organized so called peace talks (Cotton, 1992, pp. 443 444). None of these efforts, however, has led to long term reductions in the incidence of crime related to gangs.
The study proposed in this research is designed to develop information that will facilitate the development of initiatives that will have higher probabilities of success in the control of gang related criminal activities than have been achieved by earlier and existing programs with similar objectives. The findings of the proposed research also will lead to a clearer understanding of the social forces at work among the young people of Los Angeles County.
Literature relevant to the research purpose of the proposed study is reviewed. The findings of this literature review are presented in discussions that address trends in gang related crime, police responses to gang related crime, and judicial responses to gang related crime.
Criminal anti social behavior in the 1990s is shockingly high and increasing in frequency (Steffensmeier and Streifel, 1991, pp. 869 894). Defining crime is in itself important in the determination of what constitutes criminal deviance in society, and in the development of strategies to reduce the frequency of criminal deviance. If one person sees another act with relative impunity in the context of corporate crime, white collar crime, or alcohol related driving offenses, that person may well be tempted to commit their own form of criminal deviancy, and their choices to commit some criminal behavior of their own choosing may be more understandable in this context (Benson and Moore, 1992, pp. 251 272; Corbett and Simon, 1992, pp. 537 549).
Criminologists have long associated the commission of crime with the opportunity for the commission of such acts (Kennedy, 1991, pp. 56 60). In the 1990s, however, there is a stronger tendency on the part of an ever greater proportion of the population to engage in any activity, criminal or not, th...