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.