Overview

The phenomena of youth gangs, drug trafficking, and urban violence are far from new. Gangs and their behaviors vary across geographic, demographic, and ethnic settings. There is a great deal of variability in gangs, gang activity, and gang problems within and among a single community. Even so, there is one recurring feature about this sort of activity in all neighborhoods: it is concentrated. A small percentage of gang members account for most of the harm done by their gang; a small percentage of people are at high risk of being victimized by gangs; and a large percentage of gang crime occurs in a few particularly dangerous locations. 

The chief problem in any community plagued with criminal activity is not the punishment of the criminals, but the preventing of the young from becoming involved in crime and gang activity. Addressing a gang problem requires a comprehensive approach. This workshop is an intervention approach cognitive of the varying settings and social forces that contribute to the formation of thinking, attitudes, behavior and activities linked to gang involvement.