Definitions Of Youth Gang

This definition shares some homogeneous attributes with the definition of the Euro gang Network with its reference to durability, territorial space or geographical orientation and more significantly a unique youth group identity that fixates on violent and illegal activities. On the other hand, albeit any group of young people can be defined as a gang, it is their criminal and violent activities that engender fear and as a result, it is perceived as problematic in society (HM Government, 2010). Equally, this definition has attracted a good deal of criticism (Katz and Jackson-Jacobs 2004; Pickles, 2009) with much of this criticism concentrating on the way in which these organised characteristics have led to an exaggerated claim as to the scale of the gang problem in the UK (Joseph et al 2011). However, some researchers have suggested that many gangs consist of adults not just young people acting as role models for the gang (Klein
Having provided a variety of definitions of the term ‘gang’, research need to take into account the fact that the term “gang holds a powerful meaning for young people themselves and the debates surrounding youth gang definitions should not ignore this fact” (Bannister and Fraser, 2008, pg. 98). However, despite the various definitions used to identify gangs, there is no fixed universal and comprehensive definition (Centre for Social Justice, 2009; Hallsworth and Young, 2008; Petersen, 2000) as "…many experts find fault with nearly every definition" (Esbensen et al 2001, p106) and this may cause implications “on the measurability of the gang” (Hallsworth and Young, 2008, pg. 178). As a result, there is no way of knowing the true scale of the problem