Gary D. Gottfredson and Denise C. Gottfredson carried out a study of prevention and intervention gang programs in the nation's middle and high schools. Their findings point out some of the pitfalls of these programs, as well as provide some guidance for implementing more effective programs. Among their key findings are the following:

• "There is much room for the improvement in the quality of programs in some straightforward ways. This includes increases in the use of practices with respect to program content and methods that are found in programs that have been evaluated and found to be effective. It includes increases in the intensity (duration and frequency) with which programs are operated and includes increases in extent of their application."

• "A principal implication of the data on quality is that a large fraction of these programs are not programmatic in the sense that they are well-developed and high-quality systems of service. Quite the opposite. It appears likely that the quality of prevention activity in schools might improve if it were consolidated into a smaller number of higher-quality programs."

• "Results show that secondary students who report being involved in gangs are less exposed to many prevention activities than are students who are not exposed to gangs. This suggests the potential for including more of the highest-risk youth by actively seeking ways to include them. An analysis of the forces that limit gang-involved youth from participation should be part of the planning of any gang prevention or intervention program, with program design features or arrangements put in place to cope with or minimize the influence of these forces."

• "Fewer than half of gang prevention or intervention programs have been guided by a formal needs assessment. Formal planning is associated with stronger programs."

• "Formal needs assessment may contribute to (or depend on) principals' willingness to identify problems related to gangs. The finding that principals usually report that gangs are not a problem even in schools with a high percentage of students reporting that they participate in gangs suggests that lack of principal recognition of problems may be an obstacle to the development of effective prevention and intervention programs. At the very least, the results imply that principals' reports that gang activity is not a problem should be met with skepticism unless evidence from other sources confirms the reports."

Source:

Gottfredson G. D. & Gottfredson D. C. (October 2001). Gang Problems and Gang Programs in a National Sample of Schools. Ellicott City, MD: Gottfredson Associates, Inc. Also available on-line at: http://www.gottfredson.com/gang.htm