Territory as a Symbolic Element of Youth Gangs

Human beings interact on a territory, giving it one meaning or another depending on the context in which social dynamics develop. In an area where social disorganisation prevails, individuals are more likely to find their own resources in the physical space they inhabit and thus to defend it. This is how the well-known youth gangs emerge, for whom territory acquires not only physical but also symbolic importance.

The meaning of territory for the population varies with time and human experience, since it is the physical place where social interactions take place. Thus, new behaviours develop there as a result of culture, the knowledge that individuals acquire or the fact that they belong to certain communities.

There are spaces in which characteristic elements of "social disorganisation" predominate among their inhabitants, such as deviant behaviour, poverty, unemployment, lack of cohesion between individuals or isolation from the rest of society. Consequently, it is common for individuals to find the resources they need in their own territory, make it their own and defend it.

In this sense, Environmental Psychology understands territoriality as a series of attitudes and behaviours that entail the occupation, defence, surveillance or control of a space. In this way, people create a series of rules about how to act in such a place.

In this way, small youth societies are created with a new social identity linked to group cohesion and their own physical or symbolic spaces.

In analysing human interaction with the surrounding space, symbols are of considerable importance because of their close involvement with the social process: "The symbol comes to be associated with human interests, purposes, aims, ends, means, whether these are explicitly formulated or to be inferred from observed behaviour. The structure and properties of a symbol are those of a dynamic entity, at least within the appropriate context of action" (Turner, 1967, p. 22).

The appropriation of urban spaces is an identifying behaviour of youth gangs, especially violent ones. Youth gangs can be defined as a group of young people, united by mutual interests, who adopt a number of characteristics. These often include:

• A recognisable name and symbology
• A leader
• A territory under control and a meeting place
• Involvement in criminal activities

Spaces such as parks, squares or discotheques become representative of the gang's group identity. Thus, in addition to being a physical element, territory becomes a symbolic element that must be protected.

The groups find ways to subsist in the space they occupy through various illegal activities, making it difficult for the authorities to be present in these places. In addition, there are occasions in which these gangs facilitate the territorial control of criminal groups to which they are subordinate.

Despite all this, it is important to highlight the fact that much of today's social relations take place in an immaterial place due to the internet. Consequently, the phenomenon of territoriality is also affected and is likely to evolve over time.

The presence of violent youth gangs in a territory is often associated with an increase in crime. This causes a series of changes in the place, both physically and in the perception of the citizens.

Thus, the population is prone to a series of responses, which can be distinguished between individual and collective:

• Individual: avoiding going to certain places or increasing the security of homes and businesses.
• Collective: the creation of neighbourhood watch groups or demonstrations aimed at achieving a political solution.

Taking all this into account, the solution must be based on an analysis of the characteristics of each specific territory and its inhabitants. In this way, a series of measures can be applied that focus on psychological, social and environmental aspects.

Firstly, the generation of values that foster a positive feeling of group identity, which can be achieved through different leisure activities. This feeling must also be linked to the space they inhabit, which is why it is advisable to rehabilitate areas in poor condition and to ensure the provision of basic necessities. Finally, it is possible to reinforce these measures by increasing the security of the place through the presence of the authorities or through surveillance systems.

Kateryna Andriana Ivashkiv, graduate in Criminology and collaborator of the Criminology Area of Sec2Crime .

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