New Report: Anti-Gang Strategy Failing Badly

From today's Washington Post:

"Anti-gang legislation and police crackdowns are failing so badly that they
are strengthening the criminal organizations and making U.S. cities more
dangerous, according to a report being released Wednesday.

"Mass arrests, stiff prison sentences often served with other gang
members and other strategies that focus on law enforcement rather than
intervention actually strengthen gang ties and further marginalize angry young
men, according to the Justice Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank
that advocates alternatives to incarceration.

" 'We're talking about 12-, 13-, 14-, 15-year-olds whose involvement in
gangs is likely to be ephemeral unless they are pulled off the street and put in
prison, where they will come out with much stronger gang allegiances,' said
Judith Greene, co-author of Gang Wars: The Failure of Enforcement Tactics and the Need for Effective Public Safety Strategies."

Link to the full Post article.