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Introduction Youth gangs and the myriad of problems associated with them were once thought to involve a relatively small number of major urban areas whose gang troubles mirrors those of the stereotypical West Side Story scenario. Isolated, under-privileged, youth involved with petty crime and "intimate" physical force played-out only amongst themselves. No longer is this the case. Since 1980, the United States has seen a proliferation of youth gangs. The number of cities with gang problems …

…ethnicity more so then ever and are more violent. We are seeing more gang organization at the local level rather than due to migration as was erroneously perceived earlier in the 1990's. The different social and law enforcement agencies are making significant progress in identifying major risk factors for young adults and teenagers, but much more research is needed in order to effectively deal with a problem that is not going away for some time.