NCJ Number
174017
Journal
Valparaiso University Law Review Volume: 31 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 1997 Pages: 523-533
Date Published
1997
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This paper examines how research has played a role in planning the St. Louis response to gangs and will continue to play a role in the evaluation and refinement of the response process.
Abstract
A review of what is known about the St. Louis gang problem considers the history of gangs in St. Louis, the national pattern in the 1980s and the re-emergence of St. Louis gangs, and the characteristics of young male and female gang members in St. Louis. A model of response to gangs based on research funded by the Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) resulted in the emergence of a response model named after Irving Spergel, a social work professor and a veteran of 30 years of research on gangs. The model is a flexible format for responding to gang problems at the community level; it consists of 10 components, with one component for each potential agency partner and separate components on community mobilization and employment programs. At the same time that OJJDP was supporting the development of the Spergel model, separate initiatives were underway to identify the causes and correlates of delinquency and to develop systematic program responses to reduce serious, chronic, and violent offending by juveniles. A social development model that incorporated the key influences of family, school, and community emerged. As the 1990s brought record increases in levels of juvenile violence, a major effort was undertaken to test both the utility of the Spergel model and the Comprehensive Strategy in targeted geographical settings. This resulted in the Safe Futures Program, which was established in four urban sites, including St. Louis. Each program is required to incorporate a local evaluation and cooperate with a national evaluation. St. Louis is also one of the cities selected by the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office in the Justice Department in its Anti-Gang Initiative. In St. Louis, the Safe Futures Program is a coordinating center for an array of public and private agencies. Three kinds of commitments within the project reflect the link between research and program implementation in the St. Louis Safe Futures Program: common definitions, integrated information, and geographic information systems analysis. The authors believe the community response to gangs in St. Louis is a model worthy of attention, as it is a coordinated, community-based effort that involves grass roots organizations, government, the juvenile justice system, and law enforcement. It also has the value of independent evaluation to determine its effectiveness and the modifications required to improve effectiveness.