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 book provides a comprehensive, up-to-date, and theoretically-grounded approach to gangs and youth violence. It covers significant topics of interest to gang scholars and practitioners and, in doing so, serves to prepare students to work with gang members, develop and manage anti-gang programs, or engage in scholarly endeavors. The book introduces readers to the foundations of gang studies through the origins of gangs, definitions and categories of youth/street gangs (and the distinctions between these arguably different types), national and international trends, distinguishing features of serious street gangs, what works with gangs and what doesn’t, and myths and realities. James Howell’s extensive experience in this area allows access to the most authoritative national survey data on gang trends, providing insight into topics such as female gangs, migration of gang members, small-town gangs versus the major adult gangs in large cities, gang homicides and drug trafficking.

Researchers examined past U.S. countering violent extremism and terrorism prevention efforts and explored policy options to strengthen terrorism prevention in the future. They found that current terrorism prevention capabilities are relatively limited and that there is a perceived need for federal efforts to help strengthen local capacity. However, any federal efforts will need to focus on building community trust to be successful.

During the past several decades, interest in children’s psychological disorders has grown steadily within the research community, resulting in a burgeoning knowledge base. The majority of the attention and funding, not surprisingly, has focused on the more prevalent and well-known conditions. Although this raises the odds that young people with more well-known disorders such as ADHD, autism, and learning disorders will receive much-needed professional assessment and intervention, children with less frequently encountered disorders may experience a higher risk of misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Useful data has been scattered throughout the literature for severe-but-less-frequent childhood psychological disorders, including: fire setting; gender identity disorder; impulse control disorders (i.e., kleptomania, trichotillomania, intermittent explosive disorder); selective mutism; Munchausen by proxy; childhood schizophrenia; gang involvement; sexual offending; self-injurious behavior; and feral children. This concise volume offers up-to-date information on these conditions, which, though relatively rare, may have profound effect not only on the children themselves but also their families, friends, and the community at large. Coverag e of each disorder is presented in an accessible format covering: Overview and history. Description and diagnostic classification, with proposed changes to the DSM-V. Etiology and theory. Assessment tools and interview protocols. Commonly used psychological and pharmacological treatment options. Current research issues and directions for future investigation. Assessing and Treating Low Incidence/High Severity Psychological Disorders of Childhood is a must-have reference for researchers, clinicians, practitioners, and graduate students in clinical child and school psychology, pediatrics, psychiatry, social work, school counseling, education, and public policy.

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.