Reducing Youth Gang Violence
Author | : Irving A. Spergel |
Publisher | : Rowman Altamira |
Total Pages | : 401 |
Release | : 2007-03-01 |
ISBN-10 | : 9780759113893 |
ISBN-13 | : 0759113890 |
Rating | : 4/5 (93 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: In this book, Irving Spergel details the efforts of his Chicago youth gang project, a comprehensive, community-based model designed to reduce gang problems, including violence and illegal drug activity. He offers an in-depth description of the Little Village Gang Violence Reduction Project, revealing the successes and failures of intervention at each level: individual youths, the gang itself, and the community at large. Spergel relates how a coalition of criminal justice, neighborhood, and academic organizations_along with a team of tactical officers, probation officers, former gang leaders, and a neighborhood organization_developed strategies for dealing with hardcore violent male youths from two gangs: the Latin Kings and Two Six. This well-known project has become the model for a series of national initiatives. Policymakers, criminologists, and gang researchers will find this model valuable for assessing gang programs and reducing gang violence.