NCJ Number
179321
Editor(s)
Curtis W. Branch
Date Published
1999
Length
238 pages
Annotation
Because the issue of youth violence is of growing concern in American communities and the violence perpetrated and experienced by young people is often the result of gang behavior, this book presents strategies on how to effectively deal with juvenile gangs.
Abstract
The book is divided into three sections, each devoted to a particular setting in which services are provided to gang-affiliated adolescents and their families: (1) community-based interventions; (2) specialized agency-based interventions; and (3) mental health interventions. The book goes beyond the usual position of describing gangs and gang members as social misfits. Rather, the book operates from the basic belief that gang members are normal people who often behave abnormally in search of a place for themselves in the communities where they live. Leading experts in a variety of disciplines discuss new and creative ways of thinking about and responding to gangs. Topics include community interventions from anthropological and historical perspectives; innovative approaches that can be effectively initiated by probation departments, schools, and other agencies; and effective therapeutic strategies that help gang-affiliated adolescents and their families. References, tables, and figures