A Bibliography of Youth and Street Gang Problems, Gang Research, and What Works

At both the adolescent and adult levels, ongoing gang involvement often facilitates or demands individual participation in violence, drug use, and drug trafficking—and these crimes often co-occur. In short, gang activity and its associated violence remain a significant component of the U.S. crime problem. Growing requests for guidance from juvenile and criminal justice system components prompted us to develop a repository of studies that could provide guidance and support in preventing and controlling gang violence. With that demand in mind, we set out to update the gang bibliography that we had maintained earlier at the National Gang Center. The intended audience is state and local juvenile and criminal justice officials and legislators, school administrators, and concerned citizens. In addition, the Office of Justice Programs can use this bibliography to guide researchers who wish to submit applications—to explain more succinctly how their proposed search could add knowledge and best practices to the existing body of gang research. In the long-term, we are hopeful that this gang research bibliography will help substantiate and expedite the work of all assiduous gang researchers.