JUVENILE GANGS - ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND DELINQUENCY

• NCJ Number: 65314
• Author(s): ANON
• Date Published: 1967
• Length: 75 pages
• Corporate Author: International Criminal Police Organization
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: France
• Note: REPORT SUBMITTED BY THE GENERAL SECRETARIAT TO THE 36TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION, KYOTO, JAPAN, SEPTEMBER 27 OCTOBER 4, 1967

Annotation

BASED ON A 1965 SURVEY OF 32 COUNTRIES, THIS INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL POLICE ORGANIZATION (INTERPOL) REPORT DISCUSSES THE PREVALENCE OF JUVENILE GANGS, THEIR CHARACTERISTICS, AND POLICE RESPONSES TO THE GANGS.

Abstract

THE INTERPOL AND UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLIES EXPRESSED INTEREST IN THE PROBLEM OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND GANG BEHAVIOR IN 1960. THE CONSEQUENT INTERPOL STUDY DEFINED A GANG AS A GROUP OF FOUR OR MORE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ENGAGE IN ANTISOCIAL OR ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES. THE PATTERNS OF GANG ACTIVITY THAT EMERGED FROM THE SURVEY INDICATED THAT GANGS WERE AN URBAN PHENOMENON AND FREQUENTLY OCCURRED IN COUNTRIES WITH HIGH DEGREES OF INDUSTRIALIZATION. MANY COUNTRIES STATED THAT GANGS BECAME A PROBLEM IN THE DECADE AFTER WORLD WAR II. THE EMERGENCE OF GANGS WAS ATTRIBUTED TO THE NATURAL TENDENCY OF ADOLESCENTS TO FORM GROUPS, TO URBAN LIVING CONDITIONS WHICH FORCE CHILDREN INTO THE STREETS, AND TO THE LACK OF FAMILY UNITY. POLICE IN CERTAIN COUNTRIES FELT THAT YOUNG PEOPLE HAD MORE FREE TIME AND MONEY AND DID NOT KNOW HOW TO USE IT. GANG SIZES VARIED BY GEOGRAPHICAL REGION, ALTHOUGH THE AVERAGE AGE OF 15 TO 17 REMAINED CONSTANT. GENERALLY MASS MEDIA INFLUENCED GANG STANDARDS. MEMBERS WERE OFTEN YOUTHS WHO HAD JUST MIGRATED TO THE CITY. GIRLS SELDOM PLAYED AN ACTIVE ROLE IN GANGS. THE MOST COMMON ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES COMMITTED BY GANGS WERE OFFENSES AGAINST PROPERTY FOLLOWED BY ATTACKS ON PERSONS WHICH WERE FREQUENTLY OF A SEXUAL NATURE. VANDALISM OCCURRED IN INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES WITH A HIGH STANDARD OF LIVING. TYPES OF PREVENTIVE APPROACHES EXERCISED IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES INCLUDED YOUTH CLUBS, MEDIA CAMPAIGNS BY POLICE, TRAINING PROGRAMS IN SPECIFIC SKILLS FOR YOUTHS, AND SPECIALIZED POLICE DEPARTMENTS. LEGISLATION PROVIDING SANCTIONS AGAINST GANGS DID NOT EXIST IN THE RESPONDING COUNTRIES, AND MOST FELT THAT THEIR DELINQUENCY LAWS WERE ADEQUATE TO HANDLE THE PROBLEM. FURTHER RESEARCH COULD FOCUS ON POLICE ATTITUDES TOWARD TYPES OF DELINQUENCY AND THE SELECTION OF POLICE OFFICERS FOR PREVENTIVE WORK. EXAMPLES FROM THE RESPONDING COUNTRIES ARE OFFERED. (MJM)