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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 11:48 pm
Time: 11:48 pm
Results for gangs (utah, u.s.)
1 results foundAuthor: Prospero, Moises Title: 2012 Best Practices in Confronting Gang Membership & Crime in Utah Summary: This report reviews the gang literature in search of best practices to confront gang membership and crime. The review includes prevalence of gangs, gang crime, its consequences, etiology of gangs, characteristics of gangs, and gang control efforts. Based on the most recent gang literature, 11 recommendations were developed aimed at individual, group, and community levels for prevention, intervention, suppression, and re-entry services. Gangs are prevalent around the world but lack of documentation makes it difficult to accurately describe the gang issues at a global level. The US has the best documentation of gangs and gang crime, but other countries are recognizing that gangs are a problem in their region and are beginning to collect data, especially in Europe. The data reveal a common trend around the world: Gang members are significantly more violent than non-gang members. The factors related to gang violence are the presence of firearms, ethnic tensions, and the social norm of using guns during conflict. The cost of gang crime is extremely high, from death and psychological trauma to community fear and significant economic costs. A serious concern is the alliance between Mexico’s drug trafficking organizations (DTO), such as Los Zetas Cartel and La Familia Michoacana, with US gangs, such as the Banditos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang and and MS-13. DTOs use motorcycle and street gangs as soldiers in the drug war, for drug delivery into the US, and for smuggling guns and drug earnings into Mexico from the US. DTOs have been reported in every large city in the US, including Utah (Ogden and Salt Lake City). Consumption of drugs, drug money and high powered weapons increases the strength of Mexican DTOs and US gangs. Although suppressing Mexican DTOs is needed, addressing the large consumption of illegal drugs by the US and trafficking US military weapons to Mexican DTOs also need to take priority in order to obtain long-term reduction of gang violence and crime in the US. The main risk factors for gang membership are impulsivity, negative life events, lack of sense of belonging, antisocial attitudes, delinquent peers, and lack of parental supervision. The risk factors for gang formation are communities that lack appropriate jobs, lack prosocial alternate activities to gang members, lack informal and formal controls but have minority youth segregation and an out-migration of the middle class. In the US, research has revealed that gangs are poorly organized with unstable leadership, are more ethnically diverse and gendered than originally believed, and that most members leave the gang within a year, usually by maturing out of the lifestyle. All gang members are not alike, with at least two types of gang members identified: core and fringe. Core gang members are more likely to identify strongly with the gang, be more cohesive with their clique, stay longer in the gang, be more resistant to gang control efforts, and be more violent. At the group level, the cohesiveness of cliques within a gang is related to gang violence as these smaller tight groups of gang members are more likely to follow the “code of the streets” and be more likely to violently retaliate when these codes are broken. Through an extensive validation process that included data across the US collected through gang experts (law enforcement, gang workers, & researchers), a gang typology was created that included five types: traditional, neotraditional, compressed, collective, and specialty gangs. Traditional gangs are large (over 100 members), enduring, and territorial with a wide age range and several internal cliques. Neotraditional gangs are newer territorial gang that appears to be evolving into larger traditional type of gangs. Compressed gangs make up the largest percentage of gangs (39%) and are smaller groups that have a relatively short history. Collective gangs are medium sized groups of adolescents and young adults that have not developed into a form that has any of the characteristics from other gangs. Specialty gangs are smaller groups that are involved in the following types of crimes: drugs, assault, burglary, theft, and robbery. The review revealed that gang control efforts have not been effective at addressing the issues of gang proliferation and gang crime. There are a few gang control efforts that have attempted to be multi-level and comprehensive and hold some promise for future success (OJJDP GRP and Chicago’s Ceasefire Program). Unfortunately, these approaches largely ignore the prevention and reentry levels in favor of intervention and suppression efforts. A few comprehensive models hold promise in filling the prevention gap: Kids First and Megacommunities. Effective reentry programs, unfortunately, are practically non-existent, which is extremely concerning as offenders who have been incarcerated for long periods of time are at greatest risk (several criminogenic needs) to re-victimize the community. Another area that has largely been ignored by gang control efforts but unique to gangs and related to increased gang violence is the cohesiveness of cliques within the larger gang. The following recommendations are based on this literature: 1. Implement multi-level comprehensive gang control efforts with goals and strategies (need political and economic support). 2. Use data-driven assessment to identify target populations (need statewide database). 3. Use programs found to be effective with non-gang members (e.g., Blueprint Model Programs). 4. Use “hot spot” problem-oriented policing (POP) in collaboration with community organizations. 5. Use improved street lighting with active close circuit TV (CCTV) in identified “at-risk” areas. 6. Use long-term incarceration for extremely high risk violent offenders (NOT with lower risk offenders). 7. Evaluate all gang control efforts (process and outcome). 8. Be proactive with media to raise awareness and educate the public regarding gang issues. 9. Develop gang-specific screening and assessments (e.g., discriminate core v fringe gang members). 10.Develop gang-specific programs (e.g., reduce gang cohesion, reentry services). 11.Develop a systems-level process and outcome evaluation tool (e.g., test fidelity of collaborative efforts, measure community impact). Details: www.gangfree.utah.gov/, 2013. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 1, 2013 at: http://www.gangfree.utah.gov/Media/Default/Documents/Reports/UtahGangReport_BestPractices_2012.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.gangfree.utah.gov/Media/Default/Documents/Reports/UtahGangReport_BestPractices_2012.pdf Shelf Number: 129234 Keywords: Gangs (Utah, U.S.)Youth Gangs |