Book Review: Carswell, S. B. (2007). Delinquency Among African American Youth: Parental Attachment, Socioeconomic Status, and Peer Relationships. New York: LFB Scholarly. 197 pp

• Date: 01 December 2009
• Published date: 01 December 2009
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016809332531
• Author: Juyoung Song
• Subject Matter: Articles

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International Criminal Justice Review
California and Virginia have that make it illegal to be a gang member; as a result, whatever primary
crime that is committed, there is a sentencing enhancement added on if that individual is considered
to be a gang member and if found guilty of the primary crime(s). Chapters 13 and 14 tie everything
together by discussing what has already been said about the importance of organizing a law enfor-
cementspecific antigang effort to include all law enforcement entities at the local, state, and federal
levels. In the final chapter (chapter 15), Schmidt and O’Reilly present a case study and included in
the chapter a sample proposal for a gang training workshop that the reader could adopt and adapt to
the specific needs of their own department and audience.
Gangs and Law Enforcement: A Guide for Dealing With Gang-Related Violence is an incredible,
well researched, and practical resource book, which should be required reading for anyone in law
enforcement from district attorneys to police officers, and those interested in understanding the pro-
liferation of youth gangs. I have been studying, researching, enforcing, and educating those first
responders on the topic of youth gangs since 1996 as a law enforcement officer and academician and
have never seen a more comprehensive book on the suppression of youth gang violence from a prac-
tical law enforcement perspective than this one. It is my hope that those who read this book will learn
to understand the signs, symptoms, and motivations of youth gangs to gain a basic foundation on
gang intelligence to keep themselves safe while out on the street. Those of us in law enforcement
say every single time we go out on duty, our goal is to come home safe to our loved ones at the end
of our shift.
Cliff Akiyama
University of Pennsylvania
Carswell, S. B. (2007). Delinquency Among African American Youth:
Parental Attachment, Socioeconomic Status, and Peer Relationships.
New York: LFB Scholarly. 197 pp.
DOI: 10.1177/0734016809332531
In Delinquency Among African American Youth, Steven B. Carswell takes a positivist and mod-
ernist approach to...