SOC 132 Quiz #3 Questions with Verified Solutions Graded A+
TRUE OR FALSE - There is still no standard definition of a "gang" among U.S. courts or law
enforcement officials - Answers True
TRUE OR FALSE - Sociologists usually describe a "gang" as a group that has been labeled as a
criminal organization by some powerful institution. There are many groups who behave in
similar ways yet avoid being categorized as a gang. - Answers True
TRUE OR FALSE - All of these points regarding anti-gang policies in the U.S. are correct:
● prevention, intervention, or suppression are the key types of objectives in policies which target
criminal behaviors
● suppression methods include policing and legislative tactics)
● most strategies are suppressive - despite being ineffective on their own and often entailing
problematic aspects,
● tactics of suppression do not address prevention or underlying broader structural/social
issues
● anti-gang laws can be federal, state, and/or local
● juveniles can sometimes be charged/tried as adults but as of 2005 can no longer be
sentenced to death - Answers True
TRUE OR FALSE - All of these points regarding enhancement laws in the U.S. are correct:
● increased penalties for specific aspects or motives within a crime are known as
"enhancements"
● enhancements can include operating in a gang-free or drug-free zone, using a firearm, or being
gang-related
● sometimes an enhancement charge may result in a longer sentence than the crime itself -
even for murder - Answers True
Generally, criminological or law enforcement definitions of a "gang" typically include each of
these components, except:
(a) Group of 3 or more people
(b) Members remain in association/contact with each other
(c) Identify with a symbol, name or identifier
(d) Claim a certain turf/territory
, (e) Allegedly involved in a specified number of criminal activities - Answers (d) Claim a certain
turf/territory
Which statement about gang definitions and typologies is false?
(a) Certain groups (i.e. frats, surfers) may fit a jurisdiction's criteria of a gang but are less likely
to be targeted by officials
(b) Gangs can be turf-oriented, crime for profit, ideology/interest based, or hybrid
(c) Every U.S. county has its own clear criteria of what constitutes a "gang" and a "gang
member"
(d) Some types include delinquent groups, taggers, ideological/political/interest-based gangs,
street gangs, "major disruptive groups", prison gangs, and cartels/drug traffickers
(e) On average, members of non-generational street gangs join around the age of 14-15 and
remain active for less than 2 years; in generational street gangs the members generally join at
younger ages and stay involved longer - Answers (c) Every U.S. county has its own clear criteria
of what constitutes a "gang" and a "gang member"
Which claim about gang demographics in the U.S. is false?
(a) The majority of gang-related crime is committed by a relatively small percentage of the gang
population
(b) Gangs typically form as means of protection/survival and in response to
exclusion/marginalization
(c) U.S. prison gangs and motorcycle gangs now accept female members
(d) Around 1% of the U.S. population qualify as "gang members" and this rate is no different
among immigrants
(e) In recent years gang members have been less likely to display traditional indicators of
membership - like tattoos
(f) Street gang violence is usually opportunistic, unplanned, and due to a chance encounter.
Most occur in the late afternoon or evening, which is another reason why extracurricular
activities can be so important for youths - Answers (c) U.S. prison gangs and motorcycle gangs
now accept female members
Which statement about desisting from gangs (also known as "knifing off") is false?
(a) Misconceptions include that gang membership is for life and there is no such thing as a
former gang member
TRUE OR FALSE - There is still no standard definition of a "gang" among U.S. courts or law
enforcement officials - Answers True
TRUE OR FALSE - Sociologists usually describe a "gang" as a group that has been labeled as a
criminal organization by some powerful institution. There are many groups who behave in
similar ways yet avoid being categorized as a gang. - Answers True
TRUE OR FALSE - All of these points regarding anti-gang policies in the U.S. are correct:
● prevention, intervention, or suppression are the key types of objectives in policies which target
criminal behaviors
● suppression methods include policing and legislative tactics)
● most strategies are suppressive - despite being ineffective on their own and often entailing
problematic aspects,
● tactics of suppression do not address prevention or underlying broader structural/social
issues
● anti-gang laws can be federal, state, and/or local
● juveniles can sometimes be charged/tried as adults but as of 2005 can no longer be
sentenced to death - Answers True
TRUE OR FALSE - All of these points regarding enhancement laws in the U.S. are correct:
● increased penalties for specific aspects or motives within a crime are known as
"enhancements"
● enhancements can include operating in a gang-free or drug-free zone, using a firearm, or being
gang-related
● sometimes an enhancement charge may result in a longer sentence than the crime itself -
even for murder - Answers True
Generally, criminological or law enforcement definitions of a "gang" typically include each of
these components, except:
(a) Group of 3 or more people
(b) Members remain in association/contact with each other
(c) Identify with a symbol, name or identifier
(d) Claim a certain turf/territory
, (e) Allegedly involved in a specified number of criminal activities - Answers (d) Claim a certain
turf/territory
Which statement about gang definitions and typologies is false?
(a) Certain groups (i.e. frats, surfers) may fit a jurisdiction's criteria of a gang but are less likely
to be targeted by officials
(b) Gangs can be turf-oriented, crime for profit, ideology/interest based, or hybrid
(c) Every U.S. county has its own clear criteria of what constitutes a "gang" and a "gang
member"
(d) Some types include delinquent groups, taggers, ideological/political/interest-based gangs,
street gangs, "major disruptive groups", prison gangs, and cartels/drug traffickers
(e) On average, members of non-generational street gangs join around the age of 14-15 and
remain active for less than 2 years; in generational street gangs the members generally join at
younger ages and stay involved longer - Answers (c) Every U.S. county has its own clear criteria
of what constitutes a "gang" and a "gang member"
Which claim about gang demographics in the U.S. is false?
(a) The majority of gang-related crime is committed by a relatively small percentage of the gang
population
(b) Gangs typically form as means of protection/survival and in response to
exclusion/marginalization
(c) U.S. prison gangs and motorcycle gangs now accept female members
(d) Around 1% of the U.S. population qualify as "gang members" and this rate is no different
among immigrants
(e) In recent years gang members have been less likely to display traditional indicators of
membership - like tattoos
(f) Street gang violence is usually opportunistic, unplanned, and due to a chance encounter.
Most occur in the late afternoon or evening, which is another reason why extracurricular
activities can be so important for youths - Answers (c) U.S. prison gangs and motorcycle gangs
now accept female members
Which statement about desisting from gangs (also known as "knifing off") is false?
(a) Misconceptions include that gang membership is for life and there is no such thing as a
former gang member
