To access additional Top Ten Websites on other spotlight issues, click here.

TOP TEN GANG PREVENTION WEBSITES

Editor's Note: In order to offer you as many resources as possible, The Guidance Channel does not list the sites highlighted in our feature article or interview in our Top Ten Websites - it goes without saying that we feel they belong here! Please be sure to check out those columns for additional websites offering exceptional resources.

The Coroner's Report

The Coroner's Report addresses issues of importance to parents, teachers, counselors, and others interested in understanding the growing menace of street gangs. The site was created by Steve Nawojczyk, a retired coroner from Little Rock, Arkansas who has been researching gangs and other juvenile violence since 1987.

A section titled Street Gang Dynamics contains detailed information on the history and identification of gangs. The Parent Resource Guide lists warning signs of gang involvement, offers advice on how to talk to kids about gangs, highlights noteworthy gang prevention programs and reviews the key steps to conflict resolution. Educators can also find out more about training and seminars, school assembly programs and public presentations offered through the Nawojczyk Group.

DOJ: Kids Page, "Get Rid of Gangs"

The "Get Rid of Gangs" page is a part of the Department of Justice and The National Youth Network. Their website contains tips for youth on how to avoid joining a gang, as well as an outreach to those who are already in gangs. Visitors can also get information, publications and statistics through a link to the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse.

In addition, the site offers advice for educators, administrators and parents on how their child or student can become a leader and what an individual can do to help in the fight against gangs. Educators will especially appreciate the grade appropriate lessons for their students that deal with gang prevention and drug abuse.

The Gang Crime Prevention Center

The Gang Crime Prevention Center is dedicated to mobilizing communities to fight street gangs and the conditions that contribute to their formation and growth. GCPC serves as a resource and catalyst by educating communities on how prevention, intervention and suppression can reduce gangs in their neighborhoods. This assistance is provided in the form of programs, research, and technical support. The GCPC consists of four units: community mobilization, program development, research and information services, and operations. Together these units work to develop, implement, and evaluate specific organization- and neighborhood-based programs.

The GCPC website includes an extensive resource section with numerous links to organizations focused on program development, building neighborhoods, finding funding and more. The site also offers a section specifically designed for kids that explains what youth can do about gangs, as well as a discussion forum where students can express their opinions, ask questions and find out what's going on in other places.

Gang Information Resource Guide For Parents and Teachers

The Gang Information Resource Guide is a comprehensive printable handbook on gangs for parents and teachers. This fact-filled site is well organized and can serve as a valuable source of information to gain a better understanding of the gang culture.

A School Security Questionnaire can help administrators to assess the adequacy of the current security system at their schools. In addition, there is advice specifically for school security personnel to help them control negative gang activity on campus more effectively. Other sections that focus on gang dress, hand signals, graffiti and street language will help teachers and parents recognize and interpret gang activity.

Gang Prevention and Intervention: A Study in Best Practices

Gang intervention and prevention programs focusing on positive relationships, conflict resolution, self-esteem, and personal responsibility have been proven to get kids out of gangs and get on track to a better way of life. This site looks at some of the nation's best gang prevention and intervention programs implemented by schools and communities.

Here you will find an explanation of gangs and why kids join them, along with a list of the signs of gang involvement. There is also information on how schools and communities can keep kids out of gangs. A links section enables you to get in contact with agencies who can help you to enhance your gang prevention program.

The Gang Prevention Resource Line

The Gang Prevention Resource Line works to help parents keep their kids safe from gangs. They strive to reduce gang-related youth violence by increasing overall awareness of the problem and the early warning signs of gang involvement. The site is designed to link parents and other concerned adults to community agencies where they can speak with trained counselors who can answer their questions, address concerns, and direct them to the best resources.

On the site, visitors can learn about the early warning signs of possible gang experimentation, the stages of gang involvement and the reasons why kids join gangs. A checklist for positive parenting skills serves as a particularly useful tool to help parents protect their children from the threat of gangs.

Gangs OR Us

The purpose of Gangs OR Us is two-fold. First and foremost, it assist parents, teachers, law enforcement and corrections personnel, as well as concerned citizens, in determining if street or prison gangs are in their community or corrections facility. The second purpose of Gangs OR Us is to offer, on a fee basis; expertise in gang identification training, gang assessment, gang research, and expert witness testimony in gang-related court matters.

Visitors to this site will learn how to identify a gang, recognize the signs of gang involvement, and understand the language of graffiti. There is also a great deal of information on the backgrounds and other aspects of some of the more familiar street and prison gangs. One unique aspect of the site is the Gang Court section. Here visitors will find a collection of actual court decisions, opinions, and many news articles that go into great detail about the arrests of gang members.

GangStyle

***Warning: This site contains explicit language. It contains unedited writing from former and current gang members and is intended for a mature audience.

On GangStyle, you will find gang and ex-gang members voicing their thoughts on the consequences of gang involvement. All of the content is provided entirely by its visitors. It is not a pro-gang site, instead it portrays the real life heartaches of the gang lifestyle.

Various message boards give the online community an opportunity to share and learn about the true impact of gangs from the people who are immersed within the culture. Each board has a slightly different focus, such as life stories, girl style, self-help and poetry. Educators, administrators, parents and concerned citizens can gain new insight to the realities of gang life through the poignant and honest voices in this forum.

The National Youth Gang Center

The proliferation of gang problems in large and small cities, suburbs, and even rural areas over the last two decades led to the development of a comprehensive, coordinated response to America's gang problem by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The OJJDP response involves five major components, one of which is the implementation and operation of the National Youth Gang Center (NYGC).

The NYGC expands and maintains a body of critical knowledge about youth gangs and effective responses to them. In carrying out its goals, the NYGC website offers statistics, a compilation of gang-related legislation, a review of gang-related literature, a guide to promising prevention strategies, and networking opportunities.

Urban Education Web: Gang Prevention Strategies

This site is in conjunction with Colombia University and the ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education. Its goal is to provide visitors with a thorough understanding of gangs so that they can take the appropriate action. A collection of essays discuss a range of strategies for counteracting the negative effects of the gangs and altering their negative behavior. Most of these techniques have been tried and have proven to be successful in certain situations.

Gangs: From Social Groups to Violent Delinquents reviews the characteristics of gangs and describes their impact of their presence in school. Developing a Gang Prevention Program offers operational, engagement and behavioral strategies, along with advice on how to conduct a program evaluation. Reinventing the Gangs presents an innovative way of transforming a gang from having a negative focus to finding a positive one.