Gang Definition and Classification Classifying gangs is no simple task and to begin you must thoroughly understand the definition and requirements of being classified as a such. There are multiple definitions of a gang, according to The Modern Gang Reader but the one I will focus on is “A street gang is any durable street-oriented youth group whose involvement in illegal activity is part of its group identity.” Now that the definition has been identified it needs to be broken down further to clearly differentiate why this definition is essential. Durable means that the gang can exist for an extended amount of time and not wither away after there is conflict. Smaller collectives don’t have this luxury and can attempt to be a gang, but after …show more content…
The traditional gang has been in existence for more than two decades and continue to regenerate by recruiting more members. These gangs are separated by either age or neighborhoods. These gangs are extremely territorial with a multitude of cliques embedded within it. The neotraditional gang is extremely similar to the traditional form but hasn’t been in existence for the same amount of time. They typically range from one decade or less with a medium number of members ranging from 50 to a couple of hundred members. This group too has embedded subgroups based on age or territory. In theory, the neotraditional gang is a new territorial gang that is on its way to becoming a traditional gang. The compressed gang is small in quantity with approximately 50 members who don’t yet have the capability to have subgroups. With such a minute number of individuals in the group, the age gap between members is very small. The collective gang is like that of the compressed gang. The major difference between the two gangs is that the collective gang has a larger age variance and has a slightly longer existence than the compressed