Gang Prevention In Schools

This book delves deep into the hidden population of former gang members who share their positive and negative experiences of being gang members. Their stories of violence, hopelessness, despair, and loneliness also offer a seed of hope – they contain the building blocks for prevention. By understanding why they each turned to gangs, how they turned to gangs, and what went wrong for some along their pathways during childhood, as well as how and why they chose to leave the gang lifestyle, we can begin to put the pieces together and understand tools for gang prevention. Schools are in the unique position to become an oasis or a safe haven for a child in a world that does not otherwise feel safe to them. School staff members can step in and become consistent people in a child’s life. They can help to identify at-risk youth and intervene, facilitating a change in path away from gang membership. This book discusses how schools and staff can be instrumental in gang prevention and outlines warning signs and risk and protective factors for gang involvement. It also talks about components of gang prevention programs in schools. Additional topics explored include: Theories of Gang Involvement Lack of Family Consistency: Relating Attachment Theory with Gang Involvement “Brotherhood, Sisterhood, Unity:" Gangs as Replacement Family "No Other Option:" The Role of Social Environment "Death, Jail, or a Turnaround:" Making the Decision to Disengage A Piece About Trauma-Informed Practice Authored by a school social worker who has an insider's perspective on working in a school, Gang Prevention in Schools is a useful resource that gives a humanistic view of former gang members. The book will engage readers in the fields of psychology, social work, education and educational administration, and criminal justice, as well as have potential appeal to a lay audience due to the richness of the stories and interviews.

In this comprehensive, multidisciplinary volume, experts from a wide range fields explore violence in education’s different forms, contributing factors, and contextual nature. With contributions from noted experts in a wide-range of scholarly and professional fields, The Wiley Handbook on Violence in Education offers original research and essays that address the troubling issue of violence in education. The authors show the different forms that violence takes in educational contexts, explore the factors that contribute to violence, and provide innovative perspectives and approaches for prevention and response. This multidisciplinary volume presents a range of rigorous research that examines violence from both micro- and macro- approaches. In its twenty-nine chapters, this comprehensive volume’s fifty-nine contributors, representing thirty-three universities from the United States and six other countries, examines violence’s distinctive forms and contributing factors. This much-needed volume: Addresses the complexities of violence in education with essays from experts in the fields of sociology, psychology, criminology, education, disabilities studies, forensic psychology, philosophy, and critical theory Explores the many forms of school violence including physical, verbal, linguistic, social, legal, religious, political, structural, and symbolic violence Reveals violence in education’s stratified nature in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the problem Demonstrates how violence in education is deeply situated in schools, communities, and the broader society and culture Offers new perspectives and proposals for prevention and response The Wiley Handbook on Violence in Education is designed to help researchers, educators, policy makers, and community leaders understand violence in educational settings and offers innovative, effective approaches to this difficult challenge.

The United States has seen rapid proliferation of youth gangs since 1980. During this period, the number of cities with gang problems increased from an estimated 286 jurisdictions with more than 2,000 gangs and nearly 100,000 gang members in 1980 (Miller, 1992) to about 4,800 jurisdictions with more than 31,000 gangs and approximately 846,000 gang members in 1996(Moore and Terrett, in press). An 11-city survey of eighth graders found that 9 percent were currently gang members, and 17 percent said they had belonged to a gang at some point in their lives (Esbensen and Osgood, 1997).Other studies reported comparable percentages and also showed that gang members were responsible for a large proportion of violent offenses. In the Rochester site of the OJJDP-funded Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency, gang members (30 percent of the sample) self-reported committing 68 percent of all violent offenses (Thornberry, 1998). In the Denver site, adolescent gang members (14 percent of the sample) self-reported committing 89 percent of all serious violent offenses (Huizinga, 1997). In another study, supported by OJJDP and several other agenciesand organizations, adolescent gang members in Seattle (15 percent of the sample) self-reported involvement in 85 percent of robberies committed by the entire sample (Battin et al., 1998).This Bulletin reviews data and research to consolidate available knowledge on youth gangs that are involved in criminal activity. Following a historical perspective, demographic information ispresented. The scope of the problem is assessed, including gang problems in juvenile detention and correctional facilities. Several issues are then addressed by reviewing gang studies to provide aclearer understanding of youth gang problems.An extensive list of references is provided for further review.

This document provides guidelines for gang awareness and prevention in the California school system. It is based on the belief that inservice training programs help school staff recognize early signs of gang activity, a necessary step to intervention. Following the introduction, chapter 1 offers descriptive information on gangs and their members, such as gang characteristics, risk factors, types of gangs, reasons for the appeal of gangs, and consequences of membership. The second chapter describes techniques for gang prevention and intervention, which include building self-esteem, preventing and resolving conflict, communicating effectively, resisting peer pressure, enforcing a discipline and conduct code, and creating a secure school. Chapter 3 discusses school and school district responses to gangs, such as graffiti removal teams, school safety and dress code policies, lists of school gang members, search and seizure issues, gang resistance curriculum, and partnerships with other organizations. The final chapter describes the roles to be played by school boards, the school district office, school-site administrators, teachers and school staff, and parents in gang prevention and intervention. Appendices contain California School Board Association (CSBA) sample policies on gangs, dress and grooming, and search and seizure; sample letters; and information on sharing confidential information. State and county contacts are also listed. Contains 43 references. (LMI)

'Oxford Textbook Violence Prevention' brings together an international team of experts to provide an extensive global account of the global mortality and morbidity burden caused by violence through examining the causes of violence, and what can be done to prevent and reduce violence.

This collection of papers presents a representative selection of the National Institute of Justice's portfolio of gang-related research. The 10 papers are: (1) "A Decade of Gang Research: Findings of the National Institute of Justice Gang Portfolio" (Scott H. Decker); (2) "The Evolution of Street Gangs: An Examination of Form and Variation" (Deborah Lamm Weisel); (3) "Young Women in Street Gangs: Risk Factors, Delinquency, and Victimization Risk" (Jody Miller); (4) "Youth Gang Homicides in the United States in the 1990s" (Cheryl L. Maxson, G. David Curry, and James C. Howell); (5) "National Evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training [G.R.E.A.T.] Program" (Finn-Aage Esbensen, Adrienne Freng, Terrance J. Taylor, Dana Peterson, and D. Wayne Osgood); (6) "Evaluating Nevada's Antigang Legislation and Gang Prosecution Units" (Terance D. Miethe and Richard C. McCorkle); (7) "Evaluation of a Task Force Approach to Gangs" (Susan Pennell and Roni Melton); (8) "Gang Prevention Programs for Female Adolescents: An Evaluation" (Katherine Williams, G. David Curry, and Marcia I Cohen); (9) "Reducing Gang Violence in Boston" (Anthony A. Braga and David M. Kennedy); and (10) "Developing a GIS-Based Regional Gang Incident Tracking System" (James W. Meeker, Katie J.B. Parsons, and Bryan J. Vila). (Papers contain references.) (SM).