Name of Report: Youth Gangs In Rhode Island
Organizational Affiliation: Rhode Island Justice Commission
Author: Brad Crowther, W. Bradley Crowther Consultants; 168 B Gibson Ave Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882
Contact Information: Statistical Analysis Center , One Capital Hill, 4 th Floor; Providence RI 02908 -5803 Phone: 401-222-2620 Fax: 401-222-1294
Date: August 2002
Pages: 100
Content Summary
Legislation was enacted in Rhode Island in 1997 that resulted in the establishment of a Gang Prevention Advisory Committee. The major purpose of the committee was to review, oversee, and make suggestions on existing gang prevention and intervention programs available in the state. Under the leadership of the Rhode Island Justice Commission, a youth gang study was conducted to record the perceptions of both youth and law enforcement officers and agencies in relation to youth gangs. The youth that were selected to participate in the survey primarily come from areas that were suspected at having the largest participation in gang violence in the state. The five areas initially selected were Providence , Central Falls , Pawtucket , Woonsocket , and Newport . After some investigation, it was decided that Cranston also should be included. The report also includes a sample of training school residents.
This report was done as an attempt to understand common perceptions of the affects that youth gangs have in the community. By critically thinking about the various insights offered by the individuals that comprise of the environments disproportionately affected by gang activity, the authors offer proposals geared towards improving intervention and suppression programs.
The report is organized in a very efficient manner. It begins by offering the major key findings and recommendations. It then proceeds to offer the questions asked as well as the received responses of the survey by both the law enforcement agencies as well as the focus youth groups selected. The author also focuses a significant section of the report making comparisons between the perception held by the law enforcement and youth in terms of the role that youth gangs have in the community. Another component of the report is focused on analyzing the existing national anti-gang programming.
Major Findings
The results of the survey had many different implications. Youth Gangs were seen as more of a problem by the law enforcement agencies than the youth respondents. Nearly half of the respondents answered that gang members attended their schools and about the same amount suggested that they have friends that are gang members. Only 15% responded that they did not have gang members in there schools. Interestingly, the percentage of youth that implied that they are not worried about being affected by gang violence in school practically paralleled the same percentage of individuals that did worry to various degrees about being harmed as a result of gang activity. Of the training school sample, a significant 40% claimed that they had been physically assaulted and injured by gang members. The solutions that the youth came up with as alternatives to youth gang participation was the incorporation of more positive activities being offered after school, during the evenings, and weekends as well as more effective problem-solving and dealing with peer-pressure oriented initiatives. Stress was also placed on educational programs and that stress the danger of gangs as well as having mentors available for youth.
From a law enforcement perspective, youth gangs were not seen as a serious problem by 84% percent of the respondents. This figure is somewhat misleading when compared to the answers provided by the youth surveyed. The major reason for this is that the law enforcement agencies represented in this survey are situated all across Rhode Island whereas the youth respondents were concentrated in six major areas that were considered gang invested. Fascinatingly, a majority of the responding law enforcement agencies said that they were not aware of any of the social service agencies or other organizations that had prevention or intervention programs specifically targeted at youth gang violence.
The suggestions that the author of the report offers are parallel to the suggestions offered by the participants that were surveyed. Primarily, it is stated that there needs to be a more critical analysis of the characteristics that contribute to the makeup of youth gangs in Rhode Island as well as more youth gang intervention programs. Another solution offered is the need for the implementation of programs where the main objective is to identity youth that are in the early stages of associating with gangs. Major stress is placed on further educating both youth and law enforcement about gang issues.
Unaddressed Issues or Concerns
While this report is significant because it seeks to identity perceptions about youth gangs in Rhode Island from both the perspectives of law enforcement and youth from gang communities, it does not provide evidence that breaks down the composition of youth gangs in Rhode Island . While it is indeed difficult to document and identify gang members, any information pertaining to youth gangs is important. This report mentions that the areas most suspected to have youth gangs are areas that are economically disadvantaged while also being very racially diverse. These factors alone lead to many questions that include: What are the racial characteristics as well as socio-economic status of youth members? What are some of the major indicators for these distinctions? In an article entitled "Refugee Youth At Risk: A Quest for Rational Policy, Abigail Sivan et al. discuss youth gang activity among Refugee Youth. Some of the issues that these researchers bring up in the text are issues that refugees face such as economic status, cultural status, social support, and family relationships in relation to gang violence. Their analysis clearly demonstrates how issues that certain minority groups face directly contribute to violence. They conclude by reiterating that the major solution to adolescent violence is the availability and access to resources such as interesting and effective after school programs. Other suggestions offered are the need for community resources, jobs, family support services, and education in inner cities.
Reference List
Sivan, Abigail B., Koch, Lisa, Baier, Claudia, Adiga, Mala. "Refugee Youth At Risk: A Quest for Rational Policy." Children's Services: Social Policy, Research & Practice 2.3 (1999): 139-159
How to Access Report
Rhode Island Justice Commission; Statistical Analysis Center; One Capital Hill, 4 th floor; Phone: 401-222-2620