Street Gangs in Winnipeg: Inner-City Youth Prevention Programs As Sites of Resistance?
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Street Gangs in Winnipeg: Inner-City Youth Prevention Programs as Sites of Resistance? By Daniel Levin A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Sociology University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba © 2014 by Daniel Levin Abstract Street gangs have come to be defined as a problem in marginalized communities globally, including in Winnipeg’s inner-city communities where Indigenous street gangs proliferate. Drawing on both post-colonial literature and critical gang studies research, this study situates the advent and growth of Indigenous street gangs in the context of settler colonialism and global economic restructuring. While the current street gang problem is rooted in structural barriers created in the past, the turn to a New Right political rationality has meant that solutions must now be individually focused, economically efficient, and created within an “at risk” framework. A key question addressed, therefore, is: to what extent can community-based organizations operating within an “at risk” framework act as sites of resistance to the New Right political rationality, and effect long-term changes to the street gang problem by addressing the underlying structures that have led to the inequality and marginalization of Indigenous peoples in Canada today? Interviews with eight workers at four inner-city organizations in Winnipeg determined that community-based youth gang prevention programs are able to act as sites of resistance to the New Right rationality by redefining what it means for youth to be considered “at risk” from a set of individual choices to a product of multiple marginalities. For these organizations, for youth to make “smart choices” to “stay away from gangs and crime” involves providing them with long-term resources and support. Workers also actively endeavour to expand the definition of “success.” Rather than simply defining success as making the choice to stay out of gangs, they interpret it as a series of small positive steps along a journey, such that over time through building relationships with youth large positive changes can occur. The study also found that short-term, program-based funding for street gang prevention programs results in ii the inefficient use of resources, reduces the ability to create long-term, positive changes to the street gang problem, and often does not provide the resources to effect larger structural changes to the conditions that lead youth to join street gangs. Within this context both Indigenous and non-Indigenous community-based organizations have a role to play in working toward decolonization by challenging and changing the relational structures in society that perpetuate colonization, working together in mutual support, and moving forward in a shared understanding to meet the needs of everyone. iii Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest and sincerest thanks to my advisor, Dr. Elizabeth Comack, whose guidance and mentorship have been invaluable throughout every stage of this project. Dr. Comack worked tirelessly to provide exceptional advice, provided me the opportunity to work as a research assistant on several of her projects, and worked to find financial support for this project. I cannot express enough how truly grateful I am for all of her hard work, guidance, and support. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Andrew Woolford and Dr. Lawrence Deane, for all the hard work and support they have given to this project. I would like to thank the administrative staff in the Department of Sociology—Dianne Bulback, Donna Alexiuk, and Margaret Currie—for the support they have given me. In addition, I am pleased to acknowledge the generous financial support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada through the Manitoba Research Alliance grant, “Partnering for Change: Community-based Solutions for Aboriginal and Inner-city Poverty,” and the University of Manitoba Faculty of Graduate Studies through the Graduate Enhancement of Tri-Council Stipends (GETS) fund. iv Contents Abstract ________________________________________________________________ i Acknowledgements ______________________________________________________ iii Introduction ____________________________________________________________ 1 The Outline of the Study ________________________________________________ 6 Chapter One: Colonization, Globalization, Marginalization, and Street Gangs ________ 8 Colonization _________________________________________________________ 8 Economic Restructuring and Globalization _________________________________ 13 Modern Repercussions for Indigenous Peoples _____________________________ 16 Street Gangs _________________________________________________________ 19 Criminological Definitions and Explanations _____________________________ 20 Liminal Spaces _____________________________________________________ 25 Street Gangs in Winnipeg ____________________________________________ 26 Concluding Remarks __________________________________________________ 28 Chapter Two: The New Right, Risk, and Street Gang Prevention _________________ 30 From Social Welfare to the New Right ____________________________________ 31 Risk _______________________________________________________________ 41 Street Gang Prevention ________________________________________________ 48 Historical Responses ________________________________________________ 49 Local Responses of the New Right _____________________________________ 51 Community Based Approaches ________________________________________ 54 Concluding Remarks __________________________________________________ 57 Chapter Three: Methodology _____________________________________________ 59 Critical Discourse Analysis _____________________________________________ 61 Data Analysis ________________________________________________________ 63 Concluding Remarks __________________________________________________ 64 Chapter Flour: “Smart Choices,” “Success,” and Resistance _____________________ 66 “At Risk” Terminology ________________________________________________ 67 Using “At Risk” Language ____________________________________________ 67 Redefining “At Risk” ________________________________________________ 70 Making “Smart Choices” _____________________________________________ 72 Redefining “Success” _________________________________________________ 74 Concluding Remarks __________________________________________________ 79 Chapter Five: Youth Gang Prevention: Limits to Change _______________________ 81 Funding Limitations __________________________________________________ 82 Short-term Funding _________________________________________________ 83 Efficiency _________________________________________________________ 87 Local Context and Alternative Funding __________________________________ 91 Indigenous Organizations ______________________________________________ 96 Concluding Remarks __________________________________________________ 98 Conclusion ___________________________________________________________ 99 v References ___________________________________________________________ 105 Legislation Cited ____________________________________________________ 112 Appendix A: Interview Schedule _________________________________________ 113 Appendix B: Informed Consent Form _____________________________________ 115 vi Introduction Around the world street gangs have come to be perceived as a growing problem, especially in inner-city neighbourhoods characterized by high levels of poverty, marginality, and social exclusion (Hagedorn 2008; Wacquant 2008; Vigil 2007, 2003, 2002; Klein and Maxson 2006; Moore 1978). In Canada there are an estimated 11,000 street gang members (Linden 2010: 4), with virtually all regions of the country having some level of street gang activity. The problem, however, is considered to be most severe in Western Canada, especially in the Prairie Provinces (Totten 2012: 64). With approximately 2,000 street gang members, Winnipeg has the highest proportion of street gang members in all of Canada (Chettleburgh 2007: 22). Activities such as murder, assault, drug trafficking, street-level drug dealing, and the sex trade have made street gangs a central focus of the criminal justice system (Comack et al. 2013; Levin 2013; Buddle 2011; Grekul and LaBoucane-Benson 2008). Like other urban centres, Winnipeg’s inner-city communities are characterized by poverty and its associated problems, including: family instability; limited opportunities to access stable, long-term employment that offers adequate wages; high-school and post-secondary graduation rates significantly lower than the Winnipeg average; and marginalization and social exclusion (MacKinnon, Fernandez, and Cooper 2012; Cooper 2011; Wilson and Macdonald 2010). Just over 20 percent of households in Winnipeg live in poverty (MacKinnon, Fernandez, and Cooper 2012: 17). Within the inner-city, however, 33 percent of households do not earn enough to meet their basic needs for items such as food, clothing, and shelter (Cooper 2011: 23). At ten percent of the population, Winnipeg has the largest proportion of Indigenous peoples of the major urban centres in Canada (Statistics Canada 2010). Comprising 1 approximately 21 percent of the population—a number that rises to over 50 percent in some neighbourhoods (MacKinnon, Fernandez, and Cooper 2012: 15)—Winnipeg’s inner-city communities are home to a growing number of Indigenous peoples.