Youth gang drug trafficking and homicide: Policy and program implications

Abstract

The relationship between youth gang involvement in drug trafficking and homicide is poorly understood. Unfortunately, youth gang drug trafficking is characterized mainly by public perception rather than by scientific knowledge (Hunzeker, 1993; Jackson, 1997; Johnson, 1989). The predominant public image of the role of youth gangs in drug traf- ficking was established by a University of California study (Skolnick, 1990; Skolnick et al., 1988) conducted a decade ago.