Barriers to effective gang-member reentry: An examination of street gang-affiliated probationer revocation in a southwestern state

Abstract

While several studies have found gang membership to exacerbate criminogenic behavior and increase the rate and immediacy of recidivism, few explain what factors, in association with street gang membership, prove to have the most influence. The goal of this study is to understand factors associated with the revocation of street gang-affiliated offenders under probation supervision. Using data collected from a southwestern state, the authors examined characteristics of 106, young adult, street gang involved probationers. Examining the differences between groups (i.e., successes vs. failures), level of offense, risk score, needs score, juvenile misdemeanor arrests, employment, financial stability, family relationships, peer associations, emotional stability, alcohol use, drug use, probation officers' impression of need, and demographic variables were regressed on the dependent variable, probation revocation, to identify significant relationships. Bivariate analyses revealed a significant, but weak, relationship with three independent variables: risk score, number of prior juvenile misdemeanor arrests, and unemployment.