The Gang's All Here: The Globalization of Gang Activity

Abstract : US-style gangs are becoming more common worldwide because of globalization, and such development reveals a tight connection with a number of factors. First is the US policy of deporting immigrants convicted of crimes back to their home countries, including those involved in drug or gang related offenses; the receiving countries rarely have appropriate programs to deal with the gang problems exported to them and this allows for such groups to reconnect, thrive and expand. Second, the transnational aspects of the drug trade make international criminal activity more salient. Third, the media, including Hollywood movies and the internet, glamorize the gang lifestyle. These traits are leading to the emergence of transnational youth and young adult criminal gangs. On rare occasions, such gangs have proved themselves as national security threats and, as their prevalence grows, so too wilt the level of threat. Very few forecasts regarding the growth of youth and young adult gang activity exist. Moreover, there have been only a small number of studies on transnational gangs. Thus, the intent of this paper is to reach new ground by forecasting which countries are most likely to have substantial pool of potential gang recruits in the near future. This project will be accomplished by comparing the well-studied sociological traits associated with gangs with aspects of different countries. Such traits include a large population of young males, high levels of juvenile delinquency, drug use, high numbers of criminals in the population, high poverty rates, and a large number of single parent, mother-led families.