How Gangs Work An Ethnography of Youth Violence [Paperback]

Drawing on extensive interviews with gang members, this book provides a vivid portrayal of gang life. Topics include the profiles and motivations of gang members; the processes of gang evolution, organization, and recruitment; gang members' uses of violence, media, and technology and the role of gangs in the drugs trade and organized crimePreface Acknowledgments About the Author Introduction 1. Gangs and Society 2. Gang Evolution 3. Gang Organization 4. Gangs, Media, and Technology 5. Gang Recruitment 6. Gang Desistance 7. Gang Prevention and Intervention Conclusion Appendix 1: Sample Demographics Appendix 2: Glossary of Terms Bibliography Notes

In many ways, this work is overdue in terms of its contribution to the United Kingdom gang agenda. It signals a shift away from the frequently ideological rhetoric of United Kingdom academics over the last few years which has too often distracted United Kingdom gang scholars and it moves us back to critical ethnography and first-class fieldwork. In so doing, it extends our understanding of the relationships operating within the gang and offers a well-crafted and highly readable interpretation of their street world. - Simon Harding, British Journal of Criminology

How Gangs Work is a much needed volume in the study of gangs and youth culture. James Densley builds on months of in-depth fieldwork to describe gangs and gang members in London. He provides both a framework for understanding gang members, as well as a solid series of steps for changing their lives and helping them exit their gang. The book is a must read for those who would understand the lives of young people in large cities, in London and elsewhere. - Scott H. Decker, Arizona State University, USA

James Densley's book greatly improves our understanding of how juvenile gangs send signals to their larger world, as well as to their own participants. The signalling process is not merely a curiosity: it is at the very colc<