More harm than good? The influence of gang membership and violence on rehabilitation in the Los Angeles juvenile correctional system

The purpose of this study was: (1) to examine the role that gang affiliation plays on the level of violence in the Los Angeles Juvenile Detention Camp System, and (2) to determine the affect of violence in a setting that is supposedly geared towards treatment and rehabilitation.;This was a phenomenological study. Fifty-five subjects in two Detention Camp facilities were interviewed. Thirty of these subjects were male juveniles incarcerated in the Camps. Twenty-five of the subjects were staff members who worked in the Camps. All subjects were asked questions about topics including: Treatment programs in the camps; whether gang affiliation has any affect on treatment; gang affiliation and history; views on affect of gang affiliation in the incarcerated setting; amount of gang "work" that takes place in the incarcerated setting; views on non-affiliated inmates; views on safety of non-affiliated inmates; views on non-affiliated inmates joining gangs while incarcerated; personal estimates of percentage of affiliated gang members; criminal futures of gang vs. non-gang juveniles; views on ability to control behaviors of gang vs. non-gang juveniles; overall strengths and weaknesses of Camps; how problems between inmates were handled by staff; and views on the appropriateness of discipline levels (too lax, too strong, inconsistent, abuses of discipline). All interviewed subjects were given an opportunity to offer their insights on any part of the juvenile system. The hypothesis of this study was supported: that violence, largely related to gang activities, was having a negative affect on treatment. The study also showed that there has been an increase of violence in the Detention Camps due to two factors. The first factor was the escalating problem of gang-on-gang violence (rather than violence by gang members directed against non-gang members) inside the Detention Camps. The second factor in the increase in violence in the Detention Camps was due to an edict from the United States Department of Justice (June 2001) restricting methods of discipline that the staff were allowed to use in their work with the juveniles. The implications of the findings regarding the affect of the DOJ edict and the levels of gang violence are discussed.