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Posts in Violence and Oppression
Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Address Trauma and Reduce Violence Among Baltimore’s Young Men: A Profile of Roca Baltimore

By Farhana Hossain, Kyla Wasserman

Roca Baltimore strives to change the lives of young men who have been involved in the justice system and who are identified as being at high risk of participating in violence or being affected by it. MDRC is partnering with Roca to conduct an evaluation of the program’s implementation and participant outcomes. This introductory brief takes a closer look at Roca Baltimore’s program model, the young men it serves, and the local context that shapes its work.

New York: MDRC, 2021. 8p.

How Roca Works with Young Men Most at Risk of Violence in Baltimore: Perspectives from Boca Baltimore Participants

By Farhana Hossain and Kyla Wasserman

Founded in 1988, Roca is a nonprofit organization that works to change the lives of young people who are involved in the justice system and are at high risk of participating in violence or being affected by it. Such young people include those with a history of arrests, incarceration, violent behavior, or gang involvement, and often a disconnection from education and work. The organization focuses specifically on reaching those who are not likely to connect with mainstream institutions or traditional programs, and engages them in cognitive behavioral therapy and an array of education, employment, and supportive services that seek to address the traumas and challenges that have shaped their lives. Roca has been working with young people in communities across Massachusetts for more than 30 years. Building on that record, it launched its program in Baltimore in 2018 as a part of an initiative to curb high levels of violence in the city. In Massachusetts, Roca operates programs for young men and women, but the program in Baltimore currently focuses on the city’s young men. MDRC is partnering with Roca to study its Baltimore program. An introductory brief in July 2021 describes Roca Baltimore’s program model, the characteristics of its participants, and the characteristics of the local communities that shape its work. This report, second in the series of publications from the evaluation, presents findings from a small-scale, qualitative study designed to use participant cases and voices to create a more detailed picture of the young men Roca Baltimore serves and the ways the program works with them. Between March and May of 2022, the study team interviewed 10 young men at different stages of participation in the program about their experiences, seeking to better understand the program from their perspectives. More specifically, the goals of this qualitative study were to explore the young men’s pathways to Roca Baltimore, experiences with Roca’s offerings, and perceptions of changes arising from their participation. • Pathways to Roca Baltimore: the life experiences that have shaped young people’s trajectory to Roca, including factors related to their families and communities in Baltimore, experiences with traumatic events, and involvement with the criminal legal system • Experience with Roca’s offerings: how young people have experienced the relationships and services Roca offers, and what they value about their experience • Perception of change: how participants describe any changes in their behavior, outlook, and relationships that have arisen during their engagement with Roca The study was not designed to produce broad, generally representative conclusions about Roca’s participants or program, but rather to understand the life paths of some participants in a deep and meaningful way, and to generate case studies that provide helpful insights into their program experiences 

New York: MDRC, 2023. 34p

Harmful, Expensive and Criminogenic: The Case for Abolishing Detention and Training Orders in England and Wales

By Kathy Hampson, Anne-Marie Day

Children who offend generally receive community sentences, to help them overcome difficulties whilst naturally addressing offending behaviour; however, children can also receive custody, which has a plethora of known harms. Children’s rights instruments call for custody to be reserved as a ‘last resort’ response to extremely serious offending. However, in England and Wales this is demonstrably not the case, meaning that children still receive short custody orders (in the form of a Detention and Training Order [DTO]) for relatively minor offences. We argue that legislative change should abolish the DTO because of the harms custody wreaks, from several different perspectives (their rights, moral treatment of children, sentencing guidelines, practical and financial considerations), to leave the use of custody only possible for very serious offending, and thus reaching the goal of ‘last resort’.

The British Journal of Criminology, 2025, XX, 1–18p.

Juvenile Injuries and Deaths From Shootings by Police in the United States, 2015–2020

By Dylan B. Jacksondylan.jackson@jhu.edu ∙ Alexander Testa∙ Daniel C. Semenza ∙ Cassandra K. Crifasi ∙ Julie A. Ward

Purpose -

The present study describes juveniles injured in fatal and nonfatal shootings by the police from 2015 to 2020, compares characteristics of juvenile victimizations to adult victimizations, and estimates the odds of a shooting victim being a juvenile v. adult, given known characteristics.

Methods -

From July 2021 to April 2023, we manually reviewed publicly available records on all 2015–2020 injurious shootings by the US police, identified from Gun Violence Archive. We first calculated counts and proportions of victim, incident, and response characteristics among juvenile and adult injured people, then estimated the odds of juvenile (vs. adult) victimization associated with each characteristic in multilevel logistic regression models with random intercepts to account for state- and incident-level correlation.

Results -

97 percent of shootings involved presumed on-duty officers and victims whose categorical age status (i.e., juvenile or adult) was reported (n = 10,382). Included among these injured people were 317 juveniles, 33% of whom were fatally injured (mean reported juvenile age = 15.5 years). Several patterns differentiated juveniles from adult police shooting victims, including multiple demographic characteristics (e.g., race or ethnicity and gender) and the outcomes of and circumstances surrounding these events (e.g., fatality, victim weapon status, and single-officer response).

Discussion -

Findings point to a critical need to identify and implement public health and policing strategies that greatly reduce the number of juveniles shot by the police every year, so that all children have the opportunity to thrive into adulthood.

Journal of Adolescent Health, Volume 76, Issue 2 February 2025

A Youth Empowerment Model Designed to Tackle School Violence in South Africa

By Dewan, Fathima

School-based violence is of major concern in the South African schooling system, particularly in secondary schools. School-based violence has a negative impact on the physical, social, cognitive and emotional well-being of learners and teachers. To compound matters, family and community environment also play a role in escalating school violence. There is a need to develop interventions that are evidence-based and developmental in nature to address the issue of reducing school-based violence. Youth empowerment can be used as a helpful strategy to address the issue of school-based violence. This scholarly book focuses on using the framework of youth empowerment to address the issue of school-based violence. Through sound research, the author proposes that schools should involve learners in decision-making around school policies and design strategies to address school violence to create safer schools and a better school climate. The author further posits using key aspects of youth empowerment in school violence campaigns and programmes to increase youth motivation to collectively influence changes within their school through a process of shared decision-making, collective vision, and partnership with young people.

Cape Town: Avarsity Books, 2024. 218p.

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

By James C. Howell

  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 cooccur. 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. The impetus for generating an up-to-date bibliography of gang research emanated from the National Gang Center’s recognition several years ago that gang problems in the United States were not diminishing, and it was apparent that state and local governments needed more assistance with growing gang activity. To expand the National Gang Center bibliography, we first extracted bibliographies from numerous seminal gang research publications that made a unique contribution to the body of knowledge concerning gang involvement. On an ongoing basis, we extracted unique references from online publications for which we had subscriptions. We also searched accessible publications of leading gang researchers and various gang research groups that contain many trustworthy findings that mainly emanated from numerous rigorous gang studies. We added references generated from their work to the gang research bibliography that we had begun compiling at the National Gang Center, including published youth and street gang studies on a variety of topic areas along with additional research findings that were not yet accessible. Next, we extracted references published to the internet by the National Criminal Justice Reference Service.

Washington, DC: National Gang Center, 2024. 149p.

Lifting The Lid on Bluetown: A Replication Case Study, Which Investigates The Contribution of Engagement in A Local Criminal Network to Young People’s More Serious and Persistent Offending Patterns.

By O'Meara Daly, Eoin and Redmond, Sean and Naughton, Catherine 

The Bluetown study aimed to replicate the Greentown study. The Greentown study was innovative in methodology and purpose. It examined the context of the minority of young people in Ireland who engaged in ‘atypical’ crimes (burglary and drugs for sale and supply), where criminal activity tended to be more serious and prolific. It identified the presence of a local criminal network and found that engagement in the network was plausibly associated with repeat offending. Two replication case studies, Bluetown and Redtown, aimed to examine if the Greentown findings resonated in other locations in Ireland. The current study aimed to identify if the Greentown findings could be generalised to another anonymised Garda sub-district, Bluetown. The Twinsight methodology Redmond (2016) specifically designed the Twinsight methodology for the Greentown study. In Greentown, local criminal network maps constructed from PULSE crime data illustrated crime transactions (focusing on burglary and drugs for sale or supply) including transactions between adults and young people. Similarly, criminal network maps were constructed for Bluetown during the period of 2014–2015. The network map provided a framework to harness the expert knowledge of members of An Garda Síochána in Bluetown and facilitated confidential discussions around key incidents, young people’s contexts and relationships. Key findings Garda narratives centred on four area-based criminal networks that existed in Bluetown. These were distinct from each other and spread over a large geographical area. Network 1 was family based and hierarchical in nature, with Networks 2 and 3 grounded in peer relationships and their locality. Garda respondents described Network 4 as a drugs network with a loose organisational structure. According to Gardaí, all four networks in Bluetown contained relationships with different levels of trust between members and this affected network strength and stability. Criminal network strength and stability was also influenced by fear and intimidation. Similar to Greentown, each network contained members with family connections to crime and involved young people with a combination of risk factors. In Bluetown, proximity to offending peers and the normalisation of criminal behaviour were additional factors with networks developing in localities for sustained periods.

Conclusion There was sufficient consistency between the original Greentown findings and the replication study in Bluetown: notably regarding Network 1 and its family orientation, in addition to the chaotic backgrounds of young people in problematic peer groups. One difference between Greentown and Bluetown was that the latter represented a large urban sub-district with four distinct criminal networks identified by Garda respondents on the criminal network map. As a result, some Garda respondents were limited in their knowledge of all areas on the PULSE informed map. In Greentown we identified that engagement in local criminal networks contributed to young people developing more serious and prolific crime trajectories. Likewise, in Bluetown the findings suggest that engagement in networks contributed to a significant number of young people developing more serious and prolific offending patterns. The combination of Bluetown and Greentown findings indicates that the structure and dynamics of networks may be context-specific. Both sets of findings suggest that engagement in a local criminal network may have contributed to the young people’s ‘atypical’ criminal activity    

 Limerick: School of Law, University of Limerick. 2020. 64p.

Youth Bullying: An Overview and Related Interventions

By Lauren Weisner and Lynne Mock

Bullying is a form of violence that can leave lasting negative effects on school-aged youth. This literature review examines research on bullying frequency, predictors and impacts, and prevention and intervention programs. Research finds that between 20% and 40% of youth in the United States have experienced bullying (with variances in data sources and groups examined) and that there are a host of negative outcomes for those exposed to it. Programs that address bullying vary, but there are several promising interventions to address the issue.   

Chicago: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority,  2022.14p.

Push and Pull Factors for Female Involvement in Gangs and Collateral Involvement in Sex Trafficking: Systematic Review of Research

By Hannah Sutherland, Jessica Norton, Danielle Munguia, Trevor Fronius

Research on the factors that contribute to male gang involvement is extensive and varied. It includes studies of environmental, cultural, and social factors that increase the risks of gang involvement or lead to gang involvement, including how these factors vary by race and ethnicity. These factors are typically referred to as “push” and “pull” factors. Push factors are external to the gang (e.g., history of abuse, lack of parental support or supervision) and push an individual toward membership, and pull factors are internal to the gang (e.g., street credibility, protection, economic benefits) and draw an individual into membership. This paper extends the focus on push and pull factors by providing a systematic review of research from the past decade specific to female gang involvement. Until recently, research on the roles of females in gangs has been minimal because violence and gang membership have historically been thought to be male-dominated phenomena (Esbensen et al., 1999). Females have commonly been thought to be auxiliary members or nonactive members because of the roles they would stereotypically inherit or be placed into by male gang members. For example, initial research on the female roles within gangs was focused on narrow parameters regarding what constitutes an appropriate or even possible set of gang activities for girls and women (Coughlin & Venkatesh, 2003). These activities were usually based around sexual favors to their male counterparts, weapon concealing, drug carrying, and whatever else may be instructed to them by the dominant males. Furthermore, longitudinal research has not been conducted on the push and pull factors that attract females to gang involvement. Often this research has disregarded gender differences when observing push and pull factors by assuming factors were the same across genders. Additionally, insight into female gang involvement has often reflected male-gendered perspectives, suggesting a deficit model for gang affiliation and engagement (Deuchaur et al., 2020). However, some literature has provided fresh perspectives that argue that female gang affiliation is much more “agentic” than previously thought (Bandura, 2001). For instance, Moore and Hagedorn (2001, p. 3) found that gang membership can be viewed as an “assertion of independence” from familial, cultural, and class constraints. In this way, the gang lifestyle offers females empowerment and the prospect of individualism that counters previously reflected gendered perspectives that suggested a deficit model of gang affiliation and engagement (Deuchar et al., 2020). In a qualitative comparative study, Deuchar and colleagues (2020) compared female gang involvement in Los Angeles and Glasgow and found that the method of entry and point of entry into gangs were especially important to female respondents. Their entry determined not only how they were viewed, categorized, and perceived by their male counterparts but also how they were positioned within their own street gang hierarchy. This finding challenges the common assumption that females join gangs to be affiliated with male gangs. In fact, it could be argued that street gangs offer females a variety of reasons for joining—for some, gang affiliation is a way to escape from past experiences; for others, gang affiliation is a way in (i.e., past experiences have normalized gang involvement); and for others, gang affiliation may be a way of achieving social mobility and power (Deuchar et al., 2020). Although some factors may be similar for male and female gang involvement, others may be uniquely identified by expanding the research on female gang involvement. To start, numerous studies have demonstrated that females involved in gangs experience different forms of and more severe victimization than do their male counterparts (Klein & Maxson, 2006; Sutton, 2017; Valasik & Reid, 2019). For example, studies show that many female gang members experience an excessive amount of victimization early in life, even prior to joining a gang (Sutton, 2017). Female gang members often have a history of physical and sexual abuse at home by older male figures who are either family members or family friends (Valasik & Reid, 2019). This victimization is known to continue in various forms between female and male gang members upon joining a gang. Once they join a gang, females are at increased risk of being victimized, especially sexually, by older male counterparts in the gang (Valasik & Reid, 2019). They are also at increased risk of being forced by established female gang members to have sex with multiple male members (Gibson et al., 2012). This form of victimization is rarely experienced by male gang members and is uniquely identified in female gang members. Moreover, another stark gender difference between males and females is that females who experience a lack of family support are at increased risk of joining a gang to fulfill their desire of having an emotionally satisfying familial group, while males are typically seeking adventure and excitement in gang lifestyle and relationships (Valasik & Reid, 2019). Common gang-involved factors such as street status, protection, physical and sexual victimization, delinquency, lack of parental monitoring or support, and a craving for an emotionally satisfying familial peer group are only a few mentioned factors that are not completely generalizable across genders (De La Rue & Espelage, 2014; Deschenes & Esbensen, 1999; Deuchar et al., 2020; Esbensen et al., 1999; Gold, 2000; Simon et al., 2013). In his early research, Gold explored power and status as prominent pull factors due to the significant number of females who join gangs because of limited opportunities in their homes and communities that in turn push them toward gang involvement. His research around female gang involvement showed that roles for female gang members have expanded, and they are no longer viewed as just sexual objects or the girlfriends of male gang members; they have gained their own gang autonomy and control (Gold, 2000). In addition, Gold (2000) researched the ways in which peer relationships among females are fostered in gangs and how such relationships influence their decision to join, stay, and pressure other peers to conduct delinquent activities. Some scholars suggest that females can perceive gangs and gang life as a source of empowerment. According to Gold (2000), many females perceived the gang as a place where they could gain some power and control over their lives. Relatedly, Curry (1998) has suggested that it is important to develop a feminist perspective in order to formulate more useful observations and theories about female gang involvement that counter the initial, hegemonic, male-centered view of gang lifestyle. In other words, a feminist perspective could limit the generalizations made about factors that influence females to join gangs and facilitate a greater inclusion of relevant environmental, cultural, and social factors that promote female gang involvement. The sections that follow describe why and how a systematic review of relevant literature was conducted and then provide a synthesis of the quantitative empirical literature on push and pull factors that influence females to join gangs and on collateral involvement in sex trafficking.

Boston: Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Office of Children, Youth and Families. 2024; 32p.

Youth Vulnerability and Violence: Reviewing the lived experiences of vulnerable young people

By Madeline Rolfe and Sarah Hibbert

Crest Advisory was commissioned by the Youth Endowment Fund to conduct research on serious youth violence and vulnerability in England and Wales. The research was in three parts: an analysis of national indicators of serious violence and vulnerability; a survey of over 2,000 children and young people across England and Wales; and engagement with vulnerable young people in contact with a Youth Offending Service (YOS), and their support workers. This report focuses on our engagement with vulnerable young people in contact with a YOS and their support workers. To conduct the research we reviewed and collected qualitative and quantitative information on the young people. By reviewing these data sources in tandem, we were able to look beyond the statistics to better understand how vulnerability and violence affects young people.

  • vulnerable to exploitation. In reviewing the life stories of the young people in contact with the YOS, we found a connection between a lack of these protective factors and proximity to violence.

  • One of the most powerful tools to engage vulnerable young people is establishing trusted relationships. When young people feel that they are listened to and understood, they are more likely to engage with support services and interventions. The life stories of the young people we engaged with highlighted the importance of trusted relationships. For Dominic, whose life story is outlined below, having a dedicated YOS worker who regularly checked in with him helped to reduce his offending.

London: Crest Advisory, 2023. 40p.