The United States is home to approximately 57 million children under the age of 15 and an additional 20 million between the ages of 4 and 8. Experts believe that the teenage population in the United States may reach almost 30 million by 2006 (Corbitt, 2000). This population growth may partially explain why the United States has experienced a nationwide epidemic of juvenile violence over the course of the past 15 years.
Despite the fact that crime rates in general have decreased across the United States, violent crimes (e.g., murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) among juveniles increased by 14.9 percent from 1989 to 1998 (Corbitt, 2000). While some analysts argue as does Daane (2003) that the juvenile violent crime rate has decreased steadily during the past five years, few would deny that the problem of violence and violence-related behavior, including juvenile gang membership and activity, remains significant in the lives of many American children and adolescents.
Of specific importance today is gang-centered or fostered violent crime which negatively impacts upon many American communities. Particularly affected, according to Siegel and Senna (2000), are urban neighborhoods characterized by high levels of poverty, joblessness, and other forms of crime. While juveniles belonging to gangs may be responsible for many violent crimes committed by members of this age cohort, they also are more likely than other juvenile groups to be victims of violent crimes. Daane (2003) maintains that 12 to 15 year-olds have the second highest violent crime victimization rate in the United States.
One theory focused on the causes of crime in general and youth gang violence in particular asserts that social and physical disorder in urban neighborhoods, if unchecked, leads to serious crime because disordered neighborhoods permit minor public incivilities to escalate into predatory cr...