dc.contributor.author	Rasmussen, Brian
dc.coverage.spatial	Cental and North America -- United States -- Georgia -- Lowndes	en_US
dc.coverage.temporal	2013-2015	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2015-05-11T19:27:39Z
dc.date.available	2015-05-11T19:27:39Z
dc.date.issued	2015-05-07
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10428/1924
dc.description.abstract	Youth gang problems are proliferating across the United States, even in small cities and towns. At the same time, the composition of youth gangs is changing; smaller, less structured gangs are emerging, and although drug trafficking is generally not an organized activity managed by gangs, drug gangs are more predominant now than in previous decades. The racial/ethnic composition of gangs is also changing, and gangs are becoming more organized. Gang violence, particularly homicide, has increased due mainly to the availability and use of more dangerous weapons, especially automatic and semiautomatic handguns. Most gang problems are "homegrown;" gang migration apparently contributes little to local gang problems. Although significant progress is being made in identifying the major risk factors for youth gang involvement, much more information is needed to specify the developmental sequence by which these risk factors operate. This knowledge will be useful in the development of prevention and intervention programs. A youth gang initiative that saw much success in cooperation with other programs n East Palo Alto resulted in it being called the murder capital of the world to a city now outside the top 20 in murder rates. After an extensive literature review this intervention program is proposed for use in Lowndes County and, more specifically, Valdosta State University as the center. Bringing the intervention program to a college campus provides an opportunity for all parties to understand the racial/ethnic composition of gangs and how to stop the major risk factors of youth joining gangs.	en_US
dc.description.tableofcontents	I. INTRODUCTION 1 Purpose 2 Problem Analysis (Goals and Objectives) 2 Theory 3 II. LITERATURE REVIEW 9 National Youth Gang Center 9 Operation Ceasefire 13 G.R.E.A.T 13 Tweeners 18 III. Mi ' l l IODOI.OGY 23 Strategic Action Plan 23 East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring 26 IV. RESULTS 38 Data 38 V. DISCUSSION 68 Project Design 68 Policy Implementation 71 VI. CONCLUSION 75 Findings 80 BIBLIOGRAPHY 82 APPENDIX A: Institutional Review Board Exemption 89	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	Criminal Justice	en_US
dc.subject	Youth Gangs	en_US
dc.subject	Delinquency	en_US
dc.subject	Prevention	en_US
dc.subject	Lowndes County	en_US
dc.title	A Valdosta State University Model for Gang Intervention and Delinquency Prevention in Lowndes County	en_US
dc.type	Thesis	en_US
dc.contributor.department	Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice of the College of Arts and Sciences	en_US
dc.description.advisor	Ross, Darrell
dc.description.advisor	Knowles, Fred
dc.description.committee	Wilfred, Shani
dc.description.degree	M.S.	en_US
dc.description.major	Criminal Justice	en_US