GANG TOWN

312pp., illus., paperback, Cape Town, 2016

Investigative journalist and criminologist Don Pinnock's portrait of gangs in Cape Town.

"You will not find a more insightful and unsettling book on gangs. Through unforgettable imagery, first-hand stories and a lifetime of research on troubled youth in this afflicted city, it helps us to understand not only how gangs came to be and are sustained, but how they destroy young lives and whole families can be overcome. Gang Town might well become the most important resource for generations of social scientists seeking to understand how one of the world's most beautiful cities could come to be so disfigured by gansterism." Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor, University of the Free State

"This is not only an absorbing history of Cape Town but an insight into the city the like of which I'd not come across before...fascinating and deeply troubling but at least offers a way out of what looks like an intractable problem." Mike Nicol, novelist

"This book contains cogent, yet accessible arguments about the evolution of gangs on the Cape Flats. It explores both the criminogenic impact of gang activity as well as its historical roots. In doing so, it offers an integrated strategic solution to the problem." Maj-Gen Jeremy Vearey, SAPS head of anti-gang strategy in the Western Cape

Don Pinnock is an honorary research associate of the Safety and Violence Initiative at the University of Cape Town, a founding member of the Usiko Trust working with high-risk youths and a trustee of the Chrysalis Academy. He is also the author of "Gangs, Rituals and Rites of Passage" (1997) and "The Brotherhoods: street gangs and state control on Cape Town" (1984). He lives in Cape Town.