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Board Membership and Committees Programs and Services for
Court Involved Youth
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There is no accepted standard definition. State and local jurisdictions tend to develop their own. The following criteria have been widely used in research: 1) formal organization structure (not a syndicate), 2) identifiable leadership, 3) identified with a territory, 4) recurrent interactions, and 5) engaging in serious or violent behavior. These criteria are increasingly used to distinguish gangs from other law-violating youth groups and other collective youth groups. Unlike adult crime, most juvenile delinquency is committed in groups.
How many gangs are there in America? As there is no national reporting system, precise information is unavailable-only estimates based on irregular surveys. The most recent estimate-for 1991-is 4,881 gangs with 249,324 members, based on Curry’s (1993) law enforcement survey.
Surveys over the past decade-primarily of law enforcement agencies-have been reporting gangs in more and more cities. The gang problem is also increasing from the standpoint of more violent offenses, more serious injuries, and use of more lethal weapons. However, it is unclear whether the growth in urban youth violence should be attributed largely to gangs, “law-violating youth groups,” or nongang youth: juveniles and young adults.
Are gangs comprised entirely of juveniles? Gang members range from about 12- to 25-years-old. The peak age is around 17. In some cities, especially those only recently reporting gang problems, up to 90% of gang members are estimated to be juveniles. More established gang cities, like Chicago, report up to 74% of gang members are adults (Miller, 1982; Spergel, 1991).
What can be done to combat gangs? Prevention and intervention approaches to date generally have not been found to be particularly effective, in part, because of inadequate evaluations of interventions. America has seen a shift in strategies over the past 40 years: from social intervention approaches in the 1950’s and 1960’s to suppression strategies in the 1970’s-1990’s. Spergel (1990, 1991, 1992) and his colleagues conducted a nationwide assessment of approaches that have been aimed at youth gangs, both inside and outside the juvenile justice system. They found that in chronic gang problem cities, respondents believed opportunities provision was the most effective strategy, followed by community organization approaches. In emerging gang problem cities, community organization was perceived as most effective strategy. Suppression strategies were not reported to be particularly effective, except in conjunction with other approaches.
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