Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Sean Wilson Teaching New Gang Elective

For years, people's perception of gangs has been skewed, largely due to the media, stereotypes, and misinformation. The result is a criminal justice system that relies on assumptions rather than empirical evidence. In an effort to reform the system, passionate Dr. Sean Wilson will be teaching a new elective geared toward criminal justice students to develop a deeper understanding of gangs, gang membership, and the consequences of gang labeling. 

The inspiration for this course emerged when Dr. Wilson noticed a consistent gap in criminal justice education and how it approached the study of gangs. He states that while gangs are discussed in textbooks in relation to organized crime and juvenile delinquency, those discussions rarely receive the sustained and critical attention they deserve. His own research on gang labeling, racialized social control, and the criminalization of urban communities leads him to believe that students deserve a course that takes this topic seriously on its own terms. 

One of the main goals of this course is to eliminate the common misconceptions that have been reinforced through interactions with the media. One of the biggest misconceptions apparent through gang research is that labelings are permanent identities, while in reality gang labeling actually follows a more fluid social process. In general, most people who affiliate with gangs do so for a relatively brief period of time, making the concept of lifelong membership largely incorrect. Societal perception of gangs often encompasses the idea that gangs operate in a structured system, almost like a corporate organization, when in truth most street-level gangs are loosely organized. Perhaps the most harmful misconception is the idea that gang databases are accurate. Law enforcement often wrongfully labels individuals as gang members despite them not actually being one, resulting in a database that is notoriously overbroad, racially skewed, and difficult to exit.  

“I want students to leave knowing that suppression is not the only option.” 

Throughout the semester, students will explore gangs across a variety of historical, sociological, and policy perspectives. The course begins with examining early 20th-century immigrant gangs and tracing their evolution to the racialized gang structure that dominates modern-day constructs. Students will also investigate gang formation, including neighborhood disinvestment, concentrated poverty, and social issues, while studying why individuals join and leave gangs. In addition, students enrolled in this course will spend considerable time on the policy side: suppression strategies, gang injunctions, gang databases, and their documented effects. The course will also focus on community-based and reentry-focused alternatives, as Dr. Wilson states, “I want students to leave knowing that suppression is not the only option.” 

Ultimately, Dr. Wilson hopes students finish the course with a better ability to critically evaluate information and question assumptions that often influence criminal justice decision-making. In addition to learning about gangs, students will learn to analyze research, understand the social conditions that create crime, and appreciate the impact that labels can have on individuals and communities. These lessons are particularly useful for students going into law enforcement, corrections, probation, social services, intelligence, and public policy, where choices about gang involvement can have serious consequences. This course takes an evidence-based approach to help prepare future criminal justice professionals to make informed, ethical decisions and to better understand the people and communities they will serve throughout their careers.