NCJ Number
182243
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Education Volume: 28 Issue: 2 Dated: 2000 Pages: 129-137
Editor(s)
Kent B. Joscelyn
Date Published
2000
Length
9 pages
Annotation
A comparison of the perceptions of four groups of actors (gang task force members, police officers, gang members, and non-gang youth) involved in the St. Louis, Missouri, gang problem response indentified the two groups of young people regarded gangs as a significantly more serious problem than the two groups of adults.
Abstract
Data were collected in 1990 by administering a questionnaire to the four groups. The sample included 32 self-identified gang members in juvenile detention facilities, 44 non-gang juveniles in detention facilities, 22 police officers assigned to the Juvenile Division of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and 47 members of the St. Louis Anti-Gang, Anti-Drug Task Force. Young people were significantly more likely to view gangs as instrumentally delinquent, while adults were significantly more likely to view gangs as social organizations. No group offered consistent response strategies for dealing with gang problems. Social policy implications of the findings are discussed. 16 references and 7 tables