NCJ Number
197476
Date Published
1998
Length
79 pages
Annotation
This report is intended to provide Canadian police officers, who come into contact with juveniles while performing their duties, with the results of the most recent research on youth gangs, including different response strategies and their negative and positive effects on young people.
Abstract
This status report includes a review of the background and history of juvenile gangs in the United States, Canada, and Montreal. Primary areas of discussion include estimated size of gangs; policies regarding gangs, such as historical evolution, five existing strategies, and a critical approach and components of success in devising response strategies; the gang's relationship to the community; the gang as an organization, including general typology, turf, member typology, degree of cohesion, size, and an alternative way of looking at organization; the ill-defined relationship between drugs and violence; gangs and stereotypes, including who the gang members are and where they are; and problems faced by researchers. A chapter of synoptic summaries includes a list of reference works dealing with the subject of youths and gangs that are summarized and/or reviewed. In conclusion, this author emphasizes that in order to solve gang-related problems, it is necessary to react to the economic and social needs of young people by restructuring local economies and providing young people with alternatives to gang activities. A list of complementary reference materials is provided.