Youths participating in the study varied in how they perceived informal social control and how they reacted to it. Their perceptions of adult behavior in three different types of situations where social control may come into play, shed light on three key issues related to informal social control: age-grading, space-grading, and the role of social ties. Adults’ willingness to intervene is age-graded primarily for property destruction and fighting on the street. Space-grading of willingness to intervene was evident in all three types of situations. Reports on the transactional nature of social control in violent events show how local ties may undermine, rather than support, social control processes. Little is known about how the population to be controlled perceives neighborhood adult roles and social control actions in specific situations. By querying 159 violent youth, this study provides insight into the intervening behaviors of adults on 3 issues in survey-based scenarios: property destruction or vandalism, open-air drug selling, and fighting on the street. Their perceptions of adult behavior in these three situations where social control may come into play shed light on three key issues related to informal social control: age-grading, space-grading, and the role of social ties. Tables and references