Gangs are multifaceted and varied, so any attempt to understand them cannot be restricted to a singular approach. On Gangs provides a diverse and comprehensive survey of the available theories for understanding this social issue as well as the broad range of responses to it. The authors look at the many influences on gangs’ operation, growth, prevention, and enforcement.

The authors provide different criminological, psychological, and sociological approaches to gang studies, including interviews with past and current gang members. On Gangs presents the core issues for understanding gangs, including emerging topics like prison gangs, gender and gangs, and international gangs. There is also a focus on policing, legislation, and punishment. Weaving together research and policy findings to address the causes, contexts, and consequences of gangs, the authors address topics including joining, resisting, and leaving gangs, and how gangs operate in communities and institutions.  

An authoritative and sweeping tour of gang scholarship, On Gangs showcases the critical evidence-based solutions in prevention, enforcement, legislation, and intervention. The authors seek to answer the question: How do we effectively deal with gangs and gang membership?

Scott H. Decker  is Foundation Professor Emeritus in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. His books include, Drug Smugglers on Drug Smuggling, and Criminology and Public Policy (Temple), as well as Life in the Gang: Family, Friends, and Violence, and Competing for Control: Gangs and the Social Order of Prison (Cambridge).

David C. Pyrooz is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is the author of Confronting Gangs, The Handbook of Gangs and Competing for Control: Gangs and the Social Order of Prisons.

James A. Densley is Professor and Chair of the School of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice at Metropolitan State University. He is the author of How Gangs Work: An Ethnography of Youth Violence, and Scotland’s Gang Members: Life and Crime In Glasgow.