Gangs: Offender Today, Victim Tomorrow

Gang culture gets you one way or the other according to a new paper. Gang members are twice as likely to become both a victim and an offender of a crime than non-gang members. Why? Single acts of violence often lead to retribution between gangs as a whole, according to David Pyrooz, an assistant professor in criminal justice at Sam Houston State University, principal author of the study.  "In other words, gang members are not distinctly offenders or victims; instead, gang membership is a common source of both forms of violence," said Pyrooz. "Today's criminal offender is tomorrow's victim, and today's victim is quite likely to be tomorrow's criminal offender." read more

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