Developing a Comprehensive Strategy
to Address Youth Gangs:
A Shift in Thinking and Approach
Laura Dunbar, PhD Student
Department of Criminology
34th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice
21st Century Justice: The Economics of Public Safety
October 4, 2013
Current Situation
• Youth gangs are considered an important feature of
contemporary Canadian society.
• Gangs and their members are increasingly presented as
a serious problem – recent high-profile gang-related
homicides, continued focus on crime and interventions,
and criminal justice policy reforms.
• Affiliation is associated with a number of negative
events and outcomes; even short-term involvement can
have long-term effects.
• Importance of defining the ‘gang’ – public perceptions,
criminal justice policies and justification for intervention
driven by perception and understanding of the issue.
Laura Dunbar, October 4, 2013
34th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice
A Shift in Thinking
about Youth Gangs
Laura Dunbar, October 4, 2013
34th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice
Defining the ‘Gang’
• Little consensus on a definition; however several
general criteria have been established.
• Youth gangs are often treated as:
– A group of individuals who engage in criminal activity
(a social problem).
– A group of individuals with negative personal
attributes (individual defect).
• Youth gangs may also represent collective solutions to
the shared problems experienced by their members.
• Problem-solving behaviour (a choice) and not just a
symptom of a condition.
– Must balance focus on deficits with attention to
strengths/resilience.
Laura Dunbar, October 4, 2013
34th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice
Joining a Gang
• Functional nature of gang membership – gangs exist
because they serve a purpose.
• Individuals join for a myriad of reasons:
– Concerns about personal safety and security.
– Access to resources and power and source of
entertainment.
– Source of emotional support and a sense of belonging.
– Poor bonds to conventional society – lack of
attachment to others and institutions.
– Attractive to those facing difficult social and economic
conditions.
Laura Dunbar, October 4, 2013
34th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice
Leaving a Gang
• Process is seldom rapid and not necessarily permanent;
gradual series of steps and commitments.
– ‘Knifing off’ and cognitive change.
• Temporary nature of gang membership – importance of
aging and maturation.
• Increasing stake in conformity – marriage, family,
employment.
• Reappraising costs and benefits – experience with
violence and limit to tolerance.
• Bonds and attachments to conventional people and
activities – discourage gang involvement.
• Regardless of reasons for leaving, individuals must be
ready in order to be successful.
Laura Dunbar, October 4, 2013
34th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice
Barriers and Obstacles
• Internal
– Fear of leaving the gang (perceptions of violence).
– Loss of gang benefits (social support, sense of
belonging).
• External
– Inequality (ability to acquire education, marketable
skills and meaningful employment).
– Exclusion (social barriers including ‘gang’ label,
perceptions, stigma of membership).
• Under these conditions: limited opportunities outside
the gang; leaving may be perceived as ‘not worth the
effort’.
Laura Dunbar, October 4, 2013
34th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice
A Shift in Approach
to Addressing Youth Gangs
Laura Dunbar, October 4, 2013
34th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice
Defining and Measuring ‘Success’
• Insertion
– Focus on reducing the risk that the youth will return
to the gang (recidivism).
– Interventions: increase the willingness and ability of
the youth to exercise greater self control or impose
greater levels of external control on the youth.
• Integration
– Focus on providing the youth with a sense of wellbeing and of hope.
– Interventions: provide skills and resources needed to
improve progress on social determinants of health.
Laura Dunbar, October 4, 2013
34th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice
Targets for Intervention
INDIVIDUAL
RELATIONAL
COMMUNITY
STRUCTURAL
COGNITIVE
SKILLS
FAMILY
SOCIAL
ORGANIZATION
INEQUALITY &
EXCLUSION
objective and
subjective
SELF-CONTROL
impulsivity,
aggression,
risk-taking
SELF-CONCEPT
well-being
PARENTING
EDUCATION
PEERS
pro-social
vs. anti-social
SCHOOLS
OPPORTUNITY
crime, drugs
and weapons
OPPORTUNITY
STRUCTURES
a sense of hope
COLLECTIVE
EFFICACY
(Hastings & Dunbar, 2012)
Laura Dunbar, October 4, 2013
34th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice
Multi-Sectoral Collaboration
CRIMINAL
JUSTICE
YOUTH
SERVICES
ECONOMY &
WELFARE
YOUTH
SUPPORT
SERVICES
COMMUNITY
EDUCATION
Laura Dunbar, October 4, 2013
34th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice
Current Interventions
• Law Enforcement / Suppression
– Most common response; somewhat effective in the
short term, however no lasting impact on gang
involvement.
– May lead to unintended consequences and counterproductive impacts; hamper process of desistance.
• Human Capital Development
– Increase basic capacities, skills and propensities to
help youth shift life trajectories – pro-social lifestyle.
– Individual counselling, cognitive-behavioural
development, access to education, employment skills
and training opportunities.
Laura Dunbar, October 4, 2013
34th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice
Current Interventions
• Mechanisms of Social Support
– Facilitate new sources of social support – meet needs
for belonging and socialization, sustain positive
efforts.
– Strengthen family bonds, develop positive peer
relationships, identify a support network.
• Social Capital Development
– Develop relationships and networks that generate
opportunities for gang-involved youth.
– Comprehensive community-based initiatives –
coordinated action, emphasis on integration,
initiatives that provide youth with a sense of ‘hope’.
Laura Dunbar, October 4, 2013
34th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice
Toward a Comprehensive Strategy
• We must move beyond interventions that focus on the
characteristics and ‘risk factors’ of individual gang
members and to take a more ‘social approach’ to the
issue of youth gangs.
• We must examine gangs in a broader social context by
addressing the link between individual life experiences
and social and economic inequalities.
• We must respond adequately to the complexities of the
issue; complex problem requires a complex solution.
Laura Dunbar, October 4, 2013
34th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice
ECONOMY & WELFARE:
government and
private sector
job opportunities;
housing; addictions;
mental health
willingness and ability to
include formerly
gang-involved youth
poverty reduction;
social housing;
equal employment
CRIMINAL JUSTICE:
police, courts and
corrections
monitor; supervise;
suppression
remove youth from police
databases;
reduce opportunities for
crime, drugs and weapons
legislation and policy;
criminal justice practices
COMMUNITY
provide youth with safe
place to go
re-integration rituals;
concrete privileges
inclusion;
social organization;
collective efficacy
EDUCATION
GED;
skills training;
curriculum-based
programming
graduation ceremonies;
certificates
access to education;
scholarships
SUPPORT SERVICES:
family and peers
develop healthy, positive
relationships
family support;
parenting skills;
peer mentoring
social support;
sense of belonging
YOUTH SERVICES
counselling;
cognitive behavioural
development;
aggression management
reframing personal identity
legitimate alternatives to
address benefits of
membership
Individual Context:
Cognitive
Development /
Risk Management
Relational & Community
Context:
De-Labelling /
Criminal Opportunities
Structural Context:
Barriers, Obstacles /
Opportunity
Structures
Laura Dunbar, October 4, 2013
34th Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice
Thank You
Contact Information:
Laura Dunbar, PhD Student
Department of Criminology
ldunbar@uottawa.ca