Abstract
Vietnamese American gangs are a major social problem in the Vietnamese American communities in California, especially South Sacramento. Historically, Vietnamese American gangs appeared in the late 1970s. The members of Vietnamese American gangs represented various ages but they were all relatively young, including Vietnamese youth refugees and immigrants as well as Vietnamese American youth who were born in the United States. These members have become involved with gangs because they did not succeed or gained material goods in either their school or community, or because of discrimination resulting from language barriers or ethnic
differences. Vietnamese American gangs often committed more residential burglaries than drug dealing or other crimes and their victims mostly were Vietnamese families. The present day Vietnamese American gangs active in South Sacramento evolved from 1970s' gang culture. They continue to commit crimes and violence in their own community. This research attempts to explore perceptions and views regarding Vietnamese American gangs and possible solutions for solving gang problems.