Peter Landesman has written a fascinating article for L.A. Weekly on street gangs. The events he details are chilling.
I can’t say I agree with some of the broader claims of the piece, however.
Landesman argues that the gang problem is worse than it has ever been, and that gang violence hasn’t dropped the way other crimes have. A quick glance at the homicide rates among young black males over the last 15 years shows that this statement just can’t be accurate. The biggest declines in homicide have been among young black males, both in absolute and percentage terms.
Also, in the gangs that Sudhir Venkatesh studies, violence is sometimes random, but more often is used for some clear purpose: punishing misbehavior, establishing property rights, or trying to prove that the perpetrator is leadership material. My reading of the Landesman article was that most of the violence was completely senseless — done without real thought or purpose, just because it was fun, almost. That was the exact argument put forth about the Superpredator generation in the early 1990s — just before crime in that generation plunged like it never had before. I see no more reason to believe the current generation of young people is any worse than the last.
(Hat tip: Tim Groseclose)
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“the homicide rates among young black males over the last 15 years shows that this statement just can’t be accurate”
What about the homicide rate among young Hispanic males (and females)? Remember, this is Los Angeles we’re talking about. I hear people up and down the state of CA complaining about how bad the gang problem is even in cities that used to be immune, and a lot of these gangs are imported from Mexico.
“the homicide rates among young black males over the last 15 years shows that this statement just can’t be accurate”
What about the homicide rate among young Hispanic males (and females)? Remember, this is Los Angeles we’re talking about. I hear people up and down the state of CA complaining about how bad the gang problem is even in cities that used to be immune, and a lot of these gangs are imported from Mexico.
Am I wrong? Last time I looked, the gangs in LA were predominately Latino. Has anyone looked at their numbers?
Am I wrong? Last time I looked, the gangs in LA were predominately Latino. Has anyone looked at their numbers?
I have to agree with Susanna. It sounds pretty sloppy to equate homicide rates in young black males nation wide with gang violence in LA.
Homicide is not the same as ‘gang violence’ (maybe fewer deaths but more injuries?)
LA is not the nation. duh!
The homicide stats break down race into ‘Black’ and ‘White’. Frankly, that’s a pretty ‘White’ way of looking at it.
I have to agree with Susanna. It sounds pretty sloppy to equate homicide rates in young black males nation wide with gang violence in LA.
Homicide is not the same as ‘gang violence’ (maybe fewer deaths but more injuries?)
LA is not the nation. duh!
The homicide stats break down race into ‘Black’ and ‘White’. Frankly, that’s a pretty ‘White’ way of looking at it.
Only looking at homicide rates over the last 15 years doesn’t take in account improvements in medicine. Doctors can now save the lives of many more victims of gang violence, making homicide a biased measure when looking over time.
http://www.mise.org/mise/index.jsp?p=decade_home (Fun summary of “A Decade of Advances”)
Only looking at homicide rates over the last 15 years doesn’t take in account improvements in medicine. Doctors can now save the lives of many more victims of gang violence, making homicide a biased measure when looking over time.
http://www.mise.org/mise/index.jsp?p=decade_home (Fun summary of “A Decade of Advances”)