NCJ Number
156526
Date Published
1993
Length
52 pages
Annotation
This report is based on survey data provided by nearly 800 Hawaiian youths participating in programs run by agencies funded by the State's Youth Gang Response System (YGRS). The youths lived primarily on Oahu and attended programming in various Oahu neighborhoods.
Abstract
The results showed that the majority of youth, even those living in high-risk neighborhoods, were not gang members and were not committing serious delinquent acts. The respondents came from poor, large families, often headed by single parents, who were frequently unemployed. Large proportions of them had been involved with gangs at one time or another, and had friends or relatives in gangs. Boys committed delinquent acts more often than girls and tended to engage in a wider variety of criminal activities. They were twice as likely as girls to sell drugs or carry a weapon, and were more likely to be gang members. Gang membership in Oahu was clearly associated with chronic delinquency. There were significant differences in neighborhoods in terms of socioeconomic status, potential for contact with gang members, and delinquency statistics. Youths participating in the YGRS-funded recreational programs rated those programs very highly; the data indicate that this type of intervention may mitigate the influence of gangs among these youths. 4 tables, 4 appendixes, and 5 references