This article stresses considerations in carrying out comparative street gang research, with comparative here meaning cross-national research. The discussion rests heavily on three comparative enterprises: the International Self-Report Delinquency Program, the Eurogang Research Program, and the STAGE proposal from the University of Manchester. All three have involved collaborative efforts of a large number of international scholars over a combined 40 years (and counting). The complexities described include those common to many cross-national studies as well as those most specifically pertinent to street gang studies. Special emphasis in the latter is given over to definitional issues which arise both from the ambiguities inherent in the concept of street gangs and from divergent needs of gang researchers. Also discussed are some emerging issues and selected policy implications.
AlbrechtH. -J. (1989). Comparative research on crime and delinquency: The role and relevance of national penal codes and criminal justice systems. In KleinM. W. (Ed.), Cross-national research in self-reported crime and delinquency (pp.227–248).
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.
2.
AldridgeJ. (2007). A cross-national multi-method study about the reciprocal relationships between delinquent youth groups and social exclusion: Lessons for policy and practice.
Proposal submitted to the European Commission. Manchester: University of Manchester School of Law.
3.
BlayaC.GattiU. (2010). Deviant youth groups in Italy and France: Prevalence and characteristics. European Journal of Criminal Policy Research, 16, 127–144.
4.
BradshawP. (2005). Terrors and young teams: Youth gangs and delinquency in Edinburgh. In DeckerS. H.WeermanF. M. (Eds.), European street gangs and troublesome youth groups (pp.193–218).
Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.
5.
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). (2010). Gang Units in Large Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2007. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
6.
CoveyH. C. (2003). Street gangs throughout the world.
Springfield, MA: Charles C. Thomas.
7.
DeckerS. H.WeermanF. M. (Eds.). (2005). European street gangs and troublesome youth groups.
Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.
8.
EsbensenF. A.MaxsonC. L. (Eds.). (2011). Youth gangs in international perspective: Tales from the Eurogang program of research.
New York, NY: Springer.
9.
GattiU.TremblayR. E.ViteroF.McDuffP. (2005). Youth gangs, delinquency, and drug use: A test of the selection, facilitation and enhancement hypotheses. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46, 1178–1190.
10.
HagedornJ. M. (1988). People and folks: Gangs, crime, and the underclass in a rustbelt city.
Chicago, IL: Lake View Press.
11.
HagedornJ. M. (Ed.), (2007). Gangs in the global city: Alternatives to traditional criminology.
Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
12.
HagedornJ. M. (2008). A world of gangs: Armed young men and gangsta culture.
Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
13.
HaymozS.GattiU. (2010). Girl members of deviant youth groups, offending behavior, and victimization: Results from the ISRD 2 in Italy and Switzerland. European Journal of Criminal Policy and Research, 16, 167–182.
14.
HuizingaD.SchumannK. F. (2001). Gang membership in Bremen and Denver: Comparative longitudinal data. In KleinM. W.KernerH. -J.MaxsonC. L.WeitekampE. G. M. (Eds.), The Eurogang paradox: Street gangs and youth groups in the U.S. and Europe (pp.231–246).
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.
15.
Junger-TasJ. (1994). The international self-report delinquency study: Some methodological and theoretical issues. In Junger-TasJ.TerlouwG.- J.KleinM. W. (Eds.), Delinquent behavior among young people in the western world: Final results of the international self-report delinquency study (pp.1–13).
Amsterdam: Kugler Publications.
16.
Junger-TasJ. (2007). International self-report delinquency study (ISRD2). Criminology in Europe, 6, 8.
17.
Junger-TasJ. (2010). The significance of the international self-report delinquency study (ISRD). European Journal of Criminal Policy and Research, 16, 71–87.
18.
Junger-TasJ.MarshallI. H.RibeaudD. (2003). Delinquency in international perspective: The international self-reported delinquency study (ISRD).
The Hague: Kugler Publications.
19.
Junger-TasJ.TerlouwG. -J.KleinM. W. (Eds.). (1994). Delinquent behavior among young people in the western world: First results of the international self-report delinquent study.
Amsterdam: Kugler Publications.
20.
KerstenJ. (2001). Groups of violent young males in Germany. In KleinM. W.KernerH. -J.MaxsonC. L.WeitekampE. G. M. (Eds.), The Eurogang paradox: Street gangs and youth groups in the U.S. and Europe (pp.247–256).
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.
21.
KleinM. W. (Ed.). (1989). Cross-national research in self-reported crime and delinquency.
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.
22.
KleinM. W. (1994). Epilogue. In Junger-TasJ.TerlouwG. -J.KleinM. W. (Eds.), Delinquent behavior among young people in the western world: First results of the international self-report delinquent study (pp.381–385).
Amsterdam: Kugler Publications.
23.
KleinM. W. (1995). The American street gang: Its nature, prevalence, and control.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
24.
KleinM. W. (2006). Street gang cycles. In WilsonJ. Q.PetersiliaJ. (Eds.), Crime (pp.217–236).
San Francisco, CA: Institute for Contemporary Studies.
25.
KleinM. W. (2007). Variations on a theme of gang control. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Criminology, Bologna, Italy.
26.
KleinM. W. (2009). The street gangs of Euroburg: A story of research.
Bloomington, IN: iUniverse.
27.
KleinM. W.KernerH. -J.MaxsonC. L.WeitekampE. G. M. (Eds.), The Eurogang paradox: Street gangs and youth groups in the U.S. and Europe.
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.
28.
KleinM. W.MaxsonC. L. (2006). Street gang patterns and policies.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
29.
KleinM. W.WeermanF. M.ThornberryT. P. (2006). Street gang violence in Europe. European Journal of Criminology, 3, 413–437.
30.
MaxsonC. L. (2001). A proposal for multi-site study of European gangs and youth groups. In KleinM. W.KernerH.-J.MaxsonC. L.WeitekampE. G. M. (Eds.), The Eurogang paradox: Street gangs and youth groups in the U.S. and Europe (pp.298–308).
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.
31.
McClintockF. H.WikstromP. -O. (1987). Violent crime in Scotland and Sweden: The rate, structure, and trends.
Stockholm: University of Stockholm Department of Criminology.
32.
McVieS. (2010). Gang membership and knife carrying: Findings from the Edinburgh study of youth transitions and crime.
Edinburgh: The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research.
33.
PetersonD.MillerJ.EsbensenF. -A. (2001). The impact of sex composition on gangs and gang member delinquency. Criminology, 2, 411–439.
34.
Sanchez-JankowskiM. (1991). Islands in the street: Gangs and American urban society.
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
35.
ShortJ. F.StrodtbeckF. L. (1965). Group process and gang delinquency.
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
36.
SpergelI. A. (1995). The youth gang problem: A community approach.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
37.
SpergelI. A. (2007). Reducing youth gang violence: The Little Village gang project in Chicago.
Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.
38.
ThornberryT. P.KrohnM. D.LizotteA. J.SmithC. A.TobinK. (2003). Gangs and delinquency in development perspective.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
39.
van GemertF.PetersonD.LienI. -L. (Eds.). (2008). Street gangs, migration, and ethnicity.
Portland, OR: Willan Publishing.
40.
WeermanF. M.EsbensenF. -A. (2005). A cross-national comparison of youth gangs: The United States and The Netherlands. In DeckerS. H.WeermanF. M. (Eds.), European street gangs and troublesome youth groups (pp.219–258).
Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.
