Gangs and Adolescent Subcultures

Dr. LaTanya Skiffer’s experience with gangs is both personal and professional. Both of her brothers were gang members as adolescents. This decision eventually led one of them to spend approximately 15 years of his life behind bars, with the other going in and out of the criminal justice system. This experience led her to focus her education and professional development on criminology and sociology, as well as on the subcultures of gangs and adolescents. Professor Skiffer is currently an assistant professor of criminology at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Dr. Skiffer's research interests include the gang and adolescent subcultures and black female offenders, in addition to race, class, and gender inequality. She has also served on Mayor Villaraigosa’s Gang Reduction and Youth Development grant proposal review team and serves as a consultant for the Long Beach Boys & Girls Clubs.