Background
Spergel, Irving Abraham was born on January 17, 1924 in New York City. Son of Julius and Frieda Mann Spergel.
(Every day there are new stories of gang-related crime: fr...)
Every day there are new stories of gang-related crime: from the proliferation of illegal weapons in the streets and children dealing drugs in their schools, to innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire of never-ending gang wars. Once considered an urban phenomenon, gang violence is permeating American life, spreading to the suburbs and bringing the problem closer to home for much of America. The government, schools, social agencies, and the justice system are conspicuous by their sporadic interest in the subject and have failed to develop effective policies and programs. Existing social support mechanisms and strategies for suppressing violence have often been unsuccessful. And, state and federal policy is largely nonexistent. In The Youth Gang Problem: A Community Approach, Irving Spergel provides a systematic analysis of youth gangs in the United States. Based on research, historical and comparative analysis, and agency documents and the author's extensive first-hand experience, the work explores the gang problem from the perspective of community disorganization, especially population movement, and the plight of the underclass. It examines the factors of gang member personality, gang dynamics, criminal organization, and the influence of family, school, prisons, and politics, as well as the response of criminal justice agencies and community groups. Spergel describes techniques used by social agencies, schools, employment programs, criminal justice agencies, and grass-roots organizations for dealing with gangs, and recommends strategies that emphasize the use of local resources, planning, and collaborative procedures. There is no single strategy and no easy solution to the youth gang problem in the United States. There are, however, substantial steps we can take, and they must be honestly and systematically tested. Offering a practical and alternative approach to a serious social problem, The Youth Gang Problem: A Community Approach is a major and long-awaited contribution to this dilemma. It is required reading for criminal justice personnel, school staff, social workers, policy makers, students and scholars of urban and organizational sociology, and the general reader concerned with the youth gang problem and how to control, intervene, and prevent it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195092031/?tag=2022091-20
(In this book, Irving Spergel details the efforts of his C...)
In this book, Irving Spergel details the efforts of his Chicago youth gang project, a comprehensive, community-based model designed to reduce gang problems, including violence and illegal drug activity. He offers an in-depth description of the Little Village Gang Violence Reduction Project, revealing the successes and failures of intervention at each level: individual youths, the gang itself, and the community at large. Spergel relates how a coalition of criminal justice, neighborhood, and academic organizations_along with a team of tactical officers, probation officers, former gang leaders, and a neighborhood organization_developed strategies for dealing with hardcore violent male youths from two gangs: the Latin Kings and Two Six. This well-known project has become the model for a series of national initiatives. Policymakers, criminologists, and gang researchers will find this model valuable for assessing gang programs and reducing gang violence.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0759109990/?tag=2022091-20
Spergel, Irving Abraham was born on January 17, 1924 in New York City. Son of Julius and Frieda Mann Spergel.
BSS, City College of New York, 1946. Master of Arts, Columbia University, New York City, 1948. Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work, Columbia University, New York City, 1960.
Master of Social Work, University Illinois, 1952.
Program assistant YM-YWHA, Wilmington, Delaware, 1948—1949. Gang worker, supervisor New York City, 1950, 1952. Court representative Youth Board, 1954, 1958, 1960.
Director Neighbors United St. Club project Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, 1954—1957. From assistant to associate professor University Chicago, 1960—1966, professor, 1967—1992, George Herbert Jones professor, 1993—2002, George Herbert Jones professor emeritus, from 2002. United Nations youth advisory Hong Kong Government, 1970—1971.
External examiner social work Chung Chi College, 1978—1997. Consultant Hong Kong Council Social Service, 1978—1997. Consultant, researcher in field.
With United States Army, 1943-1946, European Theatre of Operations.
(Every day there are new stories of gang-related crime: fr...)
(In this book, Irving Spergel details the efforts of his C...)
(Addison-Wesley, 1st Edition - 1966)
Member Illinois Governor's Commission on Gangs, 1995—1996, National Youth Gang Advisory Committee, Boys and Girls Clubs American, 1989—1991. Member academy advisory committee Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, from 1989.
Married Bertha Jampel Spergel, June 27, 1949 (deceased November 1989). Children: Barry Alexander, Mark Jonathan, Daniel Jeremy. Married Annot Mary McGiffin, October 5, 1996.