The conceptualization of gangs: Changing the focus

Discussions about the gang construct and appropriate definitions have been pervasive throughout gang research. This paper seeks to shed light on these discussions by adopting a theoretical perspective to examine the suitability of 'gangs' as a target of explanation and the appropriateness of current definitional approaches. First, we examine the validity and utility of the gang construct. It is concluded that the gang label has poor construct validity and limited explanatory utility, thereby making it unsuitable for theoretical purposes. Instead, we suggest that researchers need to focus on what gangs are at a foundational level, namely groups, and that the group should be the target of explanation. Second, we consider the limitations of gang definitions for theory construction and instead offer a method known as three-tier analysis to comprehensively conceptualize groups without discussions of necessary and sufficient definitional boundaries. Finally, we produce a framework based on these findings and demonstrate how it facilitates understanding of a specific gang exemplar. In doing so, we bypass several theoretical roadblocks obstructing gang research and advance a way to explain the group and (by extension) gangs, thus improving our understanding of groups and gangs with the purpose of ultimately informing practice and policy initiatives.