The section on gang origins, composition, and characteristics addresses the early formation of and research on gangs, contemporary ethnic and racial gangs, graffiti and hand signals, and girl gangs. A discussion of strategies for the future considers current methods of addressing the gang problem and the police response. Other issues discussed are conflicts between police goals and the civil rights of gang members and suspected gang members, as well as the COPPS (community-oriented policing and problem-solving) approach to the gang problem. The various methods used by communities to counter gang problems are compared and contrasted. The author concludes that intervention strategies to reduce violence must be built on a foundation of current information about the types of street gangs and street gang activities in each neighborhood where gangs flourish. Initiatives for reducing gang violence must also recognize the difference between turf protection and drug trafficking. A strategy to reduce gang involvement in drugs in a community in which gang members are mostly concerned with defense of turf will have little chance of success. Another focus of control over gang violence should be on reducing the availability of the most dangerous weapons. Finally, street gang membership, violence, and other illegal gang activity must be viewed in the context of both long-term and chronic social patterns. There should also be an effort to understand rapidly changing street-gang problems that stem from the existing economic conditions, weapon availability, drug markets, and the spatial arrangement of street gang territories across a city. The ultimate solution rests on a coordinated criminal justice response and changes in educational opportunities, racial and ethnic attitudes, and job structure. 33 references and study questions