The Emergence of Latino Street Gangs in Indianapolis: Migration or Emulation?

印第安纳波利斯拉丁裔街头帮派的出现：移民还是模仿？

• 批准号: 0961755
• 负责人: Mike Tapia
• 金额: $ 8.27万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at San Antonio
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-05-15 至 2011-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0961755&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Emergence; Latino; Street; Gangs; Indianapolis

Like many medium to large Midwestern cities, Indianapolis, Indiana, has witnessed the growing presence of Latino street gangs over the past decade. This recent development is clearly linked to a substantial Latino population influx to the region that began in the early 1990's. Seizing on the opportunity to analyze the early stages of gang emergence, this study seeks to advance theoretical understanding of gang formation. The project is guided by two competing perspectives on how and why these gangs are emerging in the Midwest. Most research on gang emergence in new locations claims it is a "homegrown" problem, a function of increasing local poverty and human adaptation to deteriorating social conditions. An alternate view, common among law enforcement officials, suggests that gang members strategically migrate from other places in the U.S. or Latin America as a way to expand their criminal operations. The researchers will conduct extensive fieldwork to investigate the issue in a large Midwestern city and determine which of these processes best explains the Latino gang growth phenomenon.The research team began interviewing gang officers, school personnel, and members of Latino street gangs in the summer of 2004 and have followed developments there ever since. The evidence gathered to date slightly favors the migration explanation over the homegrown thesis. Many gang members claim direct or indirect gang ties to California, Chicago, New York, and several Latin American countries. The gangs they claim affiliation with are well-known street organizations with branches or "sets" across the nation. This research continues to interview former and current gang members about their reasons for migrating to the Midwest and whether they brought their gang affiliations with them or joined locally-formed groups. Upon completion, this research effort will yield the most thorough understanding of domestic and international migration as a cause of Latino gang formation in U.S. cities historically devoid of such groups.

像许多中西部大中型城市一样，印第安纳州的印第安纳波利斯在过去十年中见证了拉丁裔街头帮派的日益增多。最近的这一发展显然与20世纪90年代初开始的大量拉丁美洲人口涌入该地区有关。抓住机会，分析帮派出现的早期阶段，本研究旨在推进帮派形成的理论理解。该项目是由两个相互竞争的观点来指导的，即这些帮派是如何以及为什么在中西部出现的。大多数关于帮派在新地点出现的研究都声称这是一个“土生土长”的问题，是当地贫困加剧和人类适应不断恶化的社会条件的一个函数。另一种在执法官员中很常见的观点认为，帮派成员从美国或拉丁美洲的其他地方战略性地移民，作为扩大犯罪活动的一种方式。研究人员将进行广泛的实地调查，在一个大的中西部城市的问题，并确定这些过程最好地解释了拉丁美洲帮派的增长现象。研究小组开始采访帮派官员，学校工作人员，和拉丁美洲街头帮派成员在2004年夏天，并一直跟踪发展至今。迄今为止收集到的证据稍微倾向于移民的解释，而不是本土的论点。许多帮派成员声称与加州、芝加哥、纽约和几个拉丁美洲国家有直接或间接的帮派联系。他们声称与之有联系的帮派是著名的街头组织，在全国各地设有分支机构或“据点”。这项研究继续采访以前和现在的帮派成员关于他们迁移到中西部的原因，以及他们是否带来了他们的帮派关系或加入当地成立的团体。完成后，这项研究工作将产生国内和国际移民的最透彻的理解，作为拉丁美洲帮派形成的原因在美国城市历史上没有这样的群体。