Gang violence : comparing anti-gang approaches and policies
Document type: article
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Abstract:
Since the end of the civil wars in Central America in the 1990s there has been considerable fear of violent street gangs, or maras. The countries in the region have implemented various anti-gang policies and approaches, with mixed results. There are different ways to assess the causes of street gang formation. Emigration and deportation are important factors in the rise of transnational gangs. During the political repression and civil wars of the 1980s, there was substantial migration to the US. In contrast to the Nicaraguans, who mainly migrated to Costa Rica where there was virtually no problem with street gangs, many Salvadorans, Hondurans and Guatemalans sought safety and employment in the US. Large groups of migrants ended up in the poor neighbourhoods of Los Angeles, a city that already had a large Latino community and a long-established gang tradition. In their analysis of gang control programmes, Malcolm Klein of the University of Southern California and Cheryl Maxson of the University of California classify official anti-gang programmes as political, ideological or bureaucratic according to the way they develop.
Authors:
Savenije, W.
,
Borgh, C. van der
Category:
General
End Page:
23
Serial number:
13
ISSN:
1874-2033
Journal:
The Broker
Keywords:
violence
,
youth
Language:
eng
Organization:
The Broker
Year:
2009
Region:
Central America
Right:
© 2009 IDP. This article has been licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported license.
Subject:
Humanitarian Assistance
Start Page:
20
Title:
Gang violence : comparing anti-gang approaches and policies