The stakes can be quite high, such as when racketeering laws are used against gang members. There is no consensus on the definition of a gang, but there is some agreement on the basic elements. The group's recognition of itself as a distinct group of adolescents or young adults. The group's involvement in enough illegal activities to get a consistent negative response from law enforcement and neighborhood residents. Once considered largely an urban phenomenon, gangs have increasingly emerged in smaller communities, presenting a challenge that severely strains local resources and the courts.
Gangs tend to be local, transitory and fluid in nature.
Even large-scale gangs with reputed nationwide networks attract local youth and take advantage of local opportunities to carry out their gang activities. They tend to be rooted in their neighborhoods. For their members, gangs represent a rite of passage, and provide a sense of family, and for some, the gang provides economic opportunity. Richard Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin's typology of gangs is the concept of differential opportunity. According to this concept, individuals become involved in gang life and crime simply because legitimate means of success are unavailable to them.