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Gangs and Law Enforcement

NCJ Number
220726
Author(s)
Linda M. Schmidt; James T. O'Reilly Prof.
Date Published
2007
Length
215 pages
Annotation
This book is a guide for local, State and Federal law enforcement in dealing with gang violence; a comprehensive guide to problems and solutions in gang violence. It is intended to help law enforcement determine the gang identification, gang education and gang countermeasures that are appropriate to the community, with the desired outcome, the suppression of gang activity.
Abstract
Today, there are over 30,000 gangs across America and over 800,000 gang members. Their firepower, military background and lack of restraint have made some city centers too dangerous to patrol. As gang power grows, knowledge is the best antidote and the best inducement to corrective actions. This book is considered practical with a set of steps to follow. It provides specific advice and ideas for actions. The chapters comprising this book are discussions on gang cases and best practices used by law enforcement partners in several major cities. The intent is to expand the use of these best practices so that law enforcement in all 50 States can benefit from these experiences. One of the goals of the book is to provide law enforcement with a method for working together to get the best results when dealing with gang cases. It clearly articulates in scope and depth the serious and growing cancer--gangs. The chapters include, but are not limited to the following: (1) the evolution of urban gangs; (2) gangs as a school and community concern; (3) law enforcement partnerships against gangs; (4) responding to questions from the community about gang issues; (5) gangs and prisons; (6) community responses to reduce gang threats; (7) gang-related sentencing options; (8) coordinating law enforcement resources against gangs; and (9) gang case studies from Cleveland, OH. Appendix and references