Tales From the Hood

Abstract

Using in-depth interviews with current and former gang members in Bexar County, Texas, and Orange County, Florida, this research examines the processes and methods of joining and leaving gangs. Although initiation is generally believed to be the line of demarcation for gang members, the gang members interviewed for this study indicated that there are several nonviolent methods of gang entrance. Gang desistance was very common, but successfully leaving the gang often depended upon geographical separation and alternate support systems. Lack of the aforementioned elements led to ambivalent behaviors in which individuals straddled the line between gangs and conventional lifestyles.