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108 IPC Review 3 Gang Violence Among Youth and Young Adults 109
Why, then, do we continue to rely on all other types of strategies that focus
mainly on criminal justice and individual level “risk factors”? Ryan (1976)
argues that “blaming the victim” in this way serves to justify action that is
designed to change society’s “victim” and its “symptoms” rather than society
itself. Hastings (1998 and 2007) argues that we often start with solutions
that protect our vested interests, then work backwards to legitimize them.
Developmental and community streams of crime prevention are “safe”,
tangible responses, but we end up with what organizations and communities
are willing and able to do with their limited resources, rather than what needs
to be done (Hastings, 1998 and 2007).
In this sense, our current political responses remain largely expressive and
focused on managing public perceptions and expectations, rather than on
responding adequately to the complexities of the issue at hand (Cohen, 1985;
Garland, 2001; Hughes, 2007; Jones, 2003). A shift to a more comprehensive,
equitable and long-term solution requires greater awareness of the complexities
surrounding issues of crime and safety, and the political will to tackle these
issues head on. It also requires more access to the knowledge, skills and
resources to accomplish what needs to be done, as opposed to expending
resources on “solutions” that can be done within our current mindset and
budgets (Hastings, 1998). A more effective response to the challenges posed by
youth involvement in gangs in Canada begins with the tools and data needed
to study this phenomenon more appropriately. This includes developing clear
and measurable indicators to help guide our objectives, target our efforts, and
serve as benchmarks for assessing our success.
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