This Resource Page describes sources of information on gangs and gang violence, and serves as a resource for schools, law enforcement agencies, and other partners that work together to address this issue. Other Resource Pages related to these topics include
- Violence Prevention for Schools
- Bullying and Bullying Prevention
- Preparing for and Responding to Crises in Schools
- Juvenile Justice
Web sites
National Youth Gang Center (http://www.iir.com/nygc/) is funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U.S. Department of Justice for the purpose of developing and disseminating information, tools, and expertise for effective gang prevention, intervention, and suppression strategies. The National Youth Gang Center (NYGC) Web site includes:
- a large collection of publications on gang prevention, intervention, and suppression; crime, violence, and schools; surveys, statistics, and analysis; gangs and drugs/violence and drugs; the OJJDP Youth Gang and Youth In Action series, victim rights and advocacy; and violence and the community.
- the ganginfo listserv, an electronic discussion list
- a gang-related news article database
- a database of gang-related legislation, organized by state, subject (such as enhanced penalties and gang-related clothing), and municipal code by subject
- technical assistance for implementing the Comprehensive Gang Model, including an introduction to the model, Frequently Asked Questions, suggested readings, an assessment guide, and an implantation manual.
The National Alliance of Gang Investigators Associations (NAGIA) (http://www.nagia.org/) is composed of representatives from 16 regional gang investigators associations representing over 15,000 gang investigators across the country, as well as federal agencies and other organizations involved in gang-related matters. Resources found on NAGIA Web site include:
- National Gang Threat Assessment, a NAGIA report published in 2000 summarizing the current status of gangs in the United States, by type and region, anti-gang initiatives, and recommendations for policies and practices to help prevent gangs and reduce their influence.
- A collection of short articles on topics such as Gangs in Schools, Getting Out of Gangs, Asian Youth Gangs, Crips and Bloods, and Motorcycle Gangs.
- A directory of state and regional gang investigators’ associations
- A calendar of events and conferences
- Links to other gang and gang prevention information on the Web
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) (http://www.ncjrs.org/) is a Federally-funded resource offering justice and substance abuse information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide. The NCJRS collection contains a wealth of information on gangs and gang prevention. This information can be found by searching the following sections of the NCJRS website:
- In the Spotlight: Gang Resources: A summary web page on gangs and gang prevention, with sections on gang facts and figures, legislation, publications, programs, training and technical assistance, grants and funding, and related resources.
- Full-Text Publications/Virtual Library: A collection of 7,000 documents available for download from the NCJRS Web site containing more than 500 publications related to gangs. This library can also be searched for specific types of publications, such as those on “gangs and drugs” or “gang prevention.”
- Library Abstracts/Abstracts Database: A collection of summaries of more than 180,000 articles. Many of these summaries contain links to the full-text of the articles or publications. Information is provided on obtaining copies of those publications that cannot be linked to their summaries.
The NCJRS Web site also contains a wealth of information on other criminal justice issues, including juvenile justice, drugs and crime, corrections, as well as a calendar of conferences and other events.
Training Programs
Gang Resistance Education And Training (GREAT) (http://www.atf.gov/great/index.htm) is a life skills program designed to provide young people with the skills they need to avoid becoming involved in gangs and youth violence. It was developed by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco and the Phoenix Police Department and evaluated by National Institute of Justice. Program components include a school-based curriculum taught by uniformed police officers, summer and family components that reinforce and extend the lessons taught in schools, training programs for both the GREAT curriculum and the families component, and cooperative agreements for police departments to administer local GREAT programs.
