NCJ Number
139245
Date Published
1992
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This report reviews current research on issues pertaining to youth gangs, summarizes the history of the Federal response to gangs, and discusses recent policy initiatives.
Abstract
Knowledge about the nature and extent of the gang problem is often difficult to obtain. The most recent research on youth gangs focuses on four broad areas: the definition and characteristics of gangs, the spread of gangs throughout the country, the relationship between gangs and violence, and possible connections between gangs and drug trafficking. Federal initiatives to combat youth gangs grew out of efforts to address the boarder issue of juvenile delinquency. The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevntion Act of 1974 established a comprehensive program aimed at preventing and controlling juvenile crime. By the late 1980's, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's funding of research projects dealing with serious offenders became more specifically focused on the youth gang problem. The current Federal response to juvenile gangs relies on law enforcement as a major approach. Strategies to prevent and combat the problem of youth gangs often overlap and are intermixed. Legislative initiatives introduced in the 102nd Congress generally include a variety of approaches ranging from suppression and incarceration of gangs to youth outreach and provision of more social and economic opportunities. Footnotes and 27 references