NCJ Number
149230
Date Published
1993
Length
72 pages
Annotation
This collection of articles highlights New Mexico's escalating gang problems.
Abstract
The first article presents a survey of statewide police and sheriff's departments concerning their experiences with gang members and criminality. A second article reviews the gang experience of three major police departments (Dallas, Denver, and Phoenix) in neighboring States. The following article focuses on street gangs, which by now are no longer confined to New Mexico's big cities. Two articles describe gang violence in Albuquerque and Duke City respectively, while the following article explains the interrelation between prison gangs and street gangs. Two articles introduce groups trying to resolve gang problems: the What's Up Group, which helps gang members get along at Springer Boys' School, and the New Mexico Street Gang Task Force established by the Governor's Organized Crime Prevention Commission. Next, youth programs and models for community action against gang activities are described. Last, a district attorney suggests legal changes designed to alleviate gang problems and praises the rewriting of New Mexico's Children's Code in 1993 as a good beginning.