Final answer:
The main difference between youth gangs and street gangs is the age range and organizational structure. Youth gangs are often made up of younger individuals influenced by peer groups, while street gangs include older members engaged in more severe criminal activities and territorial control.
Step-by-step explanation:
The difference between a youth gang and a street gang lies in the age of the members and the nature of their activities. A youth gang typically comprises younger individuals, often teenagers, who may come together for socialization and could be involved in delinquent behaviors. These groups often reflect adolescent peer influences that shape their communication and attire, similar to the influences noted in Figure 6.4 where social peer groups influence individuals. On the contrary, street gangs tend to include older members and are more structured, engaging in criminal activities and often involved in asserting territorial control, as noted in Figure 7-1 with gangs using graffiti to mark territories in East Los Angeles. Moreover, street gangs have a higher propensity for violence and illicit activities, as they use territorial markers like gang graffiti symbols, as observed in Canoga Park, CA, Figure 11-21, essentially functioning like fences to maintain control over neighborhood boundaries. Youth gangs may not be as tightly organized or as deeply immersed in criminal activities as street gangs, and their expressions of group identity, like graffiti, as mentioned in Jedi Goggles, can still mark territories but tend to have a less formalized structure. It is also crucial to consider the social environment's impact, as Shaw and McKay's theory indicates that criminal behavior is influenced more by the cultural ecology of the neighborhood rather than ethnicity, suggesting that shifting from high-risk to more stable neighborhoods can reduce delinquency.