TY - JOUR
T1 - "Is the Quarterback a 'Crip'?"
T2 - The Presence of Gangs in Collegiate Athletics Programs
AU - Rojek, Jeff
AU - Decker, Scott
AU - Alpert, Geoffrey P.
AU - Hansen, J. Andrew
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: The research was funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Office of Justice Programs, the U.S. Department of Justice (2008-F3611-SC-DD).
PY - 2013/12
Y1 - 2013/12
N2 - Over the past 30 years, gangs have moved from large cities to suburban communities and small cities. Their presence has also been observed in public institutions such as secondary schools and the military. This study examines the presence of gang-involved individuals in another public institution, college athletics. While there are popular media reports of college athletes involved in gang activity, there has been no empirical research on the topic. The present study reports on the results from a national survey of athletic directors and campus police chiefs at universities with high-profile athletics programs, and interviews with student-athletes enrolled in two of these universities. The findings show the large majority of all three groups believe athletes affiliated with gangs are participating in college athletics. However, few athletic directors and campus police chiefs report the presence of gang-involved athletes on their own campus, and only a small number of athletes report that their teammates were also gang members. More research is needed to understand the scope and impact of this presence.
AB - Over the past 30 years, gangs have moved from large cities to suburban communities and small cities. Their presence has also been observed in public institutions such as secondary schools and the military. This study examines the presence of gang-involved individuals in another public institution, college athletics. While there are popular media reports of college athletes involved in gang activity, there has been no empirical research on the topic. The present study reports on the results from a national survey of athletic directors and campus police chiefs at universities with high-profile athletics programs, and interviews with student-athletes enrolled in two of these universities. The findings show the large majority of all three groups believe athletes affiliated with gangs are participating in college athletics. However, few athletic directors and campus police chiefs report the presence of gang-involved athletes on their own campus, and only a small number of athletes report that their teammates were also gang members. More research is needed to understand the scope and impact of this presence.
KW - crime in complex organizations
KW - crime/delinquency theory
KW - criminal organizations/gangs
KW - other
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84892465879&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84892465879&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0734016813512202
DO - 10.1177/0734016813512202
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84892465879
SN - 0734-0168
VL - 38
SP - 452
EP - 472
JO - Criminal Justice Review
JF - Criminal Justice Review
IS - 4
ER -