How Law Enforcement Respond To Gangs
Research Paper
SOC 454-002
Law Enforcement and Society
November 12, 2013
How does Law Enforcement respond to gangs?
Introduction Law enforcement agencies have a variety of tasks at hand that they have to perform; protecting, serving and problem solving are just a few. This research paper will look into how law enforcement responds to gangs, the background on police and gang relationships, and why the creation of gang police units. Multiple studies will be used to show the process some police gang units use in order to address the gangs in their location, other studies will be used to give background and research to show what has and has not worked in the past and present.
Summarize …show more content…
Key Points The research that is provided throughout this paper will discuss why police gangs have been created, what their main purposes are, why they respond in the certain ways they do and the positives/negatives of the process at which they work. Like one study states, “.. the research will focus upon, assess, and analyze changes in leadership, learning, and organization required to effectively recognize, combat, and defeat the scourge of crime, violence, and social disruption caused by criminal street gangs” (Richards, 2010).
Largely as well main reasons for this specialized unit in law enforcement agencies (LEA) are due to multiple reasons, such like the pressures that were put on the LEAs to be seen as legitimate and authoritative.
History of Gang Units The development of specialized gang units in police departments is fairly modern and recent, “Then in the 1980s, police departments began to establish specialized units for gang control, including what is commonly referred to as the police gang unit,” (Katz & Webb, 2003). Throughout the time that society was moving towards community policing is when the rise of gang units started to emerge more and more in departments across the nation. Also, growth was due “In response to the rising concern about gang problems, many law enforcement agencies have established special gang units to apprehend gang members and deter gang-related activity” (Katz, 2001). According to Katz research study, The establishment of police gang unit: An examination of organizational and environmental factors, “In 1999, the Law Enforcement and Management Administrative Statistics survey reported that among large agencies with 100 more sworn officers… These findings lead to an estimate of approximately 360 police gang units in the country…The recency of this phenomenon can be further seen by the fact that over 85% of specialized gang units have been established in the past 10 years,” (Katz, 2001).
Reasons for Gang Units From Different Perspectives In the past there has been questions as too why have gang units in communities that do not have a gang or serious gang issue.
Such is seen in researchers who believe in the moral panic perspective about society and police work, for example “At least two gang researchers.. have found evidence that the police have become actively involved in the social construction of gang problems at local level,” (Katz, 2001). Katz goes on to report that these researchers found that there were no serious threats of gang problems in the communities they researched, yet the accusations were coming from the communities’ police departments established these false problems creating these units to “.. campaign for federal dollars.” (Katz, 2001). Katz states that these researchers had failed in his eyes to understand some other factors that may have come into play in order to create these units; therefore questioning their findings and interpretations. He states that there needs to be more research that looks at information that comes from “sovereigns and police organizations” …show more content…
themselves. Another reason for creating gang units is to allow specialized units to focus on the specific problems in a community, in this circumstance: gangs, will allow for more accurate and effective responses from LEAs to their community’s problem of gangs.
Taken from the research studied; LEAs believe that “ ..consolidation of gang control functions allows police organizations to distribute gang related work orderly and rationally, which better enables police departments to develop and coordinate their response to community gang policing,” (Katz, 2001). Another reason as to why gang units are in existence would be due to the rapid growth and danger that comes along with gangs in the United States. As Doctor Scott Decker states in his book, Strategies to Address Gang Crime: A guidebook for local law enforcement, “There is also an increasing presence in the United States of gangs with national affiliations and international ties, such as Mara Salvatrucha (also known as MS-13) and increasing evidence that gangs have ties to organized crime families and even Islamic terrorist organizations,” (Decker, 2008). “Additionally, creation of specialized units served as a symbolic act, showing the community, potential offenders, and police officers that the police department was taking particular problems seriously” (Katz & Webb,
2003).
Terminology
It is important that we define first what “gangs” are, “members of gangs” and “gang crime” according to Decker, these three are hard to specifically define as in each community environmental or other social factors may come into play and change these definitions. “Though there is disagreement about the exact definition of a gang, every definition of a gang includes five key elements. First, a gang is a group. Some definitions of a gang specify the minimum number of members who meet a number of other criteria. The second element in defining gangs is the use of symbols. Gang symbols can take a number of forms, including hand signs, tattoos, clothes, and certain ways of wearing clothes. Communication can take place through the use of such symbols. Third, to be defined as a gang, a group must have existed for a fixed period of time because many confederations of young people form over a single time-bounded issue, only to disband. Most gang definitions require that the gang exists during a prolonged period, generally a year or more. Fourth, local definitions of gangs may include turf, or gang-identified territory, as a crucial element of the definition, although the federal criminal code definition of criminal street gangs has no such requirement. Many contemporary gangs claim some territory as their own, either because it is where the gang began or where most of the members live. The fifth element in defining a gang and distinguishing it from other groups is the commission of a crime, a key feature of gang activities” (Decker, 2008). Next, a “gang member” can be defined easier by “ ..From self-identification or self-reports, which have proven to be quite valid as indicators of membership. A number of other symbols and behavior can be used to distinguish gang members from nonmembers,” (Decker, 2008). Also, many other ways would be to just ask around the community for known members of gangs within the area, and also keeping records of those known to police of gang members on file for future reference. “Gang Crime” would be any crime committed by the members of the gang or a group of them.
Studying Gang Units Multiple studies have been conducted over the past few years on gang units; the objectives to summarize majority are too understand the purpose of the gang unit officers, their personal beliefs and attitudes towards gang members, and to gain understanding of the ways in which they infiltrate gangs within their communities. In one study, interviews were held, this allowed a lot of information to be given to the researchers, “When interviewing officers, we sought their subjective perceptions concerning the realities of their working situations – what must be done to effectively perform the job, and what they actually did while on the job. Our interviews with gang unit supervisors and other individuals in the chain of command focused on organizational constructs of the gang unit – for example, the background of the gang unit, personnel selection, measures of success, and budgetary issues,” (Katz & Webb, 2003). After doing studies, researchers were finding out that gang units were not being developed to deal with the community gang problem at hand but, “These police departments were responding to political, public, and media pressure when they created their gang units,” (Katz & Webb, 2003). In another study conducted, there were multiple steps taken in order to research, in Charles M. Katz The Establishment of a Police Gang Unit: An Examination of Organizational and Environmental Factors, there were just not interviews taken or just looking at articles. In depth, they conducted a study of gang units by rigorous field observation, “Approximately 300 hours were spent in the field accompanying gang unit officers.. between October 1996 and June 1997” (Katz, 2001). On going interviews with gang unit officers, “In particular, the interviews were designed to extract subjective reactions from the officers regarding what they consider to be the realities of their work situation, what they feel they must do to effectively perform their job, and what they perceive they actually do on the job” (Katz, 2001). Reviews of official documents that were handed over for the study to be used as research materials, along with obtaining newspaper articles to study, and also interviewing non-gang unit personnel. This in specific research study found that “It appears that social and political factors were largely responsible for the creation of the gang unit in Junction City.
Strategies One of the latest and very effective models for gang units is the SARA Model, Scanning, Analyze, Responding, and Assessing. “This model is well-established in police practice as an excellent tool for developing a local response to problems and continually monitoring the extent to which that response is addressing the problem effectively. It is a versatile tool with broad applicability,” (Decker, 2008). Looking into this model there are many effective steps that are taken to address the root of gang violence and issues within the community. The SARA model does a very well rounded job at looking into all aspects of how officers should be investigating, using resources, brainstorming problem solving tools, intervening, preventing problems with gangs within communities. Also, taking into consideration other environmental, social, and political factors that come along with why gangs form, become violent, and what is in need to respond.
What works? Understanding the community that you are within. Gang units need to focus on what gang life, gang members, and reasons for being in a gang are for. Concentrating on three variables could really allow gang unit officers a completely different level of advantage, according to the Journal of Criminal Justice, in an article Motives and methods for leaving the gang: Understanding the process of gang desistance, it states that “ Three key variables are the focus of our analysis: 1) the motives for leaving the gang, 2) the method of leaving the gang, and 3) the ties that endure after leaving from the gang” (Pyrooz & Decker, 2011). Another concept that if implicating the SARA model, research should be conducted to understand how the community at large responds to the ways in which law enforcement handle gangs within their streets and neighborhoods. Officers are now being taught in more detail specifics on how to conduct this community policing model and SARA model but the models will not be successful if the responses from the citizens living in the community are positive. In a study conducted to understand the Community views on crime and policing: Survey mode effects on bias in community surveys, it states that “ However, more research is needed to examine the impact of various issues on the effects of modes… Additional research needs to be conducted to determine the best ways to combine results from self-administered and personal interview approaches that allow a survey to represent more accurately the true range of opinions and perceptions about crime and police in America’s communities,” (Hennigan, Maxson, Sloane, Ranney, 2002). Going back to Charles M. Katz article about the study on gang units in Junction City, their gang unit there has multiple strategies and ways in which they are successful. They took many steps in understand how to communicate with their community, by first having to gain respect and legitimacy. They did this by becoming changing its name to “Special Investigations Bureau” and was said to be an “additional confidence to those inside and outside of the police department that the primary role of the gang unit was law enforcement” (Katz, 2001).
Conclusion
From the Journal of Youth Journal, the article I thought people would be mean and shout, the mission statement from the Hobbema Community Cadet Corps Programs (HCCCP) states “Preparing today’s youth to be tomorrow’s leaders by providing positive social development, leadership and communication skills in a discipline and respected aboriginal community cadet program by culturally sensitive members of the Hobbema community, “ (Grekul & Sanderson, 2011). In this article it explains the struggle of the Hobbema community with high crime, violence, a wide gap of socio economic status, and gang related problems. It goes into the story of how two officers went on to create HCCCP to address youth at an early age what the right path is and how to address and problem solve these issues that are surrounding their childhood. I found this reading to be very interesting to see how this program targets youth in order to address these gang related issues. Creating a preventative approach to the problem, and it was interesting to see that measures are being taking beforehand so that there is not a future problem like such down the road. I feel that if gang units could learn a preventative means of responding to issues like such it would be a major help in the long haul.
References:
Decker, S. H. [. D. ]. (2008). Strategies to address gang crime: A guidebook for local law enforcement. United States: Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/9723823?accountid=10223; http://condor.library.colostate.edu/sfx_local?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&genre=article&sid=ProQ:ProQ%3Ancjrs&atitle=Strategies+to+Address+Gang+Crime%3A+A+Guidebook+for+Local+Law+Enforcement&title=&issn=&date=2008-01-01&volume=&issue=&spage=&au=Decker%2C+Scott+H&isbn=&jtitle=&btitle=; http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/RIC/Publications/e060810142Gang-book-web.pdf
Grekul, J., & Sanderson, K. (2011). 'I thought people would be mean and shout. ' Introducing the Hobbema Community Cadet Corps: a response to youth gang involvement?. Journal Of Youth Studies, 14(1), 41-57. doi:10.1080/13676261.2010.489602
Hennigan, K. M., Maxson, C. L., Sloane, D., & Ranney, M. (2002). Community views on crime and policing: Survey mode effects on bias in community surveys. Justice Quarterly, 19(3), 565-587. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/60084002?accountid=10223; http://condor.library.colostate.edu/sfx_local?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&genre=article&sid=ProQ:ProQ%3Asocabsshell&atitle=Community+Views+on+Crime+and+Policing%3A+Survey+Mode+Effects+on+Bias+in+Community+Surveys&title=Justice+Quarterly&issn=07418825&date=2002-09-01&volume=19&issue=3&spage=565&au=Hennigan%2C+Karen+M%3BMaxson%2C+Cheryl+L%3BSloane%2C+David%3BRanney%2C+Molly&isbn=&jtitle=Justice+Quarterly&btitle=
Katz, C. M., & Webb, V. J. (2003). Police response to gangs: A multi-site study. (). United States: Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/9725445?accountid=10223; http://condor.library.colostate.edu/sfx_local?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&genre=article&sid=ProQ:ProQ%3Ancjrs&atitle=Police+Response+to+Gangs%3A+A+Multi-Site+Study&title=&issn=&date=2003-12-01&volume=&issue=&spage=&au=Katz%2C+Charles+M%3BWebb%2C+Vincent+J&isbn=&jtitle=&btitle=; http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/grants/205003.pdf
Katz, C. M. (2001). The establishment of a police gang unit: An examination of organizational and environmental factors. Criminology, 39(1), 37-74. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/60089615?accountid=10223; http://condor.library.colostate.edu/sfx_local?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&genre=article&sid=ProQ:ProQ%3Asocabsshell&atitle=The+Establishment+of+a+Police+Gang+Unit%3A+An+Examination+of+Organizational+and+Environmental+Factors&title=Criminology&issn=00111384&date=2001-02-01&volume=39&issue=1&spage=37&au=Katz%2C+Charles+M&isbn=&jtitle=Criminology&btitle=
Pyrooz, D. C., Decker, S. H., Motives and methods for leaving the gang: Understanding the process of gang desistance, Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 39, Issue 5, September–October 2011, Pages 417-425, ISSN 0047-2352, 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2011.07.001. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047235211000729)
Richards, M. V.Towards a national gang strategy: A meta-policy analysis of leadership, learning, and organizational change within the law enforcement context. Dissertation Abstracts International, A: The Humanities and Social Sciences, , 0807-0807. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1018343709?accountid=10223; http://condor.library.colostate.edu/sfx_local?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&genre=dissertations+%26+theses&sid=ProQ:Sociological+Abstracts&atitle=&title=Towards+a+national+gang+strategy%3A+A+meta-policy+analysis+of+leadership%2C+learning%2C+and+organizational+change+within+the+law+enforcement+context&issn=&date=2011-01-01&volume=&issue=&spage=&au=Richards%2C+Maurice+V&isbn=9781124449807&jtitle=&btitle=. (1018343709; 201221374).
SOC 454-002
Law Enforcement and Society
November 12, 2013
How does Law Enforcement respond to gangs?
Introduction Law enforcement agencies have a variety of tasks at hand that they have to perform; protecting, serving and problem solving are just a few. This research paper will look into how law enforcement responds to gangs, the background on police and gang relationships, and why the creation of gang police units. Multiple studies will be used to show the process some police gang units use in order to address the gangs in their location, other studies will be used to give background and research to show what has and has not worked in the past and present.
Summarize …show more content…
Key Points The research that is provided throughout this paper will discuss why police gangs have been created, what their main purposes are, why they respond in the certain ways they do and the positives/negatives of the process at which they work. Like one study states, “.. the research will focus upon, assess, and analyze changes in leadership, learning, and organization required to effectively recognize, combat, and defeat the scourge of crime, violence, and social disruption caused by criminal street gangs” (Richards, 2010).
Largely as well main reasons for this specialized unit in law enforcement agencies (LEA) are due to multiple reasons, such like the pressures that were put on the LEAs to be seen as legitimate and authoritative.
History of Gang Units The development of specialized gang units in police departments is fairly modern and recent, “Then in the 1980s, police departments began to establish specialized units for gang control, including what is commonly referred to as the police gang unit,” (Katz & Webb, 2003). Throughout the time that society was moving towards community policing is when the rise of gang units started to emerge more and more in departments across the nation. Also, growth was due “In response to the rising concern about gang problems, many law enforcement agencies have established special gang units to apprehend gang members and deter gang-related activity” (Katz, 2001). According to Katz research study, The establishment of police gang unit: An examination of organizational and environmental factors, “In 1999, the Law Enforcement and Management Administrative Statistics survey reported that among large agencies with 100 more sworn officers… These findings lead to an estimate of approximately 360 police gang units in the country…The recency of this phenomenon can be further seen by the fact that over 85% of specialized gang units have been established in the past 10 years,” (Katz, 2001).
Reasons for Gang Units From Different Perspectives In the past there has been questions as too why have gang units in communities that do not have a gang or serious gang issue.
Such is seen in researchers who believe in the moral panic perspective about society and police work, for example “At least two gang researchers.. have found evidence that the police have become actively involved in the social construction of gang problems at local level,” (Katz, 2001). Katz goes on to report that these researchers found that there were no serious threats of gang problems in the communities they researched, yet the accusations were coming from the communities’ police departments established these false problems creating these units to “.. campaign for federal dollars.” (Katz, 2001). Katz states that these researchers had failed in his eyes to understand some other factors that may have come into play in order to create these units; therefore questioning their findings and interpretations. He states that there needs to be more research that looks at information that comes from “sovereigns and police organizations” …show more content…
themselves. Another reason for creating gang units is to allow specialized units to focus on the specific problems in a community, in this circumstance: gangs, will allow for more accurate and effective responses from LEAs to their community’s problem of gangs.
Taken from the research studied; LEAs believe that “ ..consolidation of gang control functions allows police organizations to distribute gang related work orderly and rationally, which better enables police departments to develop and coordinate their response to community gang policing,” (Katz, 2001). Another reason as to why gang units are in existence would be due to the rapid growth and danger that comes along with gangs in the United States. As Doctor Scott Decker states in his book, Strategies to Address Gang Crime: A guidebook for local law enforcement, “There is also an increasing presence in the United States of gangs with national affiliations and international ties, such as Mara Salvatrucha (also known as MS-13) and increasing evidence that gangs have ties to organized crime families and even Islamic terrorist organizations,” (Decker, 2008). “Additionally, creation of specialized units served as a symbolic act, showing the community, potential offenders, and police officers that the police department was taking particular problems seriously” (Katz & Webb,
2003).
Terminology
It is important that we define first what “gangs” are, “members of gangs” and “gang crime” according to Decker, these three are hard to specifically define as in each community environmental or other social factors may come into play and change these definitions. “Though there is disagreement about the exact definition of a gang, every definition of a gang includes five key elements. First, a gang is a group. Some definitions of a gang specify the minimum number of members who meet a number of other criteria. The second element in defining gangs is the use of symbols. Gang symbols can take a number of forms, including hand signs, tattoos, clothes, and certain ways of wearing clothes. Communication can take place through the use of such symbols. Third, to be defined as a gang, a group must have existed for a fixed period of time because many confederations of young people form over a single time-bounded issue, only to disband. Most gang definitions require that the gang exists during a prolonged period, generally a year or more. Fourth, local definitions of gangs may include turf, or gang-identified territory, as a crucial element of the definition, although the federal criminal code definition of criminal street gangs has no such requirement. Many contemporary gangs claim some territory as their own, either because it is where the gang began or where most of the members live. The fifth element in defining a gang and distinguishing it from other groups is the commission of a crime, a key feature of gang activities” (Decker, 2008). Next, a “gang member” can be defined easier by “ ..From self-identification or self-reports, which have proven to be quite valid as indicators of membership. A number of other symbols and behavior can be used to distinguish gang members from nonmembers,” (Decker, 2008). Also, many other ways would be to just ask around the community for known members of gangs within the area, and also keeping records of those known to police of gang members on file for future reference. “Gang Crime” would be any crime committed by the members of the gang or a group of them.
Studying Gang Units Multiple studies have been conducted over the past few years on gang units; the objectives to summarize majority are too understand the purpose of the gang unit officers, their personal beliefs and attitudes towards gang members, and to gain understanding of the ways in which they infiltrate gangs within their communities. In one study, interviews were held, this allowed a lot of information to be given to the researchers, “When interviewing officers, we sought their subjective perceptions concerning the realities of their working situations – what must be done to effectively perform the job, and what they actually did while on the job. Our interviews with gang unit supervisors and other individuals in the chain of command focused on organizational constructs of the gang unit – for example, the background of the gang unit, personnel selection, measures of success, and budgetary issues,” (Katz & Webb, 2003). After doing studies, researchers were finding out that gang units were not being developed to deal with the community gang problem at hand but, “These police departments were responding to political, public, and media pressure when they created their gang units,” (Katz & Webb, 2003). In another study conducted, there were multiple steps taken in order to research, in Charles M. Katz The Establishment of a Police Gang Unit: An Examination of Organizational and Environmental Factors, there were just not interviews taken or just looking at articles. In depth, they conducted a study of gang units by rigorous field observation, “Approximately 300 hours were spent in the field accompanying gang unit officers.. between October 1996 and June 1997” (Katz, 2001). On going interviews with gang unit officers, “In particular, the interviews were designed to extract subjective reactions from the officers regarding what they consider to be the realities of their work situation, what they feel they must do to effectively perform their job, and what they perceive they actually do on the job” (Katz, 2001). Reviews of official documents that were handed over for the study to be used as research materials, along with obtaining newspaper articles to study, and also interviewing non-gang unit personnel. This in specific research study found that “It appears that social and political factors were largely responsible for the creation of the gang unit in Junction City.
Strategies One of the latest and very effective models for gang units is the SARA Model, Scanning, Analyze, Responding, and Assessing. “This model is well-established in police practice as an excellent tool for developing a local response to problems and continually monitoring the extent to which that response is addressing the problem effectively. It is a versatile tool with broad applicability,” (Decker, 2008). Looking into this model there are many effective steps that are taken to address the root of gang violence and issues within the community. The SARA model does a very well rounded job at looking into all aspects of how officers should be investigating, using resources, brainstorming problem solving tools, intervening, preventing problems with gangs within communities. Also, taking into consideration other environmental, social, and political factors that come along with why gangs form, become violent, and what is in need to respond.
What works? Understanding the community that you are within. Gang units need to focus on what gang life, gang members, and reasons for being in a gang are for. Concentrating on three variables could really allow gang unit officers a completely different level of advantage, according to the Journal of Criminal Justice, in an article Motives and methods for leaving the gang: Understanding the process of gang desistance, it states that “ Three key variables are the focus of our analysis: 1) the motives for leaving the gang, 2) the method of leaving the gang, and 3) the ties that endure after leaving from the gang” (Pyrooz & Decker, 2011). Another concept that if implicating the SARA model, research should be conducted to understand how the community at large responds to the ways in which law enforcement handle gangs within their streets and neighborhoods. Officers are now being taught in more detail specifics on how to conduct this community policing model and SARA model but the models will not be successful if the responses from the citizens living in the community are positive. In a study conducted to understand the Community views on crime and policing: Survey mode effects on bias in community surveys, it states that “ However, more research is needed to examine the impact of various issues on the effects of modes… Additional research needs to be conducted to determine the best ways to combine results from self-administered and personal interview approaches that allow a survey to represent more accurately the true range of opinions and perceptions about crime and police in America’s communities,” (Hennigan, Maxson, Sloane, Ranney, 2002). Going back to Charles M. Katz article about the study on gang units in Junction City, their gang unit there has multiple strategies and ways in which they are successful. They took many steps in understand how to communicate with their community, by first having to gain respect and legitimacy. They did this by becoming changing its name to “Special Investigations Bureau” and was said to be an “additional confidence to those inside and outside of the police department that the primary role of the gang unit was law enforcement” (Katz, 2001).
Conclusion
From the Journal of Youth Journal, the article I thought people would be mean and shout, the mission statement from the Hobbema Community Cadet Corps Programs (HCCCP) states “Preparing today’s youth to be tomorrow’s leaders by providing positive social development, leadership and communication skills in a discipline and respected aboriginal community cadet program by culturally sensitive members of the Hobbema community, “ (Grekul & Sanderson, 2011). In this article it explains the struggle of the Hobbema community with high crime, violence, a wide gap of socio economic status, and gang related problems. It goes into the story of how two officers went on to create HCCCP to address youth at an early age what the right path is and how to address and problem solve these issues that are surrounding their childhood. I found this reading to be very interesting to see how this program targets youth in order to address these gang related issues. Creating a preventative approach to the problem, and it was interesting to see that measures are being taking beforehand so that there is not a future problem like such down the road. I feel that if gang units could learn a preventative means of responding to issues like such it would be a major help in the long haul.
References:
Decker, S. H. [. D. ]. (2008). Strategies to address gang crime: A guidebook for local law enforcement. United States: Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/9723823?accountid=10223; http://condor.library.colostate.edu/sfx_local?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&genre=article&sid=ProQ:ProQ%3Ancjrs&atitle=Strategies+to+Address+Gang+Crime%3A+A+Guidebook+for+Local+Law+Enforcement&title=&issn=&date=2008-01-01&volume=&issue=&spage=&au=Decker%2C+Scott+H&isbn=&jtitle=&btitle=; http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/RIC/Publications/e060810142Gang-book-web.pdf
Grekul, J., & Sanderson, K. (2011). 'I thought people would be mean and shout. ' Introducing the Hobbema Community Cadet Corps: a response to youth gang involvement?. Journal Of Youth Studies, 14(1), 41-57. doi:10.1080/13676261.2010.489602
Hennigan, K. M., Maxson, C. L., Sloane, D., & Ranney, M. (2002). Community views on crime and policing: Survey mode effects on bias in community surveys. Justice Quarterly, 19(3), 565-587. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/60084002?accountid=10223; http://condor.library.colostate.edu/sfx_local?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&genre=article&sid=ProQ:ProQ%3Asocabsshell&atitle=Community+Views+on+Crime+and+Policing%3A+Survey+Mode+Effects+on+Bias+in+Community+Surveys&title=Justice+Quarterly&issn=07418825&date=2002-09-01&volume=19&issue=3&spage=565&au=Hennigan%2C+Karen+M%3BMaxson%2C+Cheryl+L%3BSloane%2C+David%3BRanney%2C+Molly&isbn=&jtitle=Justice+Quarterly&btitle=
Katz, C. M., & Webb, V. J. (2003). Police response to gangs: A multi-site study. (). United States: Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/9725445?accountid=10223; http://condor.library.colostate.edu/sfx_local?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&genre=article&sid=ProQ:ProQ%3Ancjrs&atitle=Police+Response+to+Gangs%3A+A+Multi-Site+Study&title=&issn=&date=2003-12-01&volume=&issue=&spage=&au=Katz%2C+Charles+M%3BWebb%2C+Vincent+J&isbn=&jtitle=&btitle=; http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/grants/205003.pdf
Katz, C. M. (2001). The establishment of a police gang unit: An examination of organizational and environmental factors. Criminology, 39(1), 37-74. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/60089615?accountid=10223; http://condor.library.colostate.edu/sfx_local?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&genre=article&sid=ProQ:ProQ%3Asocabsshell&atitle=The+Establishment+of+a+Police+Gang+Unit%3A+An+Examination+of+Organizational+and+Environmental+Factors&title=Criminology&issn=00111384&date=2001-02-01&volume=39&issue=1&spage=37&au=Katz%2C+Charles+M&isbn=&jtitle=Criminology&btitle=
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