By Jesse Jannetta; Rod Martinez; Paige Thompson; Janine M. Zweig; Lily Robin; Leigh Courtney; Lindsey Cramer; Storm Ervin; Andreea Matei; Krista White

The recommended strategies are derived from research on the impact of various efforts to reduce shootings and homicides committed by youth between the ages of 10 and 25 in gangs/groups and with the use of guns. Research indicates that a common feature of the most effective efforts involves collaborations among law enforcement agencies, local government agencies, and community organizations in designing, implementing, and testing policies and practices designed to prevent and respond to violence committed by youth gangs/groups. Recommendations are divided into two sections. Those in the first section address how to build anti-violence infrastructure to ensure planned efforts span the entire jurisdiction, have multiple components, are adaptable to variable circumstances, are sustainable over time, and are targeted at violence committed by youth gangs/groups. The second section focuses on how to develop effective programs and interventions that operate within and benefit from the existing infrastructure. Nine actions needed to develop an anti-violence infrastructure are discussed. There are some common titles given workers and types of work done by those employed in these antiviolence efforts outside of traditional justice agencies. Throughout this guide, four common job titles in such work are a “case manager,” “credible messenger.” ”outreach worker,” and a “violence interrupter.” The guide describes the functions of each of these jobs in the context of what research has indicated to be an effective infrastructure for countering youth gang/group violence. Some examples are provided of U.S. cities that have an established infrastructure for addressing violence by youth gangs/groups.

Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2022. 99p.

By Washington Office of Latin America

A sk someone to describe a “gang member” and the response will be almost immediate. Most people, whether they have ever encountered an actual gang member or not, will describe a gun-toting, tattooed criminal. Ask someone to explain what a “Central American youth gang” is and the respondent is likely to paint an image of a dangerous network of criminal gangs, based in Central America and spreading their tentacles from there into the United States and other countries. Fueled by sometimes one-sided media coverage, these terms carry with them a strong set of prejudices and assumptions. The reality is far more complex. Gangs and gang members are very serious threats to public security in some communities both in Central America and in the United States. But the character and the origins of Central American youth gangs, and the problem of youth gang violence, are not simple to understand or address. They have both local and transnational aspects and are a social as well as a law enforcement issue. In Central America, youth gangs have existed since at least the 1960s, although their character changed significantly in the 1990s. To understand youth gangs in Central American immigrant communities in the United States, one must recognize that youth gangs in the U.S. can be traced back as far as the 1780s,

Washington, DC: WOLA, 2006. 32p.