A Study on Gang Members Interrupt Criminal Career

• Main Authors: Pin-Hsuan Shen, 沈品璇
• Other Authors: none
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/62736764795152630865

碩士 === 國立中正大學 === 犯罪防治所 === 98 === The purpose of this article is to explore the careers of gang members. Moreover, by using the qualitative case study, the researcher also attempts to illuminate the links between gang involvement, criminal career and the impact of life events, which interrupt the criminal career. During the research, the in-depth interviews were conducted on 8 male gang members involving in gangs for more than thirty years. The results indicate that the gang involvement is the trigger of the criminal careers for the gang participants. However, the occurrences of life events provide opportunities for gang members to cease their criminal careers. For examples, marriage, employment, sentence and frustration result in the interruption of criminal careers if the gang members were mentally mature and willing to take the responsibility attached to the life status. When the gang participants developed the stable social bonds, earned the social achievement and reached the self-actualization, they rationally made the decisions to maintain the suspension of criminal careers. On the other hand, the gang members would restart their criminal careers again if they didn’t end the gang membership and reinvolved in gangs.