YOUTH GANGS IN A SMALL MIDWESTERN CITY: INSIDERS’ PERSPECTIVES

ABSTRACT

Youth gangs are not unique to large urban areas, but are now reported in a significant number of communities with lesser populations. In response to this reported phenomenon, gang researchers have begun to focus their attention on the structural conditions and processes that have given rise to these deviant groups in smaller-sized cities and towns. From recent studies of gangs in nonmetropolitan areas, we are now beginning to discern the true dimensions of youth gang involvement in communities with populations of 100,000 or less. We are also beginning to see that there may be some qualitative differences in the way gangs are structured based upon city size. After first reviewing the scholarly literature on the youth gang phenomenon in smaller community settings, this paper describes research on members of adolescent youth gangs in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Using the case of Kenosha, this study also questions the common assumption that proximity to a large urban area such as Chicago, with over 12,000 gang members, is the key significant factor in explaining the development of youth gangs in nearby smaller-sized communities.