Chapter 2: Myths and Realities of Youth Gangs

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following is NOT one of the common myths promoted about gangs?

a. Gangs of the same name are connected.

b. Children are joining gangs at younger and younger ages.

c. Gangs spend most of their time planning and committing crimes.

d. Gangs are key players in firearms trafficking.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Which of the following gang activities is NOT an example of the “false coral snake” phenomenon described by Felson (2006)?

a. wearing only red to look like a “Blood”

b. dealing on a street corner

c. flashing a hand sign

d. painting gang graffiti

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Which of the following myths promoted in broadcast media would gang members be most likely to promote themselves?

a. Violence is pervasive.

b. Gangs are an urban problem.

c. There is very little diversity in the types of gangs that exist.

d. Gangs are trying to spread throughout the country.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Most gangs do not meet the criteria for organized crime because they are not well ______.

a. structured

b. armed

c. funded

d. diversified

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 1)

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Gangs’ set spaces are typically ______.

a. larger than neighborhoods

b. the same size as neighborhoods

c. unknown in size

d. smaller than neighborhoods

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 1)

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Exceptions to the myth that gangs of the same name are connected are most commonly found among ______ gangs.

a. Black

b. prison

c. transnational

d. female

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 2)

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Which of the following phrases reflects the process whereby gangs promote their own myths about their dangerousness?

a. fallacy

b. big gang theory

c. crime reporting wave

d. gang suppression

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Which of the following is NOT a source of gang myths?

a. broadcast media

b. gang members themselves

c. prison officials

d. legislators

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. What is the most common sub-myth of the “gang migration myth?”

a. Gangs migrate to advance firearm trafficking goals.

b. Gangs migrate to set up drug trafficking operations.

c. Gangs migrate to avoid prosecution.

d. Gangs migrate to war with other gangs.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 3)

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. The myth of “gang migration” actually occurs, in large part, due to ______.

a. gang members feeling connected to their gangs than their friends and families

b. gang members being interested in establishing transnational criminal networks

c. gang members feeling more connected to their families and friends than their gangs

d. gang members being interested in conducting recruitment efforts away from their home base

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 3)

Difficulty Level: Hard

11. Which of the following gang myths is hard to prove given the inability to distinguish general immigration patterns from gang membership patterns?

a. Gangs of the same name are connected.

b. Gang members are a new wave of super-predators.

c. Gangs were actively involved in the crack epidemic.

d. The MR-13 and 18th Street gangs are spreading across the United States.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 4)

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. Which of the following is NOT a component of big gang theory?

a. Gangs recruit students in the public school system.

b. Gangs migrate.

c. Gangs are involved in drug trafficking.

d. Gangs are inevitably violent.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 5)

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. Which is NOT an example of a characteristic common to drug gangs?

a. adult members

b. a clear leadership structure

c. required loyalty

d. Members have loosely defined roles.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 5)

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Among youth who reported never having been in a gang, the researchers Curry, Decker, and Egely (2002) found that ______ of these youth had reported engaging in some form gang-related behavior.

a. about half

b. most of

c. a handful

d. an unknown amount

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 6)

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. Which of the following is the most common myth told about gangs in the broadcast media?

a. Gangs, drugs, and violence are inexorably linked.

b. Children are joining gangs at younger and younger ages.

c. Gangs spend most of their time planning and committing crimes.

d. Gangs of the same name are always connected.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 7)

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. All of the following accurately reflect the reality of the relationship between an individual’s age and the tendency to join a gang, EXCEPT ______.

a. blessed-in children join a gang prior to their 10th birthday

b. thrasher’s “child gangs” reflected children’s playgroups

c. the gang initiation phase usually takes place between middle school and high school

d. gang membership tends to occur once children experience freedom from their parent’s supervision

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 7)

Difficulty Level: Hard

17. All of the following are characteristic of the term “gang-related” crime, EXCEPT ______.

a. the offense was committed on behalf of a gang

b. the offense involved a gang member

c. the term is more general than “gang-motivated” crime

d. the term encompasses a wide variety of crimes

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 8)Difficulty Level: Medium

18. Which of the following is NOT an example of an urban myth told about gangs?

a. They mimic or imitate the signs and symbols of larger gangs to seem more menacing.

b. They randomly select victims for their violent acts.

c. They engage in strange initiation rituals.

d. Adult gang members act like pedophiles to stealthily recruit new members.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myths 9, 10, 11)

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. ______ exert(s) the greatest influence on an individual’s decision to join a gang.

a. Parents

b. Older gang members

c. Peers

d. The broadcast media

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 11)Difficulty Level: Medium

20. Which of the following is NOT a component of a “crime reporting wave?”

a. gathering data from police departments

b. journalists making bonuses for being the first to report on a crime story

c. repetition of one news outlet’s story by another one

d. embellishment of a news story

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 14)Difficulty Level: Medium

Multiple Response

1. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. The authors use the term “myths” rather than “fallacy” to describe beliefs about gangs because ______.

a. they are synonyms, and either term is acceptable, but “myths” was chosen to keep the language consistent

b. it is more inclusive

c. there are exceptions to each gang myth

d. “fallacy” is a term reserved for the physical sciences

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: IntroductionDifficulty Level: Medium

2. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. The following reflect traits of gang “shot callers”: ______.

a. they are the equivalent of leaders in gangs

b. they reflect the informal division of labor in gangs

c. they are always permanent positions

d. the person in the position may change from one gang activity to the next

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 1)Difficulty Level: Medium

3. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which of the following gangs are exceptions to the myth that gangs of the same name are connected?

a. Crips

b. Gangster Disciples

c. 18th Street

d. Mara Salvatrucha

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 2)Difficulty Level: Easy

4. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which of the following is a reason it is difficult to assess if gangs--such as the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and 18th Street (M-18)--are actually spreading across the country?

a. The media does not report on the presence of these gangs.

b. It is challenging to parse out gang activity from broader immigration patterns.

c. There is little investigation into the actual presence of these gangs across the country.

d. These gangs are of little concern to law enforcement outside of Los Angeles.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 4)Difficulty Level: Medium

5. SELECT ALL THAT APPLY. Which of the following reflect reasons why children are actually not joining gangs at younger and younger ages?

a. Young children are rarely exposed to gangs.

b. Teenagers and young adults in gangs prefer not to hang out with children.

c. Children do not develop negative stereotypes about law enforcement until later.

d. Most gang members join gangs after getting their first minimum wage job.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 7)Difficulty Level: Hard

True/False

1. “Fallacy” is a synonym for “myth.”

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: IntroductionDifficulty Level: Medium

2. Broadcast media and gang members themselves are the primary sources of myths about gangs.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About GangsDifficulty Level: Easy

3. The broadcast media frequently depicts gangs and gang members as ethnically and racially diverse.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About GangsDifficulty Level: Medium

4. There is an inverse relationship between gangs’ public images and their “set spaces.”

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 1)Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Gangs are structured similarly to corporations.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 15)Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Law enforcement agencies are not prone to promote myths about gangs.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 15)Difficulty Level: Hard

7. The myth that gang members reflect a new wave of super-predators is one of the most complex gang myths.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 5, 14)

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Street gangs are more likely to be involved in drug distribution and sales than crime syndicates or cartels.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 5)Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Law enforcement personnel attribute the majority of gang violence to gang migration.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 5)Difficulty Level: Easy

10. The bulk of drug-related gang violence is due to fighting over market control of the drug market.

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 5)Difficulty Level: Medium

Short Answer

1. What are the key differences between organized crime syndicates and gangs?

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consideration of Key Myths About Gangs (Myth 5)Difficulty Level: Medium

2. What is a moral panic, and how is the term related to myths about gangs?

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Concluding ObservationsDifficulty Level: Medium

Essay

1. Summarize a recent anti-gang piece of legislation or policy that you are familiar with. Evaluate this piece of legislation: To what extent does the policy imply some of the key myths about gangs? How would you strengthen this legislation to more accurately address the reality of gangs and gang activities?

Learning Objective: N/A

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Varies; Myth 16, Myth 17, and Myth 18

Difficulty Level: Hard