Policing Youth Violence

Gang violence is a growing concern for politicians, police, and the public. This book focuses on two cities with very different demographics and gang cultures - Cincinnati, Ohio and Glasgow, Scotland - and their innovative deterrence strategies. Readers will ride along with operational police officers while they patrol the streets of these cities. They will hear the voices of senior officers, offenders, and street workers as they reflect upon the impact of the street culture and its relationship with territoriality and with social and cultural inequality. The author draws upon his ethnographic research with police officers, young offenders, and street workers to analyse the different kinds of youth violence and their underlying causes. From his examination of the policy transfer principles that underpin the Cincinnati/Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) he identifies potential strategies for dealing with the issues that lead to youth violence in cities in the West. The book will be essential reading for those concerned with community welfare and criminal justice: politicians; youth/community leaders and social workers; academic researchers into policing, youth violence, and crime; and for police officers and leadership trainers.