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Most of the work which has been done with violence in schools is anecdotal rather than empirical, and much has been done by experts in sociology, law enforcement and criminal justice rather than by school administrators. A study conducted recently in a large urban school district yielded information which may prove helpful to school administrators. This study identified three areas which may be of assistance to those who study gang activity and violence in schools: the characteristics of gangs and gang members, the response of communities to gangs, and the response of schools to gang-related activity and violence. Lessons learned and implications for schools are also discussed.
The Characteristics of Gangs and Gang Members
Gang membership and violence in schools are certainly not new phenomena, but have been brought to newspapers and television by tragic events (Barnard, 1998; Becker,1998; Dickson,1998; Terry Bruni, 1998). It is generally acknowledged youths with high levels of self-esteem are not likely to become members of gangs (Knox, 1991 ). However, when avenues to legitimate sources of fulfillment are blocked or are less than adequate, young people turn to gang membership or other illegal activities to, at best, gain the acceptance of their peers or, at worst, teach their peers a lesson regarding who is truly powerful. Many of the young people who have been involved in recent school tragedies have been spurned by a girlfriend or harassed by peers. Adolescents value the opinions of their peers more than those of any other group.
Social institutions, such as schools, exist to produce for society those persons who are well-adjusted, positive, well-educated, economically productive, and in the social mainstream (Knox, 1991). Other institutions which work hand-in-hand with schools to produce such persons are the family, government and religious institutions. When these formal institutions do notwork as they should, informal institutions such as gangs, organized crime, political extremist groups, and cults become attractive to youths (Decker &Van Winkle, 1996; Knox, 1991 ).
One will recall that the Littleton, Colorado shootings were perpetrated by youths who felt they had been discriminated against by athletes and those of other races. Though they were not gang members in the most well understood sense, they were members of a group they called the "Trenchcoat Mafia," which...