NCJ Number
200534
Date Published
September 2002
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the important role schools play in the intervention and prevention of youth gangs in Australia.
Abstract
Gangs exist within and outside schools. In a school context, gangs may be associated with group fights or group bullying of individual students, as well as leading to violence. When examining crime and gangs, it is imperative that the role played by schools in shaping the social resources and social identities of youth be taken into account. Schools can play a general social inclusion role, and they can employ specific gang prevention and intervention activities. This paper provides a brief overview of various anti-gang approaches and strategies used within a schooling context. The paper begins with a brief summary of school-based gang prevention and intervention programs in the United States, such as anti-gang education, violence and bullying, school absences and exclusions, and peer relationships. Strategies to address gang-related issues could include: specific education in cross-cultural issues, youth reconciliation projects, quality educational facilities and services, conflict resolution and anti-violence strategies, and special provisions. In developing a framework for what works, school-based gang prevention and intervention programs work best when there are local solutions to community-defined problems. Realistic anti-gang strategies must start where the young people are coming from, their communities. Schools have a positive role to play in providing positive prosocial alternatives to the choices that many youth make. References