One City's Response to Youth Gangs

While an influx of gang members from Southern California to Portland, OR, in the late 1980s has been evident, the same structures have not been reestablished among the Oregon city's gangs. It took some time for the political structure in Portland to acknowledge the growing gang problem.

Portland's grass-roots process of anti-gang mobilization greatly contributed to the results the Gang Resource Intervention Team (GRIT) has achieved: Decreasing percentages of GRIT-targeted youths in the corrections system, successfully completed probation periods, and high retentions in skill development programs. However, the latest eruption of gang violence in suburban and rural communities highlights the importance of continued cooperative gang violence intervention and prevention services.