This publication addresses the impacts and drivers for youth in gangs, and provides resources for preventing and responding to youth involvement in gangs.
This Special Feature provides an overview of gangs in the United States, discussing why youth join gangs, the presence of gangs in schools, the consequences of joining a gang, and how to prevent gang involvement. It also discusses gangs in prison, and their impacts on prison misconduct and violence. The Special Feature includes two pages of resources on gang prevention and response, with publications and multimedia as well as additional resources on those topics. Gang prevention resources include National Gang Center webinars, reports on impacts of outreach efforts and violence reduction projects, core strategies, and websites such as CrimeSolutions and the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program, and more. The gang response page focuses on materials that aim to reduce gangs and gang violence, radicalization within Somali-American communities, and the formation or presence of gangs in school.