Gangs in America's Communities

by James C. Howell

• ISBN13: 9781412979535
• ISBN10: 1412979536
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-11-09
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc

Summary

This book provides a comprehensive, up-to-date, and theoretically-grounded approach to gangs and youth violence. It covers significant topics of interest to gang scholars and practitioners and, in doing so, serves to prepare students to work with gang members, develop and manage anti-gang programs, or engage in scholarly endeavors. The book introduces readers to the foundations of gang studies through the origins of gangs, definitions and categories of youth/street gangs (and the distinctions between these arguably different types), national and international trends, distinguishing features of serious street gangs, what works with gangs and what doesn'¬"t, and myths and realities. James Howell'¬"s extensive experience in this area allows access to the most authoritative national survey data on gang trends, providing insight into topics such as female gangs, migration of gang members, small-town gangs versus the major adult gangs in large cities, gang homicides and drug trafficking.

Table of Contents

History of Gangs in the United States

Myths and Realities of Youth Gangs

Defining Gangs and Gang Members

Early Gang Theories and Modern-Day Applications

Gang Involvement as a Developmental Trajectory

Girls and Gangs

National Gang Problem Trends: 1996 to 2009

Urban Gangs and Violence

What Works: Gang Prevention

What Works: a Comprehensive Gang Program Model

Glossary

References

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.