active in the 1950’s and 1970’s gangs”—that is, gangs organized for One of the first researchers to investigate revealed considerable change. The earlier “financial gain by criminal action” (1993, African American female gangs was Laura female gangs were more autonomous and, p. 19)—with a companion book on female Fishman, who was on a team studying an although they fought rival female gangs, gangs. Taylor traces the female presence African American female gang in Chicago they did not fight side-by-side with males. in the early 1960’s. Later, in a reanalysis The more recent female gang members

6 roles. She was also one of the first re- A study in San Francisco compared Mexi- searchers to discuss the importance of can American, immigrant Salvadoran, motherhood to female gang members and and African American female gangs and, to note their desire to maintain a reputa- as discussed on page 6, found distinctly tion within the gang as good different patterns of sexual exploitation (Campbell, 1987). by male members and drug dealing activ- ity among females from one gang to an- The number of gangs declined sharply in other. However, both Latina gangs—but New York in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. not the African American gang—were However, when Puerto Ricans began go- fighting gangs and were highly territorial ing to prison in large numbers, new gangs (Brotherton, 1996). This study supports emerged in prison and on the streets. the argument that communitywide ethnic These new gangs included the Latin Kings patterns of gender relations—in particu- (Curtis and Hamid, 1997). Preliminary re- lar, relative degrees of subordination— search on the Latin Queens (the female are directly reflected in gangs. counterpart to the Latin Kings) corrobo- rates Campbell’s observation that male Other Ethnic Groups domination in Puerto Rican gangs tends to socially isolate females (Hamid, 1996). White female gangs have rarely been stud- However, in the mid-1990’s, when increas- ied except for a brief report on an Irish ing numbers of Latin Kings were impris- gang that was active in Boston, MA, in the oned, the females’ roles changed dramati- early 1970’s (Miller, 1973).15 Members of cally. The Latin Queens who remained in the female gang were arrested for truancy, the neighborhood became leaders, theft, drinking, and vandalism. According maintaining communication between to the report, these females, known as “Molls,” wanted to be accepted by their did. They were also more likely to use incarcerated Kings and gang members hard drugs (see Long, 1990) and to feel still on the streets. The street branches affiliated male gang and “gloried in” their dependency on the male gang (Miller, that the gang played an important part in of the Latin Kings became distinct from their lives.13 In both periods, female gang the prison branches. As females became 1973, p. 35). members were more likely than male more important, these street branches A student of New York City’s Chinese gang members to come from troubled became more likely to emphasize commu- gangs remarked that “[w]omen are an es- families and were far more likely to have nity problem solving and to discourage sential part of Chinese gangs, although run away from home. Another study of violence (see also Venkatesh, 1998). By they are not allowed to be members” and Mexican American gangs in Los Angeles the late 1990’s, the prison and street noted that these women were a major reported that even though the female branches were in conflict (Curtis, John source of gang conflict (Chin, 1996, p. gangs were auxiliaries to male gangs, Jay College, personal communication, 173). Unfortunately, the author did not they often acted independently and their 1998). The high rates of imprisonment elaborate on this point. These Chinese cliques held firmly to an egalitarian norm that have accompanied the Nation’s war gangs appear to be criminal organizations (Quicker, 1983). Indications of assertive- on drugs may have generated similar rather than traditional youth street gangs. ness were also found in a study of Mexi- changes in gangs elsewhere, but these A Los Angeles newspaper reported that can American female gang members in changes have not yet been documented. there were six female Vietnamese gangs Phoenix (Moore, Vigil, and Levy, 1995). This is an important area for research. involved in violence in the Orange County However, another study in Phoenix re- In Milwaukee, slight differences in percep- area (Klein, 1995), but as with immigrant ported a persistent and pervasive double tions of autonomy were found between Latino gangs, there have been few studies standard among Mexican American gang Mexican American and Puerto Rican on male Asian immigrant gangs in the members—particularly when it came to members of the major Latina gangs. mainland United States and none on their sexuality (Portillos, 1999). (Large samples from eight gangs, includ- female counterparts. New York’s Puerto Rican female gangs ing almost all members of the largest were first analyzed in lengthy biographies gang, were interviewed in the mid-1990’s.) Long-Term of former members (Campbell, 1984a).14 Whereas Mexican Americans saw their Within their gangs, females took on differ- gang as a separate, female clique of the Consequences ent roles—“loose” girls versus “good” male gang, Puerto Rican females saw Although joining a gang is only an ado- girls or “ figures” versus “tom- themselves as part of the male gang. lescent episode for some females, for boys”—but all were dominated by males. Hagedorn and Devitt (1999) concluded others it is a turning point and a gate- Campbell (1984b) analyzed 64 fights in- that the difference might be explained by way to a life offering very little chance volving Puerto Rican female gang mem- the fact that Puerto Rican females were for a socially acceptable career. Re- bers and found that most were generated more likely to have boyfriends or rela- searchers are divided in their assess- by domestic conflicts and challenges to tives among the male gang’s leadership, ment of gang membership for females, honor rather than by gang issues. Oppo- which was predominantly Puerto Rican. some arguing that it is “liberating” and some that it causes “social injury” nents of females in these fights were just The number of immigrants is increasing as likely to be male as female. Campbell in Latino communities, and immigrant (see Curry, 1998). argued that female gang members are gangs are forming in a number of cities. deeply conservative regarding gender

7 Some authors studying Mexican American must be highly selective. The following ◆ Delinquency and criminality. More gangs in Los Angeles imply that once a proposed areas of research draw specifi- substantial data on female gang female leaves a gang, the gang’s influence cally on the analyses in this Bulletin: members’ delinquency and criminal- on her life ends (Quicker, 1983; Harris, ◆ ity are needed. Two possibilities for 1988), but others disagree (Moore and Female gang formation. As discussed developing such data are described previously, several studies have shown Hagedorn, 1996; Moore, 1991). In the below: 1990’s, most African American female that gang formation (for both males and females) is related to deteriorating ❖ Continue national surveys of local gang members in Milwaukee regarded law enforcement agencies. Despite their gang involvement as an adolescent inner-city economic conditions. How- ever, no research has been conducted acknowledged problems of police episode, but for Puerto Ricans in Mil- underreporting and of varying lo- waukee, as for Mexican Americans in Los in the many cities where economic conditions improved during the 1990’s cal definitions of what constitutes Angeles, gang membership had long-term a gang or a gang-related offense, consequences. In Los Angeles, Mexican to determine whether there has been a commensurate decline in gang forma- surveys of law enforcement agen- Americans who joined a gang were likely cies provide a valuable look at to be from families that were already stig- tion or in the persistence of gang mem- bership into adulthood. General eco- changes over time. matized by conventional community resi- dents. Joining a gang and wearing its con- nomic conditions influence male and ❖ Use existing law enforcement data female gangs alike, but a related issue spicuous clothes further labeled them as sets. Drawing on local reports, two unacceptable to the wider community. applies specifically to women: how State agencies have compiled valu- welfare reform and the elimination of Many had joined the gang to escape abu- able data on female gang mem- sive families, but gang membership actu- Aid to Families With Dependent Chil- bers’ offense patterns: the Illinois dren affect female gang formation and ally constricted their futures. Member- Criminal Justice Information Au- ship virtually ruled out marrying nongang gang persistence. thority analyzed the annual of- mates. Most female gang members mar- ◆ Reasons for joining gangs. As most fense patterns of male and female ried male gang members whose careers studies show, friendship, solidarity, gang members in Chicago (see often involved repeated imprisonments. self-affirmation, and a sense of new table on page 5) and the California (By contrast, only one-fifth of the male possibilities were found to motivate Department of Justice analyzed gang members married females from the young inner-city females to join and the lifetime arrest records of fe- gang.) When they were young, these Mexi- remain in gangs. Several studies found male gang members in Los Ange- can Americans, like Puerto Ricans in New that the female gang may be a refuge les. These data sets could be used York City, glamorized the gang, but on from physical and sexual abuse at as models for other States with mature reflection, most felt that joining a home. Although sexual victimization is endemic gang problems. gang had been a mistake (Moore, 1991). difficult to study, an understanding of ◆ Later-life consequences of female it is relevant to programs designed to gang membership. Studies using sys- Regardless of the cultural context, there keep adolescent females out of gangs is one constant in the later life of most tematic samples of former female and programs designed to intervene gang members could identify factors female gang members: most have chil- with or provide safe havens for female dren. Most male gang members also have associated with their success or fail- gang members once they are in gangs. ure in later life. Such studies would children, but the consequences are Additional research that provides a greater for females. When male gang be useful for understanding the long- better understanding of why females term consequences of female gang members in Los Angeles were asked join gangs may help communities de- about major turning points in their teens membership. In particular, research is velop prevention programs to deter needed on the incarceration experi- and twenties, they usually talked about female gang membership. the gang, drugs, or arrests. By contrast, ences of female gang members and the role of female gangs in jails and females referred to motherhood and mar- ◆ Ethnicity. Because it bears so heavily riage. Although most males abandoned on gender roles, ethnicity is important prisons. More information is also needed about drug use and access to responsibility for their children, most fe- in understanding how female gangs males reared their own children (Moore, function and is also relevant to pro- drug rehabilitation among female gang members. It is also important to 1991). In Milwaukee, as gang involvement gram design. More research is needed in the drug business became riskier, on this topic, particularly with regard know whether certain families have developed a tradition of gang mem- women with children were more likely to to Latina and Asian immigrant gangs, opt for safer, if less lucrative, means of white gangs, and multiethnic gangs. bership and whether female gang members are more likely than male support (Hagedorn, 1998). ◆ Gender roles in gangs. Additional gang members to transmit that tradi- research is needed on the roles of tion to their children. There is no re- females in drug gangs. Field research Taking Female Gangs search to date on the children of fe- is also needed on female gang mem- male gang members. Seriously: Areas for bers’ involvement in other economic Future Research activities—legal and illegal—and their participation in violence. This re- Conclusion The historic lack of research on female search should focus on the gender Many aspects of female gang functioning gangs suggests that almost every aspect structure of gangs (i.e., whether fe- of female gang members’ lives requires and the lives of female gang members males form an autonomous gang, a remain a mystery because relatively few further research and analysis. In listing female auxiliary of a male gang, or research needs, therefore, this Bulletin researchers have considered female part of a gender-integrated gang). gangs worthy of study. In addition,

8 researchers face serious obstacles to the lasted only 3 years. The 1990’s brought Endnotes study of female gangs and, because of recognition within the Federal Govern- these obstacles, they often settle for ment that female and male offenders have 1. In general, this Bulletin views a gang as an unsupervised group of youth that defines itself unrepresentative samples. Gangs are different programmatic needs. For ex- as a gang and develops its own norms and highly suspicious of researchers and ample, the 1992 reauthorization of the criteria for membership. Gang members are cooperate with them only under unusual Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preven- more responsive to peer socialization than circumstances. Female gang members, in tion Act of 1974 specifically mandated to conventional agents of socialization, and particular, have been averse to talking more programmatic focus on female delin- the gang may become quasi-institutionalized about sexual abuse, whether it occurred quent offenders. Several national pro- (i.e., it may develop the capacity for self- at home or within the gang. Some field grams have made efforts to reach fe- perpetuation). This definition excludes hate researchers have been able to work effec- males. Notable among these are programs groups, motorcycle gangs, and other exclu- tively with gangs to obtain representative created by the Boys & Girls Clubs of sively adult gangs. The focus of this Bulletin is on female gangs. This term refers to gangs samples and trustworthy data. Other re- America that are directed at reducing or containing only female members: some of searchers avoid resistance and what they eliminating gangs and the Office of Juve- these gangs are autonomous and some are perceive to be the danger involved in nile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s affiliated with male gangs. The term also direct field studies. These researchers (OJJDP’s) Comprehensive Community- refers to gangs that are controlled and domi- contact gang members through commu- wide Approach to Gang Prevention, Inter- nated by females but that may include male nity agencies, probation and parole vention, and Suppression, which is di- members. The term “female gang members” offices, and incarceration facilities, but rected at gang-involved youth and their refers both to individuals who are members each of these strategies entails unknow- communities. OJJDP’s program includes of female gangs and to those who are members able biases in sampling and in response efforts addressed to females who are or of gender-integrated gangs. sets (see Hagedorn, 1990). who have been gang members. Across the 2. Although most early reports emphasized five sites in this demonstration program, female gang members’ departure from conven- Unfortunately, female gangs have received females represent 20 percent of the tar- tional gender-role norms, a recent report from little programmatic attention. The Family geted youth. These programs offer a foun- Chesney-Lind, Shelden, and Joe (1996) ob- and Youth Services Bureau of the U.S. De- dation to build on, but much more work served that the media produced a counter- partment of Health and Services needs to be done to address the needs of intuitive (and dubious) stereotype of female had a program that explicitly addressed gang members as violent and out of control. females involved with gangs. female gang members, but the program

Family and Youth Services Bureau Programs for Female Gang Members

In 1990, the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) of programs of the 1960’s (e.g., Hanson, 1964), which were the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services granted largely limited to encouraging females to improve their self- 3 years of funding for gang-prevention programs for adoles- image through cosmetics, dress, and deportment. cent females in Boston, MA; Denver, CO; Hartford, CT; Min- In operation, the programs varied considerably in recruitment neapolis, MN; St. Louis, MO; Seattle, WA; and Stockton, CA. practices, emphasis, and organization. David Curry (1998) FYSB hypothesized that female gang members often have reported on programs in Boston, Pueblo, and Seattle. children who join gangs and reasoned that keeping females Boston’s program, which was situated in a housing project, out of gangs might have a multigenerational effect. In 1992, included few females with records of delinquency and fo- four more programs were funded: two expanded the ser- cused on building self-esteem. Pueblo’s program recruited vices offered in Boston and Seattle, and two were estab- broadly and emphasized mentoring, cultural awareness, and lished in Washington, DC, and Pueblo, CO. After consulta- conflict resolution. Seattle’s small program, serving females tion with researchers and practitioners from those projects referred by juvenile courts, focused on counseling and help (reported in FYSB’s September 1993 publication Connec- with school and work. According to Curry (1998, p. 26), “All tions), FYSB began to sharpen the focus of those programs. three programs have been held up as models by their respec- The 1993 FYSB Annual Report summarized key features tive communities, and all have received national attention.” of the programs: The final evaluation revealed significant reductions in five types of delinquency for youth in the Pueblo program and a Participants outlined the key features of services that significant reduction in carrying weapons among youth in the work: building support groups for at-risk females, pro- Seattle program (Williams, Cohen, and Curry, 1999). How- moting cultural awareness, empowering youths to suc- ever, the programs were discontinued in 1995. “The growing ceed, expanding community awareness, sharing infor- disfavor for non-law-enforcement-based programs in Con- mation on conditions that put adolescent females at gress and the non-enthusiastic evaluation results,” Curry ar- risk of gang or criminal involvement, promoting em- gues, led to their demise and also precipitated the termina- ployment opportunities, building spirituality, and pro- tion of other gang prevention projects funded by FYSB. The viding consistency and support (U.S. Department of 11 FYSB programs represent the most important Federal ef- Health and Human Services, 1993, p. 22). forts to date to provide programs specifically for female gang Although these tactics might seem rather broad, they repre- members. sented a considerable advance over the gender-role-bound

9 3. The long-term effects of economic restruc- 13. Another study of Mexican American gangs Campbell, A. 1990. Female participation in turing are summed up in the title of W.J. in Los Angeles also acknowledged the female gangs. In Gangs in America, edited by C.R. Huff. Wilson’s 1997 book When Work Disappears. gang’s deviant behavior, its drug culture, and Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Industrial jobs were replaced by part-time or its violence, arguing that females emulated the temporary work, with salaries that were often males (Harris, 1988). See also Hunt, Joe-Laidler, Chesney-Lind, M., Shelden, R., and Joe, K. 1996. insufficient to support families. Under such and MacKenzie (2000) for the importance of Girls, delinquency, and gang membership. In conditions, the transition from adolescence to drinking (alcohol) in the daily lives of female Gangs in America, 2d ed., edited by C.R. Huff. self-supporting adulthood became even more gang members. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. difficult for poorly educated young people Chin, K. 1996. Gang violence in Chinatown. In than before. 14. A social worker’s memoir of a year spent with a 12-member Puerto Rican female gang Gangs in America, 2d ed., edited by C.R. Huff. 4. One study of city characteristics found that appeared earlier. Hanson (1964) reported both Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. the decline in manufacturing employment was fighting and histories of early molestation, ne- Cohen, M.I., Williams, K., Bekelman, A.M., and strongly correlated with a rise in urban crime glect, and abuse from family members and Crosse, S. 1994. Evaluation of the National rates and number of gangs (Jackson, 1995). male gang members alike. Youth Gang Drug Prevention Program. Report to 5. This study offers a rare analysis of Asian 15. Other ethnic groups include white, Asian, the Administration on Children, Youth and female gangs. Most of the 13 female gang mem- and multiethnic gangs; all have been increasing. Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human bers in the study were either Hawaiian, Sa- Surveys of law enforcement agencies in 1996 Services. Washington, DC: U.S. Government moan, or Filipina. The authors indicated that and 1998 showed more whites in gangs than Printing Office. ethnicity was a major organizing principle of before—14 and 12 percent (Moore and Terrett, Curry, D. 1998. Responding to female gang in- the gangs (Joe and Chesney-Lind, 1995). 1998; National Youth Gang Center, 2000)—and a volvement. In Female Gangs in America, edited survey of eighth graders in 11 cities showed 6. All of these studies involved African Ameri- by J. Hagedorn and M. Chesney-Lind. Chicago, that 25 percent of all gang members were white IL: Lakeview Press. can, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican (Esbensen and Osgood, 1997). The 1996 survey females. also reported that almost half of all gangs were Curry, D. n.d. Research note: Self-reported 7. A female gang member in Detroit, MI, com- multiethnic (Moore and Terrett, 1998), and the gang involvement and officially recorded delin- mented that “the boys would get all the blame” 1998 survey reported that 6 percent were Asian. quency. Criminology, in press. for whatever the girls did (Taylor, 1993, p. 33). Curry, D., Ball, R.A., and Fox, R.J. 1994. Gang 8. Many jurisdictions count an offense as “gang References Crime and Law Enforcement Recordkeeping. related” if it is committed by a gang member. A Research in Brief. Washington, DC: U.S. Depart- Adler, F. 1975. Sisters in Crime. New York, NY: few jurisdictions, like Chicago (see table, page ment of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, McGraw-Hill. 5), require a gang-related motive. National Institute of Justice. The Gangs of New York. 9. Status offenses include underage drinking, Asbury, H. 1927. New Curry, D., and Decker, S. 1998. Confronting truancy, curfew violations, incorrigibility, and York, NY: Blue Ribbon. Gangs. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury. running away. These offenses would not be Bjerregard, B., and Smith, C. 1993. Gender dif- Curtis, R., and Hamid, A. 1997. State sponsored defined as offenses if committed by adults. ferences in gang participation, delinquency, violence in New York City and indigenous at- and substance abuse. Journal of Quantitative 10. Neither the Los Angeles nor the Chicago tempts to contain it: The mediating role of the Criminology 9:329–355. source includes data on male gang arrestees. third crown (sgt. at arms) of the Latin Kings. However, Block and colleagues (1996) found Unpublished paper. New York, NY: John Jay Block, C.R., Christakos, A., Jacob, A., and College. that in Chicago, between 1965 and 1994, Przybylski, R. 1996. Street Gangs and Crime: drug offenses accounted for approximately Patterns and Trends in Chicago. Research Bulle- Decker, S., and Van Winkle, B. 1996. Life in the 30 percent of arrests of both male and tin. Chicago, IL: Illinois Criminal Justice Infor- Gang. New York: Cambridge University Press. female gang members. mation Authority. Deschenes, E.P., and Esbensen, F. 1999. Vio- 11. In these Mexican American gangs, heroin Brotherton, D. 1996. “Smartness,” “Toughness,” lence in gangs: Gender differences in percep- dealing was not an activity of the gang as a and “Autonomy:” Drug use in the context of tions and behavior. Journal of Quantitative whole. Instead, individuals or pairs would go gang female delinquency. Journal of Drug Issues Criminology 15:63–96. into business, and many hired fellow gang 26:261–277. members. Esbensen, F., and Deschenes, E.P. 1998. A Brown, W.K. 1977. Black female gangs in Phila- multisite examination of youth gang member- 12. Some researchers feel that Taylor’s por- delphia. International Journal of Offender ship: Does gender matter? Criminology 36:799– trayal of the changing role of female gang mem- Therapy and Comparative Criminology 21:221– 827. bers in Detroit is offensive, arguing that it re- 228. vives a stereotype of the “liberated female Esbensen, F., and Huizinga, D. 1993. Gangs, crook” dating from the mid-1970’s (Chesney- California Department of Justice. 1997. Female drugs and delinquency in a survey of urban Lind, Shelden, and Joe, 1996). At that time, Gang Members—Arrest Records Reviewed. Sac- youth. Criminology 31:565–589. Adler (1975) contended that female criminality ramento, CA: Office of the Attorney General. Esbensen, F., and Osgood, D.W. 1997. National showed a new pattern of masculine-style vio- Campbell, A. 1984a. The Girls in the Gang. Ox- Evaluation of G.R.E.A.T. Research in Brief. lence and attributed this pattern to the egali- ford, England: Basil Blackwell. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, tarian ideology of the women’s movement. Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of However, later analysis showed that the Campbell, A. 1984b. Girls’ talk: The social rep- Justice. premise underlying the idea (i.e., that violent resentation of aggression by female gang mem- offenses had increased among females) was bers. Criminal Justice and Behavior 11:139–156. Fagan, J. 1990. Social processes of delinquency erroneous (Steffensmeier, 1980). Unfortunately, and drug use among urban gangs. In Gangs in the anecdotal nature of Taylor’s report makes Campbell, A. 1987. Self definition by rejection. America, edited by C.R. Huff. Newbury Park, Social Problems 34:451–466. it difficult to resolve this issue. CA: Sage Publications.

10 Fishman, L. 1988. The Vice Queens: An ethno- Miller, J. 1998. Gender and victimization risk Rice, R. 1963. A reporter at large: The Persian graphic study of black female gang behavior. among young women in youth gangs. Journal of Queens. New Yorker 39(October 19):153–187. Paper presented at the American Society of Research in Crime and Delinquency 35:429–453. Criminology Meetings, Chicago, IL. Sanchez-Jankowski, M. 1991. Islands in the Miller, J. 2000a. Gender dynamics in youth Street. Berkeley, CA: University of California Fishman, L. 1998. Black female gang behavior: gangs: A comparison of males’ and females’ Press. An historical and ethnographic perspective. accounts. Justice Quarterly 17(3):419–448. In Female Gangs in America, edited by M. Short, J., and Strodtbeck, F. 1965. Group Pro- Chesney-Lind and J. Hagedorn. Chicago, IL: Miller, J. 2000b. One of the Guys? Girls, Gangs cesses and Gang Delinquency. Chicago, IL: Lakeview Press. and Gender. New York, NY: Oxford University University of Chicago Press. Press. Hagedorn, J. 1988. People and Folks. Chicago, Spergel, I. 1964. Racketvill, Slumtown, Haulberg. IL: Lakeview Press. Miller, W. 1973. The Molls. Society 11:32–33. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Hagedorn, J. 1990. Back in the field again. In Miller, W. 1975. Violence by Youth Gangs and Spergel, I. 1995. The Youth Gang Problem. New Gangs in America, edited by C.R. Huff. Newbury Youth Groups as a Problem in Major American York, NY: Oxford University Press. Park, CA: Sage Publications. Cities. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Jus- tice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administra- Steffensmeier, D. 1980. Sex differences in pat- Hagedorn, J. 1998. People and Folks. 2d ed. tion, National Institute for Juvenile Justice and terns of adult crime: 1965–1977: A review and Chicago, IL: Lakeview Press. Delinquency Prevention. assessment. Social Forces 58:1080–1108. Hagedorn, J., and Devitt, M. 1999. Fighting fe- Moore, J.W. 1991. Going Down to the Barrio. Taylor, C. 1990. Dangerous Society. East Lan- males: The social construction of the female Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. sing, MI: Michigan State University Press. gang. In Female Gangs in America, edited by M. Moore, J.W. 1994. The chola life course: Chicana Taylor, C. 1993. Girls, Gangs, Women and Drugs. Chesney-Lind and J. Hagedorn. Chicago, IL: East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Lakeview Press. heroin users and the barrio gang. International Journal of the Addictions 29:1115–1126. Press. Hagedorn, J., Torres, J., and Giglio, G. 1998. Moore, J.W., and Hagedorn, J. 1996. What hap- Thrasher, F. 1927. The Gang. Chicago, IL: Uni- Cocaine, kicks and strain: Patterns of sub- versity of Chicago Press. stance abuse in Milwaukee gangs. Contempo- pens to girls in the gang? In Gangs in America, rary Drug Problems 15:133–145. 2d ed., edited by C.R. Huff. 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11 U.S. Department of Justice PRESORTED STANDARD Office of Justice Programs POSTAGE & FEES PAID DOJ/OJJDP Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention PERMIT NO. G–91

Washington, DC 20531 Official Business Penalty for Private Use $300

Bulletin NCJ 186159

This Bulletin was prepared under grant Acknowledgments number 95–JD–MU–KOO1 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Joan Moore is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Sociology at the University of U.S. Department of Justice. Wisconsin—Milwaukee. John Hagedorn is Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Illinois—Chicago. Points of view or opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not Photographs on pages 3 and 7 copyright © 1997–99 Photodisc, Inc. necessarily represent the official position or policies of OJJDP or the U.S. Department of Justice.

Share With Your Colleagues The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delin- quency Prevention is a component of the Of- Unless otherwise noted, OJJDP publications are not copyright protected. We fice of Justice Programs, which also includes encourage you to reproduce this document, share it with your colleagues, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau reprint it in your newsletter or journal. However, if you reprint, please cite OJJDP of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of and the authors of this Bulletin. We are also interested in your feedback, such as Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime. how you received a copy, how you intend to use the information, and how OJJDP materials meet your individual or agency needs. Please direct your comments and questions to: Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse Publication Reprint/Feedback P.O. Box 6000 Rockville, MD 20849–6000 800–638–8736 301–519–5600 (fax) E-mail: [email protected]