Provides guidance for communities that are considering how best to address a youth gang problem that already exists or threatens to become a reality. The guidance is based on the Model developed through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). This Report describes the research that produced the Model, notes essential findings from evaluations of several programs demonstrating the Model in a variety of environments, and outlines ¿best practices¿ obtained from practitioners with years of experience in planning, implementing, and overseeing the Model in their communities. Includes specific practices that work best in a step-by-step planning and implementation process for communities using the Model. Illus.

This systematic analysis of the youth gang problem in the USA focuses on current patterns of gang behaviour, with reference to historical and cross-cultural dimensions. The author integrates his own theory and practices with material on research programmes set up to address the problem.

This edited book significantly contributes to the knowledge on how to address gang problems from a broad community perspective, which takes into account criminal justice agencies, social service providers, and community leaders, along with police, who have implemented collaborative anti-gang policies and practices. As community-wide efforts become more common, it is increasingly important to investigate effective strategies to address social problems. Beyond Suppression: Community Strategies to Reduce Gang Violence explores a demonstration project of one state’s efforts to reduce gang and youth violence through use of a comprehensive initiative, the Comprehensive Gang Model (CGM). The relevance of the CGM as a conceptual framework to guide gang policy and practice is illustrated throughout the book, and tailored gang reduction strategies derived from that framework and rooted in the ecological constitution of communities are showcased. The chapters highlight implementation strategies employed by various communities using a case study methodology that assists in garnering an in-depth perspective of implementation issues and key dimensions of the CGM. This book answers important questions about how communities operationalize the CGM. The results of these investigations are important for scholars, learners, and practitioners who seek to address gang violence using a customized response.

The first comprehensive national survey of organized agency and community group responses to gang problems in the U.S. The only national assessment of efforts to combat gangs. Presents a comprehensive gang prevention and intervention model based on this national assessment. These models are recommended as effective policies, practices, and strategies for communities to combat gangs. Covers: gangs as organizations, membership demographics and experiences, the social contexts of gang development, social opportunities: schools and jobs, and more.

The United States has seen rapid proliferation of youth gangs since 1980. During this period, the number of cities with gang problems increased from an estimated 286 jurisdictions with more than 2,000 gangs and nearly 100,000 gang members in 1980 (Miller, 1992) to about 4,800 jurisdictions with more than 31,000 gangs and approximately 846,000 gang members in 1996(Moore and Terrett, in press). An 11-city survey of eighth graders found that 9 percent were currently gang members, and 17 percent said they had belonged to a gang at some point in their lives (Esbensen and Osgood, 1997).Other studies reported comparable percentages and also showed that gang members were responsible for a large proportion of violent offenses. In the Rochester site of the OJJDP-funded Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency, gang members (30 percent of the sample) self-reported committing 68 percent of all violent offenses (Thornberry, 1998). In the Denver site, adolescent gang members (14 percent of the sample) self-reported committing 89 percent of all serious violent offenses (Huizinga, 1997). In another study, supported by OJJDP and several other agenciesand organizations, adolescent gang members in Seattle (15 percent of the sample) self-reported involvement in 85 percent of robberies committed by the entire sample (Battin et al., 1998).This Bulletin reviews data and research to consolidate available knowledge on youth gangs that are involved in criminal activity. Following a historical perspective, demographic information ispresented. The scope of the problem is assessed, including gang problems in juvenile detention and correctional facilities. Several issues are then addressed by reviewing gang studies to provide aclearer understanding of youth gang problems.An extensive list of references is provided for further review.

'Oxford Textbook Violence Prevention' brings together an international team of experts to provide an extensive global account of the global mortality and morbidity burden caused by violence through examining the causes of violence, and what can be done to prevent and reduce violence.