Juvenile Gang Participation and the Juvenile Justice System: Is There a Solution?

Abstract

Juvenile involvement in gangs has long been a problem in the United States. However, in the past few decades, juveniles’ participation in gangs has continued to increase despite the fact that violent crime, as a whole, has decreased. The juvenile justice system has been unable to effectively deal with this problem. This essay traces the arc of the juvenile justice system, from its beginnings in the parens patriae doctrine through recent Supreme Court Eighth Amendment decisions, in order to situate the juvenile gang problem in both a historical and modern context. It then addresses empirical evidence of juvenile gang activity in America and examines three different methods for combating the problem. Ultimately, it concludes that the most effective approach to fight juvenile gang affiliation is by aggressive intervention and reformed court supervision that incorporates many of the same therapeutic interventionist methods.