![handle is hein.journals/crmlsc56 and id is 1 raw text is: Crime Law Soc Change (2011) 56:1-26
DOI 10.1007/s10611-011-9301-x
Gang change and evolutionary theory
Julie Ayling
Published online: 7 April 2011
O Springer Science+Business Media B.V 2011
Abstract While most street gangs are temporary and disorganized, some have
institutionalized, and a number of these show signs of evolving into more serious
criminal enterprises, becoming more networked, technologically savvy and
internationalized, less visible, more predatory and sometimes more violent. The
boundaries that researchers have drawn between gangs and other types of criminal
groups, particularly organized crime, are becoming blurred. Understanding why this
is happening is crucial to planning effective responses. This article suggests that
evolutionary theory, involving processes of variation, selection and replication,
would constitute a valuable tool for this purpose. Using an evolutionary framework
would enable the application of a longitudinal perspective to the microsocial level of
analysis, the gang itself, which until now has not had as much attention as other
levels of analysis in gang research. Taking inspiration from evolutionary theories in
organizational sociology and economics, this article explores how evolutionary
theory might be used to understand gang change and locate gangs within
evolutionary sequences. It argues that adopting an evolutionary perspective will
improve the capacity of law enforcement agencies to focus scarce resources where
they are most needed and to plan and implement successful interventions.
Introduction
Frederick Thrasher's 1927 study of over thirteen hundred Chicago gangs was
intended to throw some light upon the genesis of crime in a great city and the
necessity of dealing with the problem at its sources ([112]: 312). Instead it became
the starting point for a research stream devoted to studying street or youth gangs as a
J. Ayling (E)
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security,
Regulatory Institutions Network, School of Regulation,
Justice and Diplomacy, College of Asia and the Pacific,
Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
e-mail: julie.ayling@anu.edu.au
4L Springer](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/crmlsc56&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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