Gangs in Middle America
Are They a Threat?
By DAVID M. ALLENDER

the past 30 years, changes have occurred in how the police and the public view, define, and discuss gangs.1 In the late 1960s and early 1970s, police in large cities generally acknowl-edged the existence of gang activity within their jurisdictions. During the 1970s, the public was recover-ing from the Vietnam War and deal-ing with a wide variety of important social issues and changes. Gangs and crime did not demand the same attention as these other matters.

By the middle of the 1980s, however, the public became increasingly concerned with safety issues. The interest continued into the 1990s, partially due to an aging population. In response to the elec-torates’ concern, federal grant pro-grams and monies proliferated. Several of these projects, such as Operation Weed and Seed and the Office of Community-Oriented Po-licing Services (COPS) antigang initiative,2 had as a core ingredient the need to control or dismantle criminal street gangs. Increased at-tention and discussion also brought new legislation to deal with the gangs. Many states enacted statutes to assist police and prosecutors and mandated that new police officers attending basic police academies receive at least a minimal amount of training in gang topics. Media inter-est mirrored audience appetite and boosted coverage of gang-related subject matter. Increased reporting of such incidents had the effect of making it appear that gang activity was on the rise. But, is this truly the case, especially in middle America? Are states, such as Indiana, “the crossroads of America,”3 at risk of becoming infected with the gang menace or has it occurred already?