Gang Crimes, Hate Crimes: Is Alaska at Risk?
Lawrence C. Trostle
The 1980s and 1990s can be referred to as the "decades of the gang." Hollywood has portrayed, and to some degree glamorized, the street gang in such movies as "Boulevard Nights," "Colors," "American Me," and "Boyz 'n the Hood." Sociological literature dealing with gangs and their etiology has been around considerably longer than Hollywood's fictional portrayals, e.g., Frederick Thrasher, The Gang (1927); Walter Miller, "Lower Class Culture as a Generating Milieu of Gang Delinquency" (1958); Lewis Yablonsky, The Violent Gang (1966); and Joan Moore, et al., Homeboys: Gangs, Drugs, and Prison in the Barrios of Los Angeles (1978).
In dealing with gangs or discussing gang problems, several issues immediately arise: Is there a gang problem? What kind of delinquent or criminal activity are gangs involved in? What is a gang? Are there gangs in our community?
When gang problems are mentioned, places like New York, Detroit, Chicago, and Los Angeles automatically come to mind. Recently local media and the law enforcement establishment in Anchorage have suggested that this city of approximately 250,000 may be witnessing the beginning of a gang problem. Anchorage police and school officials attended a widely publicized conference on gangs in Anchorage in late 1991, where gang experts from San Diego were featured speakers (Doto 1991; Angell 1991).
This chapter will examine some of the sociological literature on gangs, as well as law enforcement's definition of gangs, in order to place the situation in Anchorage and the rest of Alaska in perspective.
In the mid-1980s the state of California made an effort to examine gang problems. In 1986 the California State Task Force on Youth Gang Violence wrote in their final report that twenty-five years ago, police dispatches on youth gang activity typically said "gang fight, knives and chains." At the most, a homemade zip-gun might be found at the scene. Today the police radios blare out "major gang fight, automatic weapons, homicide suspects at the scene" (California State Task Force on Youth Gang Violence 1986, p. vi).
Much of the public testimony heard by the California task force in 1985 and 1986 was quite graphic in its depiction of the crimes, community fear and losses, and disruption of family life caused by youth gangs and youth gang violence. The task force committee was presented with data indicating that youth gangs had become more violent than they were previously, were often linked with prison gangs, used sophisticated weapons, involved younger individuals, and increasingly relied on the sale of narcotics as a means for economic survival. The task force also heard testimony about emerging gang problems associated with the new wave of Southeast Asian immigrants and heavy metal, punk rockers, and allegedly satanic groups (California State Task Force on Youth Gang Violence 1986, p. ix).
A quick perusal of the newspapers on any given day in major U.S. cities like Los Angeles or New York graphically informs the reader what types of activities local gangs are involved in. Besides providing grisly reports, the media also provide a running body count reminiscent of nightly news broadcasts during the Vietnam war. The 1992 Crime Classification Manual (Douglas et al. 1992) provides an example of classic contemporary gang violence under the heading "Gang-Motivated Murder":
As a group of friends from a Los Angeles neighborhood were piling into their cars to go to a movie, someone shouted, "Get down, get down!" Everyone scrambled for safety as gunfire filled the air. The shots were being fired from a car filled with black males. When the attack was over, two hispanic males, ages seventeen and eighteen, were dead. In addition, a four-year-old child died several hours later at the hospital. (Douglas et al. 1992, p. 31)
Who are these adolescents who killed two teenagers and a four-year-old child — the gang members focused on by the media? What is a gang?
The Gang from a Sociological Perspective
Note: Portions of this section have been excerpted from the chapter "The Traditional Gang" in Lawrence C. Trostle, The Stoners: Drugs, Demons and Delinquency. New York: Garland Publishing, 1992, pp. 1-18.
Defining a gang would initially seem to be a relatively simple endeavor; however, things are not always as simple as they appear. The following is a brief and superficial overview of some of the classic sociological research on the gang. This material is provided to give the reader a context for understanding the concept of the gang. Since the literature is extensive, this review is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather only illustrative, of academic research on the etiology, that is, the cause or origin, of the gang.
Frederick Thrasher (1927) stated that a gang develops from a juvenile play group which get into various types of mischief and becomes a gang when the group excites disapproval and opposition, thus acquiring a more definite group-consciousness. In a 1930 study of delinquent youth in Chicago, Clifford Shaw described delinquency as a group activity which was transmitted from older to younger boys with the streets and jails of Chicago as their classrooms. In 1955 Albert Cohen viewed the gang phenomenon as a delinquent subculture formed by lower class youth. Adolescents involved in gangs utilized the norms, values, and expectations of conventional society, but inverted them: black became white, and deviant or delinquent behavior became an acceptable or expected response to conventional stimuli.
Herbert Bloch and Arthur Neiderhoffer's (1958) concept of the gang differed considerably from Cohen's. Based on their own cross-cultural studies, Block and Neiderhoffer came to view the street gang as a vehicle used by adolescents to obtain power and adult status which was otherwise denied them by society. In 1959, Walter Miller, like Cohen to a degree, saw in the gang a lower class reaction to middle class values, and indicated that lower class youth who exhibit these values were automatically defined as delinquent. For example, a lower class adolescent might respond violently towards another male conversing with his sister or girlfriend. This response would be defined as unacceptable behavior for a middle class youth. Consequently, the lower class juvenile's cultural response automatically defined him as a delinquent. Miller noted that lower class youths tended to band together in an attempt to obtain status and prestige from their peers.
Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin (1960) also examined lower class males living in urban areas. These researchers perceived three distinct patterns of delinquent behavior: theft, violence, and drug abuse. Each pattern was associated with a specific and distinct type of gang: the "criminal gang," the "conflict gang," and the "retreatist gang," respectively.
In 1967 Malcolm Klein wrote that gangs in urban America are a function of the
neighborhood structure, existing gang traditions, alternative peer group opportunities, and group support factors (such as police harassment and the existence of rival gangs or even detached workers who may inadvertently perpetuate gang structure and cohesion). Gang existence is also a function of more-or-less specific incidents, mobility patterns, school affiliations, and the like. The point being stressed . . . is that one medium through which these factors exert their influence on individuals is the gang itself. (Klein 1967, p. 3)
These sociological concepts of the gang differ somewhat from the more pragmatic concept of street gangs as defined by law enforcement personnel. In addition, as will be subsequently discussed, gang membership or affiliation with hate groups is not exclusively a subcultural function of lower class youth.
The Gang from the Law Enforcement Perspective
Two veteran police officers with over twenty-five years of experience working with street gangs in Los Angeles define a gang as "a group of people that form an allegiance for a common purpose, and engage in unlawful or criminal conduct" (Jackson and McBride 1985, p. 30). While their definition is adequate and easy to work with, it does lack some specificity. Agent John Douglas and retired agent Robert Ressler of the FBI, in conjunction with several academics, provide one of the better and more comprehensive definitions of a "street gang":
A street gang is an organization, association, or group of three or more people, whether formal or informal, that has as one of its primary activities the commission of antisocial behavior and criminal acts, including homicide. Subculture groups (bikers) are also included within this group.
Street gangs were first formed in response to territorial struggles with rival neighborhoods. Fatalities that were associated with gang activity were largely based on these territorial conflicts. Contemporary gangs are demonstrating signs of evolution from loosely knit gangs to more established, organized crime groups. The flourishing cocaine market has been the propelling force behind this evolutionary process. Because the drug enterprise is now the heart of gang existence, drug-related homicide and street gang murder are becoming synonymous. (Douglas et al. 1992, p. 28)
Gangs and Hate Groups in Alaska
Now that we have briefly examined the sociological concept of the gang and law enforcement definition of a gang, we can return to the question with which we began: Does Alaska have a gang problem?
The answer is no. Alaska does not have a problem with traditional street gangs. However, if the definition of a gang is expanded to include certain motorcycle clubs, then there may be one exception to this negative answer. Historically there has been some trouble with "bikers" in Alaska — specifically, the notorious Hell's Angels, an "outlaw" motorcycle club with branches in several states.
From a law enforcement perspective, motorcycle gangs frequently pose a real threat to public safety. Traditionally, many have also had ties to right-wing hate and racist organizations. Many of their members have been affiliated with the white-supremacist prison gang, the "Aryan Brotherhood," when they have served sentences in the penitentiary (see generally Jackson and McBride 1985; Abandinsky 1990; California Department of Youth Authority 1981). Abandinsky notes that outlaw motorcycle gangs are frequently involved in the distribution of explosives, automatic weapons, and stolen motorcycles and motorcycle parts (1990, p. 227). Additionally, according to Abandinsky, they sometimes provide exotic dancers and prostitutes and traffic in LSD, PCP, and cocaine; they frequently hold the corner on local methamphetamine markets.
The Hell's Angels still has a club in Alaska which can sometimes be seen "flying its colors" on runs during the summer months. However, the group does not currently appear to be causing any problems for local communities or for law enforcement in general in Alaska. According to Alaska law enforcement officials, biker groups in Alaska have assumed a less public role than that of their peers in the continental United States. While some members may still be involved in criminal activity, it appears to be minimal.
In general, the Alaska environment is not conducive to traditional types of street gang formation or activity or for year-round motorcycle riding in biker clubs or gangs. Nor is there a social structure that would support the formation of traditionally-styled street gangs as described above. Huff (1990) points out that, according to the most recent studies of street gangs, the population at greatest risk for becoming involved in gangs are males fourteen to twenty-four, especially those living in poor inner-city neighborhoods. None of Alaska's relatively small cities can be said to have an "inner city." While Anchorage, which with a population of about 250,000 is the largest Alaska city, has some identifiable low income neighborhoods, such as Fairview and Mountain View, there is no evidence of organized street gang activity in those or any other neighborhoods. Alaska's gang problem appears to be an illusory one.
Group delinquent behavior in Alaska, as in many other parts of the country, is all too frequently and inappropriately labeled "gang activity." Officials and the media use the term "gang" loosely and imprecisely, giving the lay reader, listener, and viewer the illusion of gang problems in Alaska. For example, an Anchorage Daily News headline referred to the friends of Raymond Cheely, who was involved in a much publicized highway shooting and subsequent mail bombing — each of which resulted in a death — as "The Gang" (Phillips 1992). The Kodiak Daily Mirror used the headline "Paroled gang leader back in jail after Fairbanks shooting" (1992), which cited a wire story by Fairbanks Daily New-Miner reporter Anna Farneski. In this story, police reported that the leader of a "gang" known as the "Grape Street Posse" had been jailed for firing a handgun at several vehicles. In a telephone interview with the author (December 8, 1992), Farneski indicated that the use of the term "gang" may present a semantic problem; the phrase "small time criminal enterprise" could just as easily be substituted for "gang" leader. In any case, the "Grape Street Posse" should not be mistaken for a traditional street gang. There are also occasional reports of what appear to be gang-related graffiti on the walls of buildings in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Kodiak. However, a smattering of graffiti and media use of the term "gang" do not prove that a gang problem exists.
As in other parts of the country, some Alaska communities have "want-to-be" gang members. A "want-to-be" gang member is an individual who wishes to be associated with or identified with a specific gang or group. These adolescents are on the periphery of the group and have not been accepted as members or associates. Because there are no traditional gangs for "want-to-be" gang members to associate with in Alaska, these adolescents may emulate what they believe to be gang dress and behavior, while imagining both the gang and their membership in it. Their concept of gang behavior and activity is gleaned from movies and media. This type of behavior differs greatly from that of traditional street gang members of the lower 48. These adolescents are best defined as "at-risk-youth" rather than as gang members.
Huff (1992) notes, "One of the dangers to be avoided by police is overreacting by prematurely classifying ('labeling') these marginal 'wanna'be's' as gang members and targeting them for arrest. In fact, some gang members got their first real gang identity courtesy of the police, who saw them associating with a gang and therefore assumed they were committed to that gang" (p. 27, emphasis in original; see also Hagedorn 1988). Angell (1991) emphasizes precisely this point in a response to concerns raised at an Anchorage conference attended by police and school officials on gangs.
Seigel and Senna (1991, p. 11) cite the Task Force on Education of Young Adolescents (1989) as finding that approximately seven million "at-risk youth" in the United States, or 25 percent of children under 17, "are extremely vulnerable to the negative consequences of school failure, substance abuse, and early sexuality, while another 7 million can be classified as at 'moderate risk.'" Though precise statistics are unavailable, Alaska has its share of at-risk youth, including runaways and homeless youth, alcohol and drug abusers, and children in dysfunctional or abusive homes. Participants in a 1991 conference on runaway and homeless youth held in Palmer estimated that over 3500 Alaska youth run away from home each year and that over 1800 are homeless each year (Alaska Division of Family and Youth Services 1992; see also Alaska Juvenile Crime Commission 1986a, 1986b).
Some of Alaska's "at-risk youth" who lack self-esteem and seek approval from their peers have chosen to become identified with the "skinheads" rather than a traditional type of street gang (Doto 1992a; Farneski 1992a).
Skinheads
There are an estimated 2000 to 3000 skinheads in the United States. These youths are most easily identified by their distinctive dress, which generally includes a shaved head or "Mohawk" style hair cut, black Nazi-type stormtrooper or steel-tipped boots, Levis, white t-shirts, frequently supplemented with red suspenders, and Nazi-style tattoos. Skinheads are generally linked with other neo-Nazi gangs who are affiliated with adult white supremacist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and the White Aryan Resistance (WAR). The youth arm of WAR, the Aryan Youth Movement (AYM), is populated by many skinhead groups and has targeted junior high, high school and college students. However, there is no one specific, primary skinhead organization. Skinhead rhetoric is filled with hate directed at Jews, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, the homeless, the elderly and homosexuals. (See generally Center for Democratic Renewal 1988; Bullard 1988; Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith 1989.)
The Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith (1990) reports that, while there has been some decline in the frequency and severity of skinhead crime, there are indications that skinhead groups are recruiting younger and younger members, especially in the vicinity of schools, and that much of skinhead violence takes place between competing skinhead groups.
Robert Hughes, a mediator with the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service who has made several trips to Alaska, has noted an increase in hate crimes in Alaska (Farneski 1992a). Hughes observed that a white supremacist organization has put down roots in Anchorage, and indicated that hard economic times generally tend to precede racial violence. A similar observation was made by Kelly, et al. (1990), who noted that some of the precursors of hate-motivated crime are rapid demographic changes within a community coupled with a fluctuating job market and scarce housing. Some of these indicators are present in Alaska.
During the spring and summer of 1992, hate letters focused primarily on blacks and Jews, and using some of the most derogatory terms and characterizations possible, were widely disseminated in Anchorage. Early in fall semester of 1992, high school students self-identified as skinheads passed out derogatory literature aimed at black students and scrawled racist graffiti on the walls at Hanshew Junior High School. Several fights, which school officials characterized as racially motivated, broke out among the students at Service High School. The Anchorage School District was quick to react, however. The students involved in these incidents were quickly suspended or expelled. Members of the community came together to express their collective concern and anger over these incidents, and there appears to have been a decline in the reported incidents of hate crime. The Anchorage Daily News called for an "Anchorage-specific approach to crimes of bias and hate ("Service High Symptom of Larger Problem" 1992; also see generally Doto 1992a; Blumberg 1992).
Alaska is known as the "Last Frontier." Many people have moved to Alaska from the "Lower 48" states because of the environment of "rugged individualism" associated with the state and its residents. Many Alaska residents are vocal about how tired they are of the government telling them what they can do and when and where they can do it. They express intolerance of the government and of those officials who allegedly trespass on their land and demonstrate a disregard for their personal rights.
They are not, however, intolerant of their neighbors. Survival remains a daily struggle for many Alaskans and they are dependent, to various degrees, on the land, themselves, and their neighbors. In some areas of the state, if a car or snowmachine breaks down in February it quickly becomes a matter of life and death; Alaskans are not reluctant to stop and render aid in such life-threatening circumstances. One thing most Alaskans are not is apathetic. For a street gang or hate group to exist and to intimidate entire communities with total impunity, a community must acquiesce or respond with apathy toward that group's behavior. This does not describe a typical Alaska community.
In addition, Anchorage lacks the community rigidity that is, in part, a requisite to the formation of traditional street gangs. There are no physical areas within the Alaska's urban communities where there has been generational poverty or oppression. In fact, there is very little concentration of people by race or other factors that traditionally give rise to street gangs.
Anchorage is, however, becoming more and more of a cosmopolitan city with attendant problems. Adolescents take guns to school with them (Doto 1992b; Curran 1992) and fight with their peers over racial issues as well as who is taking whom to the prom. To date, these acts have been sporadic, unorganized, and very much individual behavior; while such behavior should not be ignored, there is no basis for labeling it as being gang-related. Alaska does not currently have a gang problem, nor does it have organized hate groups that systematically attack minorities. Criminal behavior deserves to be monitored and appropriately dealt with, but when it comes to gangs and hate groups the old adage of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" seems to apply. The best way to create a gang problem in Alaska is to posit a self-fulfilling prophecy and to label Alaska's "at-risk-youth" as gang members.
Questions for Students
- The author states that neither the environment in Alaska nor its social structure are conducive to the formation of traditional street gangs. What aspects of Alaska's environment and social structure make it difficult for gangs to form? How do they compare with New York or Los Angeles, where street gangs are common? In your opinion, what aspects of Alaska culture would contribute to the formation of gangs?
- Research the involvement of youth in the white supremacist movement. In what ways are "skinhead" groups similar to traditional street gangs? In what ways do they differ?
References
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—————. 1986b. Running Toward Success: Will Our Runaway Kids Fill Our Prisons or Build Alaska's Future? Juneau: Alaska Senate Finance Committee.
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—————. 1992b. Telephone interview with author. December 8.
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