Set-Space and Material : How Street Gangs operate within a Material World

• In Event: The Effects of Place-Based Physical Features on Crime

Abstract

Over the past decade Criminology has begun analyzing the localized environment that is host to criminal street gangs, specifically focusing upon a specific “set” of gang members and the turf, or social “space” in which they occupy. Called set-space research, criminologists have focused on either (1) how the gang influences social space or (2) how social space influences the gang. While much research, in general, has focused explicitly on the influence gangs exert upon a neighborhood, city block, and/or street corner, much less attention has gone into understanding the relative influence that the material environment has on both gang-member behavior and on gang group processes and functions. The current research attempts to fill this lacuna. The [ongoing] research effort interviews 50 gang-members living in a large Mid-Southern Metropolis. During an initial interview each participant is being asked to pinpoint their gang’s “set-space”. Next, the gang’s turf is directly observed by the researchers, specifically noting physical structures, geography/topography, and other material accouterments [e.g. sidewalks]. During the final stage, the research team will discover how the localized material environment influences gang behavior, process, and functions. The research will yield practical implications for a number of areas, namely Crime Prevention through Environmental Design.

Author

• Matthew DeGarmo, Arkansas State University