Gang life : 10 of the toughest tell their stories

Summary: "The circumstances that lead to a life in a criminal gang in Canada. The life stories -- so far -- of ten gang members drawn from across the country. Murderers, rapists, addicts, drug traffickers, victims of child abuse, abusers themselves -- these are people who many consider the worst of the worst. But from their life stories, a more nuanced and complex picture emerges. The circumstances and events which lead children and teens into criminal life become clearer. Meet: Jake, a 28-year-old former neo-Nazi skinhead gang member who beat people up 'just for the fun of it,' then became a drug dealer and a freelance enforcer for organized crime groups. Kim, a Cree woman with two addicted parents who joined her gang at 14, kept off drugs, and ran a group of prostitutes until going to jail -- at just 16. Dillon, a Latino-Canadian, sexually and physically abused as a young boy, a drug dealer and gang leader in high school and later head of a local chapter of a major international gang until he was 'honoured' out. Mark Totten is a professor of criminal justice at Humber College in Toronto. He is the author of Nasty, brutish, and short : the lives of gang members in Canada"--Provided by publisher.