NCJ Number
181558
Date Published
1998
Length
189 pages
Annotation
This volume by the current director of the Oregon Youth Authority's Minority Services and former director of an effective gang intervention program in Oregon details the reasons youths are attracted to gangs and ways to prevent, confront, and reverse gang mentality, with emphasis on issues related to gangs involving black youth.
Abstract
The manual is intended to educate correctional practitioners, other criminal justice personnel, other professionals, and families about the characteristics of at-risk children and their families, what can be done to reduce the risk, the services available, and where to receive them. The author first encountered gangs as a child in his neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles and became the director of Oregon's MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility, where he and co-workers successfully intervened in gangs in the juvenile correctional system and directed hard-core gang members away from the gang lifestyle. The book's first section explains that the first step in developing a gang intervention program is to understand gang mentality, including the reasons youth join gangs; the mindset of gang members; and gang dynamics and culture, including the use of gang graffiti, handsigns, and vernacular to communicate and intimidate. The next five chapters explain how to establish a gang intervention program in a correctional institution through the involvement of a committed facilitator, the use of effective intervention strategies, the development of enhanced programs, the use of aftercare, and challenging youth to consider how the rap music they enjoy may contribute to their development and perceptions. The final section provides guidelines for administrators, instructions on starting a successful gang-suppression program in detention and correctional institutions, finding financial support, evaluating the program, and discussions of issues related to Hispanic gangs, Asian gangs, and gang-involved females. Checklists, appended glossary and background information, and 10 references