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Recent Research on Disengaging from Gangs: Implications for Practice

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Effective Interventions in the Lives of Criminal Offenders

Abstract

Once inside a gang, can people leave? If so, what steps are taken to exit a gang, and at what costs? This chapter examines a range of issues related to disengaging from gangs, reviewing the current state of knowledge on a topic that has begun to garner attention in the research community that matches the interests of the practitioner community. Disengaging from gangs is conceptualized within a life-course framework. This chapter details findings from studies examining changes in criminal offending and the motives and methods for leaving gangs. Based on these studies, along with preliminary findings from an ongoing study of gang disengagement, this chapter offers several key conclusions for practice.

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Acknowledgment

This research was supported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2011-JV-FX-0004). We are grateful for their support. The content and opinions expressed in this document are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of these agencies. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to David C. Pyrooz, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Sam Houston State University. David.Pyrooz@shsu.edu.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Sam Houston State University, 2296, Huntsville, TX, 77341-2296, USA

    David C. Pyrooz

  2. School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University, 411 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, USA

    Scott H. Decker

Authors
  1. David C. Pyrooz
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  2. Scott H. Decker
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Correspondence to David C. Pyrooz .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Criminal Justice Department, Saint Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA

    John A. Humphrey

  2. Department of Criminal Justice, Saint Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA

    Peter Cordella

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Pyrooz, D.C., Decker, S.H. (2014). Recent Research on Disengaging from Gangs: Implications for Practice. In: Humphrey, J., Cordella, P. (eds) Effective Interventions in the Lives of Criminal Offenders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8930-6_5

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