Policing Gangs

Abstract

Abstract The murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer sparked calls to defund the police. Reducing the police footprint raises questions about how best to respond to gang crime and community violence. This chapter analyzes traditional policing strategies, including intelligence, enforcement/suppression, investigations, and prevention, drawing attention to five ways they fail at mitigating gang violence and reducing gang membership. Most notably, the mechanics of traditional policing, marked by aggression, violence, and disrespect, are viewed extremely negatively by gangs and community members, undermining intelligence-gathering capabilities and citizen–police collaborations, and while seemingly effective at crime reduction, may contribute to an increased risk of gang membership and continued gang involvement. Overall, this chapter argues that traditional gang policing, while necessary and understandable in some respects, is not the answer. Reallocating resources to school and community-based programming may be more impactful in reducing gang membership and violence.