ABSTRACT

Various sources have attempted to define youth gangs as groups of individuals involved in territorial claims and often antisocial or violent behavior (Howell, 1998; Miller, 1975; Spergel and Bobrowski, 1989). The 1996 National Youth Gang Survey defined youth gangs as “a group of youths or young adults . . . that (the respondent) or other responsible person in [the] agency or community are willing to identify or classify as a ‘gang’” (National Youth Gang Center, 1999, p. 7).