From Brats to Street Gangs. Concerted Action and Definitional Issues
“Street gangs” have been a source of political and police concern in Canada for almost twenty years. This concern led to the development of two successive intervention plans in Quebec in the late 2000s. In several cities in Quebec, community consultation groups (tables de concertation) on gangs were created. The researchers, having learned about the difficulties one of those tables was having in clarifying its mandate, conducted semi-structured interviews with its members (police, youth centre workers, members of community organizations, individuals from the schools). The interviews specifically addressed the gap between the police definition of the phenomenon of street gangs adopted by the table and the “realities on the ground” that they had to deal with – “realities” about which there was no consensus. These gaps raise a number of concerns that affect both the purpose of the table and the legitimacy of its concerted actions.