ABSTRACT
Existing theory on the subject of gangs overwhelmingly suggests that law enforcement can impact the group dynamics of a specific gang and the ability of the gangs to commit crimes by applying pressure on them; it is debatable if this is short or long term in many cases. The research conducted for this book also revealed that gang injunctions have the unique ability to address some of the underlying causes of gang crimes that extend their potential benefit well beyond many other traditional law enforcement suppression tactics. For example, a gang sweep typically provides only temporary relief to a neighborhood under intense pressure from the local gang, as opposed to an injunction that has the potential to have a much more long-lasting benefit-as long as the police want it to be in some cases-assuming proper assessment and maintenance of the injunction is conducted.
