Urban Gangs and Delinquent Groups in Belgium. Representation and Knowledge
European gangs are an important concern on many levels, particularly with regard to prevention, control, safety, and education. In Belgium, since the early 1990s, urban gangs (or urban packs) have been of interest to the scientific community, social actors, the police, and the media. When we look at the literature on the phenomenon of such group delinquency, it is difficult to find any consensus because the approaches taken are so diverse. Not only is there no common definition of the phenomenon, but many aspects of these urban gangs, such as relations between group members or the unidirectional and bidirectional links that differentiate groups of friends from groups of delinquents, have been approached both quantitatively and qualitatively. In Belgium, urban gangs share certain characteristics with non-delinquent youth groups. However the particular logic and structure of such groups depend not only on the type of group but also on the environment in which it operates. This article presents information from Belgian research and work with groups of delinquent youth, while also recognizing the different points of view that result from fieldwork in this area.