Crime Victimization among Gang and Nongang Prison Inmates: Examining Perceptions of Social Disorganization

Abstract

The current study examines whether the relationship between gang membership and crime victimization exists among a sample of prison inmates, and if perceptions of social disorganization influences this relationship. More specifically, we examine whether (1) gang members are more likely to be victimized compared to nongang members, (2) perceptions of social disorganization are associated with victimization, and (3) accounting for inmates' offending mediates the relationship between social disorganization and victimization. A sample of gang and nongang members incarcerated in prison were interviewed about their involvement in crime, experiences with victimization, and perceptions of neighborhood disorganization. Results indicate that gang members are significantly more likely to be victimized compared to nongang members and perceptions of social disorganization explain the likelihood of victimization among gang members only. Crime perpetration mediates the relationship between perceptions of social disorganization and victimization among gang members.

Keywords:

• gang members
• crime victimization
• prison inmates
• social disorganization theory

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Crime Victims Institute at Sam Houston State University. The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of the funding agency or those of the participating correctional facilities. The authors would like to thank the prison administrators and inmates who participated in this research.

The research contained in this document was coordinated in part by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Project #582-AR09. The contents of this document reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Notes

1. As an example, the journal Criminology and Public Policy recently devoted a portion of a 2009 issue to the gang problem, which featured six articles.

2. This reference period was selected in an effort to reduce potential issues of inaccurate recall and temporal ordering.

3. Members of the Mexican Mafia expressed concern for their safety, as they endorse strict rules regarding the discussion of their gang and gang activities. Additionally, on one day of interviewing, members of the Aryan Brotherhood were instructed not to participate in the study by a leader in the gang; however, members participated on other days of interviewing.

4. For the large majority of participants, their self-reported gang membership was taken at face value. However, there were a few participants who denied ever belonging to a gang, yet who displayed a tattoo with the name of a gang visibly and prominently. Such participants with overwhelming evidence of gang membership were coded as gang members, although this affected very few respondents (N = 8).

5. Interviewers were instructed not to include participants who were only members of prison gangs or who were in a gang for less than two years. However, one participant was included in the gang sample despite gang involvement of less than two years.