| Abstract: | This article examines the way in which the construction of a "gang" problem and the resulting "gang statistics" in a particular community, referred to as Bigcity, are related to the local political context and the police accommodation of political interests. In particular, the political accountability of the police impacts on police recordkeeping practices and the statistics regarding "gangs" that those records generate. The organizational career of gang statistics, from the citizen's call to the police response and subsequent recordwork, is examined in order to demonstrate how the recordkeeping practices of the police bureaucracy facilitate the social construction of the "gang" problem. Field research data, including calls to the police, ride-along observations, and interviews, illustrate how the politicization of the "gang" problem impacts on police recordkeeping and the social construction of "gang statistics.'Given that the current concern about the nationwide growth of gangs is based on such statistics and that gang suppression efforts call for enhancing and sharing gang databases, the role of police practices in shaping gang statistics is an important issue. |
