Francine Garcia-Hallcom

Overly broad definitions of “gangs” lead to an exaggeration of their threat, asserts Francine Garcia-Hallcom in the following viewpoint. She notes that many youth who do not belong to gangs have relatives or close friends who are gang members and therefore, they are likely to associate with gangs to some degree. She contends that this close association leads many cities and police departments to incorrectly identify youths as gang members, thus inflating the number of gangs and gangsters. Garcia-Hallcom is a professor at California State University at Northridge.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. In the author’s view, what do inaccurate gang definitions run the risk of initiating?
2. How can antisocial criminals prevent being labeled gang members, according to the author?
3. According to Garcia-Hallcom, why do police agencies sometimes...