This book presents an in-depth investigation into street gang involvement, desistance, and non-involvement through the lens of the Risk Factor Prevention Paradigm (RFPP). This framework encompasses five domains of risk and prevention: family, neighbourhood, peers, individual, and school. It identifies the risk and protective factors that influence young people to either engage in, desist or abstain from involvement in deviant street groups.

Based on a comprehensive five-and-a-half-year study, the author draws upon his lifelong experience living in Stockbridge Village, Merseyside, one...