Research Catalog

Title

Panic : the social construction of the street gang problem / Richard C. McCorkle, Terance D. Miethe.

Author

McCorkle, Richard C., 1954-

Publication

Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Prentice Hall, c2002.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

Miethe, Terance D.

Description

ix, 230 p. : ill.; 24 cm.

Summary

"Panic: The Social Construction of the Street Gang Problem deals with the "Discovery" of the street gang problem in the United States during the 1980s. In these pages, authors Richard McCorkle and Terance Miethe argue that gangs are a major social threat - not only because of the increased concrete threat, but because of their impact on the world around us. The result has been increased crime, a proliferation of inefficient anti-gang policies, and the squandering of millions of taxpayer dollars." "Panic: The Social Construction of the Street Gang Problem focuses on the events, organizations, and processes that surrounded the gang panic during the late 1980s and early 1990s, a period during which gangs expanded greatly in American cities. This book provides critical insights into the discovery of the gang problem throughout the country and will encourage others to re-examine the nature of the gang threat in any jurisdiction."--Jacket.

Subject

• Gangs > Government policy > United States
• Gangs > United States > Public opinion
• Gangs > Press coverage > United States
• Gangs > Government policy > Nevada
• Gangs > Nevada > Public opinion
• Gang prevention > Nevada
• Public opinion > United States
• Public opinion > Nevada

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Gangs as Moral Panics -- The Emergence of the Gang Threat -- Conditions, Social Problems, and Moral Panics -- Objectivist versus Constructionist Views of Social Problems -- The Role of Claims-Makers in Defining Social Problems -- Public Bureaucrats as Claims-Makers -- Claims-Making and Moral Panics -- Three Examples of Moral Panics -- Gangs as Moral Panics -- Looking Back -- Early 19th Century Urban Gangs -- Western Outlaw Gangs -- Urban Gangs in the Late 19th Century -- Early 20th Century Gangs -- Street Gangs in the 1940s and 1950s -- Gangs in the 1960s and 1970s -- The Police, Crime Control, and Street Gangs -- The Politicization of Crime -- The Criminal Justice Empire -- Police Reports of the Gang Crisis -- Police Response to Gangs -- Crime, Gangs, and the News Media -- Extent and Nature of Crime News -- Media Coverage of the Criminal Justice System -- Media Coverage of Gangs -- Understanding Media Coverage of Crime and Gangs -- Crime News, Attitudes, and Public Policy -- Gangs and the Sociological Perspective -- The Ascendancy of Sociological Criminology -- Sociological Theories of Crime -- The Emergence of the Urban Underclass -- The Gang Panic in Nevada -- The Gang Panic in Las Vegas -- Evolution of the Gang Problem in Las Vegas -- Law Enforcement Responds -- The Community Mobilizes in Response to Reports of the Gang Threat -- Increased Media Attention and Public Concern -- The War on Gangs Intensifies -- The Gang Panic on High School Campuses -- Institutionalization of the Gang Panic.

ISBN

0130944580

LCCN

^^2001036196

OCLC

47255224

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library