This bulletin provides an overview of the problems that youth gangs pose. It pinpoints the differences between youth gangs and adult criminal organizations and examines the risk factors that lead to youth gang membership. Some promising strategies being used to curb youth gang involvement are reviewed. The proliferation of youth gangs since 1980…

Increased violence in the schools necessitates the identification of potential gang development and formation of preventive safety policies. Included in this bulletin for principals are steps for gang activity identification, preventive strategies, appropriate responses to altercations, and guidelines for security and supervision of…

This publication identifies five levels of gang activity in middle and high schools and presents corresponding strategies for dealing with troublesome situations. The five levels of involvement include: (1) no known gang activity; (2) limited gang activity; (3) emerging gang activity; (4) community in crisis; and (5) gang-controlled community. A…

Three mothers whose children were connected to Dallas (Texas) gangs told their stories at the Fourth Joint National Conference on Gangs, Schools, and Community. It is said that gang members come from dysfunctional families, usually from homes where fathers are not present or involved in children's upbringing. In spite of a great deal of research…

Elementary school principals are in a key position to prevent school violence. This document reviews five publications that feature strategies administrators and teachers can use to create a safe school. In "Creating Safe Environments for Learning in North Carolina's Public Schools," Tanya M. Suarez reviews the literature on school safety and…

This document consists of the first 10 issues of the newsletter, "Prevention Researcher," published during the 4-year period 1994 through 1997. The 1994 issues (two) focus on dating violence and youth gangs. The 1995 issues (two) focus on Internet resources for prevention professionals and on drunk driving. The 1996 issues (three) focus…

This issue of the "School Intervention Report" contains a reprint from the "Youth Gangs: Guidelines for Educators and Community Youth Leaders." The juvenile gang has the power to motivate, direct, and positively sanction violence by its members. In examining the power of the gang to amplify violent conduct, there are at least three sets of causes…

Doing something positive about youth gangs will require hard work, attitude change, and enlisting the help of many people. In addition to the many obvious causes of gangs, there are less well-known factors, such as academic achievement, that are related to youth participation in gangs. Participation in extracurricular activities helps young people…

This volume presents papers from a 1998 conference on school violence in Valparaiso, Indiana. The papers include: "What is School Violence? An Integrated Definition" (Stuart Henry); "Violence in Schools: Rage against a Broken World" (J. Scott Staples); "Listening to What the Streets Say: Vengeance as Ideology?" (Ralph…

Concern with school violence and efforts to reduce gang visibility at school have led to controversy about students' constitutional rights to freedom of expression. This document outlines legal precedents and offers guidelines for developing a sound school policy on dress codes. It answers the following questions: (1) Are gang clothing and symbols…

The escalation of youth violence is one of the major public health concerns of the United States. Many factors today make juveniles more likely to commit, or to become victims of, violent acts. Drugs, the availability of guns, and the emergence of gang problems in all regions of the country are among the causes of youth violence. Prevention of…

In 1992 the Texas Education Agency selected 83 schools to participate in its Partnership Schools Initiative (PSI), which had the goals of improving outcomes for students and closing the performance gaps among various student groups. The schools were allowed flexibility in the process used to achieve these goals. One of the partnership schools,…

Teams at several universities collaborated in studies of the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency program in three cities. This bulletin presents the findings from the Rochester (New York) Youth Development Study (RYDS) concerning the contributions of youth gang membership to delinquency. The RYDS started with a sample of 1,000 boys and girls in…

Volume 6 of" The Prevention Researcher" contains three 12-page issues and one supplement. Issue Number 1 focuses on gambling, and contains the following articles: (1) "Gambling in the Family: The Hidden Addiction" (D. A. Abbott); (2) "Adolescent Gambling and Substance Use: The View from Texas" (L. Wallisch); (3)…

Since the 1960s, crime and violence have been increasing in schools. This document focuses on crime involving physical harm or the threat of physical harm to a student or staff member on school grounds or at school events. Chapter 1 reviews past trends in school violence, describes the current extent of the problem, and explores some of its…