Texas Latino gangs and large urban jails: Intergenerational conflicts and issues in management

This is a qualitative exploration of the impact of newly emerging gang structures on the correctional setting. A purposive sample of detention and classification officers was obtained from four large urban jails in Texas. In-depth interviews were conducted about gang population characteristics and the facility management issues that they pose. Officers report recent, significant changes in Latino gang structures primarily, attributing the shifts to intergenerational conflict. At each of the four sites, this development has exacerbated many of the typical correctional challenges identified in the literature on jails and gangs. Despite the changing norms among occurring throughout Latino gang hierarchies statewide, with few exceptions, the jail management responses reported here have remained relatively stagnant over the past several decades. The paper addresses the evolving nature of jail-based gang activity as a neglected issue in correctional management policy and proposes a framework for continued investigation of the issues.