Law – Criminal Justice – Analyzing Approaches to Gangs American cities have been plagued with gang problems for decades. They have responded with numerous programs which have one or more of three basic themes: suppression, social intervention or organizational change. These approaches have achieved different levels of success. Studies show that suppression and social intervention have failed while organizational change has enjoyed some success. Even the "gang capital" of America - Los Angeles – has experienced some success with its organizational-change-based Advancement Project.
Criminal Justice -- Analyzing Approaches to Gangs
Gang violence has plagued American cities for many decades. In response, cities have adopted several approaches to reducing or eliminating gang violence through several methods. Information gathered over several decades has shown that one approach is more successful than the others and is being effectively used even in the "gang capital" of America.
Different Approaches to Gangs
American cities with high gang violence have dealt with this urban problem by three basic approaches: suppression, social intervention and organizational change (Fearn, Decker, & Curry, 2006, p. 313). Suppression, as our text shows, is the attempt to annihilate gangs through surveillance, arrest and imprisonment (Fearn, Decker, & Curry, 2006, p. 313). Social intervention is an immediate, short-term response to an act of violence or a crisis (Fearn, Decker, & Curry, 2006, p. 313). Organizational change is a task-force oriented approach that studies the underlying causes and long-term remedies of gang membership and violence (Fearn, Decker, & Curry, 2006, p. 313). These approaches are not mutually exclusive and the authorities have used some or all of them. One example of this multiple approach is Los Angeles, which is known as the "gang capital" of America (Maxson, Hennigan, & Sloane, 2006, p. 394). In one form or another, Los Angeles has used suppression, social intervention and organizational change, with different degrees of success.
The Conditions under Which a Specific Policy or Program Might Be Most Effective, and the Resources Required
The approach to gang violence that seems to have the most potential for success is organizational change. Cities such as Los Angeles have used suppression and social intervention since the 1970's but those approaches seem to have failed miserably: the Justice Institute reported in 2007, after more than 30 years of suppression and social intervention efforts in Los Angeles, that there were six times as many gangs and at least twice the number of gang members in the Los Angeles area (Greene & Pranis, 2007). Since the surveillance, arrest and imprisonment of suppression and the short-term responses of social intervention have not worked, then the multi-party studies of underlying causes and establishment of long-term remedies must be attempted.
Organizational change would be most effective when considerable time, expertise and resources can be dedicated to discovering community aspects that should be changed and to actually changing them. The cooperation of law enforcement, schools, and social service agencies (Fearn, Decker, & Curry, 2006, p. 317) is vital to organizational change because each of those institutions uses different specialized skills to perform essential functions for young people and each institution can use its powers and insights to determine the causes of gang violence and treat the disease of gang violence. Extensive and accurate data collection about youth and gang members is also needed (Fearn, Decker, & Curry, 2006, p. 318) because understanding underlying causes requires facts, not prejudices, in order to correctly determine the underlying causes of gang violence. The work of multiple institutions and extensive data collection require money, so dedicated funding is also required for successful organizational change (Fearn, Decker, & Curry, 2006, p. 318). Due to the fact that organizational change is a more comprehensive approach, social institutions must work together with considerable accurate information and the money to establish and carry out programs in order to succeed.
Comparison of a Local Policy, Program or Approach to Those Discussed In the Text or Discovered In Research, and Assessment of Its Potential Success or Lack Thereof, Given Local Conditions
Although Los Angeles has a long history of dealing with gang violence through suppression and social intervention, its determination to face gang violence through organizational change appears to have the most potential. Founded in 1999 by civil rights leaders, Los Angeles' "Advancement Project" is focused on creating equality for all communities within Los Angeles (Advancement Project, 2013). With the goal of providing people in all Los Angeles communities with the "safety, opportunity and health they need to thrive" (Advancement Project, 2013), Advancement Project intends to treat the City's "gang epidemic" by abandoning an "us vs. them" mentality and treating all residents of Los Angeles -- including gang members -- as community members who deserve an equal chance for "upward mobility" (Advancement Project, 2013). By breaking the cycle of inequality and hopelessness that may drive young people to gangs, Advancement Project strongly believes that one of the benefits will be a dramatic reduction in gang violence.
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