Toward A Signaling Theory of Disengagement from Gangs

• In Event: Global Perspectives on Gangs, Violence and Desistance

Abstract

Informed by empirical study in the United Kingdom and United States, and building on recent applications of signaling theory to the study of gangs particularly and criminology generally, this paper reviews the current inventory of theory and research on gang desistance and reinterprets it through the lens of signaling. We argue a gang member’s intent to leave the gang constitutes private information that must be reliably communicated to competing audiences—the gang, the community, including family and rival gangs, and crime control agents—in order to be realized. In turn, we present the case for a dynamic and reciprocal gang disengagement process that includes criminal credentials, vouching, and credible commitments/burning bridges as methods for leaving. The absence of these processes results in ambivalent role exits, which in turn are anticipated to have consequences for, as examples, offending, victimization, and continued gang ties. We conclude that signaling theory not only allows for a theoretical reconceptualization of gang disengagement, but also can help to better understand the moderators influencing the differential patterning of moving away from gangs (e.g., demographics, gang embeddedness, programs, and gang organization) as well as the consequences of gang desistance.

Authors

• David Pyrooz, University of Colorado Boulder

• James A. Densley, Metropolitan State University