From 'filth and 'insanity to 'peaceful moral watchdogs: Police, news media, and the gang label

This paper engages the cultural politics of criminal classifications by aiming at one of the state?s most powerful, yet ambiguous markers?the ?gang.? Focusing on the unique cases of ?crews? and collectives within the ?straight edge? and ?Juggalo? subcultures, this paper considers what leads members of the media and police to construct?or fail to construct?these street collectives as gangs in a seemingly haphazard and disparate fashion. Juxtaposing media, cultural, and police representations of straight edge ?crews? and Juggalo collectives with the FBI?s Gang Threat Assessment, we detail how cultural politics and ideology underpin the social reality of gangs and thus the application of the police power. This paper, furthermore, considers critical conceptualizations of the relationship between police and criminal gangs.