NCJ Number
154136
Date Published
1993
Length
88 pages
Annotation
Directed mainly to school administrators, this volume provides an overview of juvenile gangs in schools and presents practical guidance on developing strategies for handling gang activities in schools, making these strategies effective, and enabling all students to attend school in a caring and nurturing learning environment.
Abstract
The strategies were partially derived from formal studies conducted from 1982 to 1990 in several sections of Los Angeles. Both studies determined that effective strategies for working with gangs emphasized positive, proactive, cooperative, and preventive approaches. Thus, in contrast to conventional approaches to gang control, the authors propose the assimilation of gangs into daily school life. They recommend acceptance of gangs and their members rather than an approach of rejection and punishment and suggest methods of involving gang members in positive activities that provide behavioral reinforcement for members and encourage results for school operations. Their guidelines rest on the belief that eliciting cooperation and encouraging participation will be effective where other approaches have failed. Sample questionnaire, annotated bibliography, and 29 references