NCJ Number
176679
Date Published
1998
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This video shows how several Massachusetts communities worked to stem the epidemic of youth violence that began in the late 1980s.
Abstract
An influx of crack and guns led to a rise in youth violence in the Boston area in the late 1980s. Rival dealers and gang members killed each other at an unprecedented rate and youngsters not involved in either drugs or gang activities began carrying weapons for self protection. In an effort to stop the violence, Federal, State, and city police began sharing information and working together rather than competing. Justice department workers began working with school officials, social workers and juvenile probation workers to develop after-school programs to provide safe havens and constructive activities for young people. The Dorchester Community Academy, an alternative school, works with youngsters who were disruptive in their regular schools, helping them learn both academic subjects and discipline so they could eventually return to their former schools. The Log School not only helps kids pass their GED exams, but provides food for needy residents of the neighborhood and works to develop the local economy. Streetworkers try to befriend at-risk youngsters, and police try to cut down on truancy, in the belief that education and employment will head kids in the right direction. To purchase a copy of this video or the whole "In Search of Law and Order" series, call 1-800-441-3000