During class last week, we circled back and spoke about Vargas’ piece about the Latin Kings and Goffman’s account of the 6th Street Boys. My expert question revolved around the ways in which both of these gangs use surrounding resources in their given spaces to positively affect their groups. For the Latin Kings, it may include lighting a resident’s house on fire in order to enforce the code of silence. For the 6th Street Boys, it may include calling themselves in to the police in order to escape the death threats out on the streets because a year in jail may seem like a much better deal. For both, with this social control, they had complete power over their communities.
The Kings choose strategies for securing resident cooperation based on the resources residents bring to the gang (Vargas, 136). The more the Latin Kings can scare their surrounding residents and stir up distrust between these residents and the police, the more dominance they have over their streets. Vargas says, “the code of silence is much more complex than most scholars and policymakers think. In addition to a lack of resources constraining police, street gangs actively undermine police-resident relations by capitalizing on police mistakes and fostering mistrust among residents” (Vargas, 146).
In class we connected these instances of social control to Robert Sampson’s theory about collective efficacy and how the Latin Kings and the 6th Street Boys could be possible examples. These two gangs have the ability to control the residents’ behaviors surrounding them so that they can continue their illegal activities without the threat of the police getting calls. Therefore, this sense of social organization within the two groups, and the powerful scare tactic, creates this so-called “support” from outsiders that ultimately fosters this control.
We also spoke about how these two gangs represent forms of resistance identities since they are both going against typical systems in society, specifically the police system. As explained in class, because there is the feeling that the police are considered a “white space”, this act of rebellion serves as a way for these gangs to fight a system that they feel is oppressing them. For the 6th Street Boys, however, they instead may use the police in a positive manner for their gang when necessary, also going against the typical system.
In Vargas’ piece towards the end, it mentions the police’s point of view in the Chicago community where the Latin Kings’ “code of silence” is prevalent. My original question concludes with asking if there are any paths we can take to come up with solutions to rebuild the trust between residents and police. Vargas touches on the fact that the police have scarcity of resources and too high of caseloads at a time, making it difficult to respond to all calls. On the other hand, the roles of the campaigns and basketball league were mentioned in class, questioning whether or not they are productive in reducing violence in the communities. I am left wondering what the right path really is and how to start, considering all of these circumstances. Should we be focusing more on creating strong, trusting relationships within the community or reinforcing the police system as a whole? Both?