Female Gang Trends

Consider the trend of more females becoming involved in gang activity. How does this trend change the way law enforcement devises programs to suppress, intervene, and combat gangs?

Female gang participation is not only on the rise, but female gang members are displaying more violent behavior than before. Female participation in gangs is not a new phenomenon. In fact, girls have been a part of gangs since the earliest accounts from New York in the early 1800s. Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, female gang activity has seen the sharpest increase in participation, especially in comparison to boys. There was a 50 percent increase in serious crimes by teenage girls between 1968 and 1974, compared to a 10 percent increase for

This oversight has resulted in gaps in our knowledge about the girls and young women who are at risk for gang involvement and juvenile delinquency. (Moore & Hagedorn, 2001) Data suggests that the future awaiting gang girls is bleak indeed: 94% will go on to have children, and 84% will raise them without spouses. One third of them will be arrested, and the vast majority will be dependent on welfare. (Carrasco, 1999)

Police, local agencies, and community-based resources must work together to support youth and promote nonviolent activities in the neighborhood by combining service coordination, partnership between police and the community, suppression of gang activity through coordinated enforcement and prosecution, neighborhood mobilization, and job training for youth. A variety of strategies have been employed to prevent youth involvement in gangs, including community organization, improving conditions for youth, early childhood programs, school-based programs, and local clubs and afterschool programs. (Howell,

(YDI), provides comprehensive services for at-risk youth. YDI’s Gang Prevention and Intervention Program is directed toward preventing initial gang involvement among younger teenagers and providing constructive, nonviolent activities for current gang members. In a structured 7-week program, gang members become involved in community service, learn nonviolent conflict resolution skills, obtain employment and legal assistance, and receive counseling with family members. (Howell, 2000)

Chicago's police department works closely with prosecutors, probation, job-training programs, community agencies, churches, parents, neighbors, and former gang members on the Gang Violence Reduction Program (GVRP). The program's primary goal is to reduce gang assaults and homicides on six police beats. It focuses on two hundred youth aged seventeen to twenty-five. (National Crime Prevention Council, 2017)

Discouraging children and young adolescents from joining gangs may be the most cost-effective approach to reducing serious youth and adult gang crime. Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program curriculum has shown positive preliminary results in this regard G.R.E.A.T. is built on the strategy of delivering a simple, low-intensity program to as large a population as possible. (Howell,