Theories of Gangs and Gang Violence The emergence of gangs in the United States was initially fueled by immigration and poverty-stricken families settling in urban areas . Since few had the money-making skills to achieve goals set by society, such as money or a better lifestyle or being able to adapt to their new urban life, these lower-class citizens began to band together forming what many considered " gangs" in some areas. Although there was no precise meaning of the term "gang" back then, a recent definition agreed upon by more than 100 American and European researchers attempted to define it; “A street gang is an enduring, street-oriented youth group whose involvement in illegal activities is part of its group identity (Klein & Maxson). At first, cities and police departments refused to accept the fact that there was even a gang problem. or they recognized that those were even gangs present in their communities; however, it didn't take long before their opinions on the topic began to change. As these so-called gangs began to appear, the population general began to notice how dangerous and violent they were becoming. While rural counties showed only 6% of gangs nationwide, smaller cities showed a whopping 33% (Riedel & Welsh pp. 222). of street gangs classified by Klein and Maxson (2006), which are territorial, have existed for more than twenty years and whose number reaches more than a hundred members; neotraditional gang, which resembles the traditional gang in many ways but not has existed since... middle of paper... transforms gangs into legitimate groups or organizations; organizational change and development, which uses the implementation of special gang units; community organizing, which attempts to build community trust with the help of parent and family involvement; and opportunity provisions, which refer to increasing job training, education, and employment. This intervention is rated the lowest (Riedel & Welsh pp. 230-231). One of the most successful forms of intervention was the Boston Gun Project and Operation Ceasefire. What made these modules successful were their delivery methods where they responded to a guilty gang rather than an area; also known as “retail deterrence” (Riedel & Welsh pp. 236). While these forms of intervention have been used and proven to work in other jurisdictions, only time will tell whether they continue to work.