ABSTRACT
An emerging shift in research and practice with gangs, gang members, and the violence they cause is integrating criminal justice and public health perspectives. While criminal justice approaches address gangs, crime, and violence, a public health approach involves tackling gang problems holistically recognizing the interplay between structural, relational, and individual-level factors. These include the structural conditions that give rise to street gangs as well as group and sociocognition factors for gang joining and gang violence. Current responses to street gangs are examined in this chapter along with empirical evidence on the success of these responses. Utilizing a public health perspective, responses are mapped according to primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Gaps are identified and shared themes across policies and programs are described. In short, most policies are aligned with a deep-end criminal justice approach to quarantining and stopping the spread of violence, while many programs are beginning to address the victim–offender overlap and group dynamics of gangs to affect change. Largely absent from policies and programs are recognition and attention to the root causes of gangs, gang joining, and gang violence. The chapter concludes by outlining future directions for policy, practice, and applied research on gangs and gang members.
