Kids, Gangs, and Prevention

We would all like to help dissuade kids from joining gangs, but how exactly do we do that? Joshua Crawford has this article in City Journal.

Governments have launched a wide array of prevention and intervention efforts to steer kids away from gang life. These programs try to dissuade youth from joining gangs or encourage them to leave. But the initiatives have had mixed results, and the ones that do work well often have limited access to at-risk kids.

To address the root problem, policymakers must understand why kids join gangs. Specifically, they need to recognize that the biggest driver of gang membership is violent crime. Consequently, the best way to stop teenagers from joining gangs is to provide them with safer neighborhoods.

We often hear people speak of prevention and enforcement as if they were mutually exclusive options. They are not. They are overlapping and mutually reinforcing. Violence in a crime-ridden community encourages kids to join gangs for some semblance of protection when government has defaulted in its primary purpose. Economic opportunity vanishes as businesses flee areas where employees face danger and operating at a profit becomes impossible.

Safe neighborhoods don’t happen by chance; they are the product of deliberate policy choices. For the sake of those residing in high-crime areas and the many Americans still living in fear, policymakers should prioritize public safety by curbing gang activity and restoring order to communities.