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The urban street gang plays a central role in the imagery of violence currently being disseminated by the mass media. Testing the reality of this image requires careful empirical studies of actual gangs. A study involving 150 gangs in "Midcity," a slum district of an eastern metropolis, and focusing on seven gangs subject to intensive field observation, reveals marked differences between the public imagery and research-derived findings. While members of slum street gangs engaged in violent crime to a greater degree than middle- class adolescents, violence was not a central preoccupation of the gangs, and most "violent" crimes were of the less serious variety. Cruel or sadistic violence was rare; violence was seldom "senseless" or irrational. Property damage was rela tively uncommon. Participation in violent crimes had little to do with race, but was directly related to sex, age, and social status; most active were males of lower social status during late adolescence. The control of gang violence is seen to in volve techniques for altering motivations similar to those which undergird national wars.

The Ur street gang plays a central role in the imagery of violence currently being disseminated by the MM. Testing the reality of this image requires careful empirical studies of actual gangs. A study involving 150 gangs in Midcity, a slum district of an eastern metropolis, & focusing on 7 gangs subject to intensive field observation reveals marked diff's between the public imagery & res-derived findings. While members of slum street gangs engaged in violent crime to a greater degree than Me adolescents, violence was not a central preoccupation of the gangs, & most violent crimes were of the less serious variety. Cruel or sadistic violence was rare; violence was seldom senseless or irrational. Property damage was relatively uncommon. Participation in violent crimes had little to do with race, but was directly related to sex, age & SS; most active were M's of Ls during late adolescence. The control of gang violence is seen to involve techniques for altering motivations similar to those which undergird nat'l wars. HA.

The corner-group method of attempting to pre vent "gang" delinquency is in fairly wide use, but little sub stantial evidence as to its effectiveness is available. Research on the impact of the Boston Delinquency Project on law- violating behavior of adolescent corner groups utilized four major indexes to behavior change to "test" effectiveness. Pre liminary findings indicate that worker activity resulted in a demonstrable impact on law-violating behavior of group mem bers, involving an over-all reduction in incidence, with sharpest decreases during initial phases and increases during later phases; that correctional department commitment rates for residents of the Project area compared favorably with those of an immediately adjacent area and the state as a whole; that worker action resulted in different degrees of impact on different behavioral areas within the general pattern of group behavior; and that changes were effected in patterns of inter- group relationships both within the local community and among established youth-concerned organizations. Project termina tion produced locally supported plans for continuation which were not implemented on higher institutional levels. While the Project achieved limited but definite success in its major goal of inhibiting community delinquency, its "true" potential was not adequately tested because of factors hampering effi cient execution of planned procedures.