It is not violence that middle-school aged children are craving but indeed is the identity association, acceptance and the brother/sisterhood of the gang activity that draws them. The facilitation of "anti-gangs" is a viable option in lessening criminal gang activity.
             According to a report entitled: "Anti-Gang Strategy Taking Shape at Justice Department" the U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced that there is a "new national strategy to crack down on violent street gangs. The government now believes there are more than 21, 500 gangs in the U.S., and more than 700,000 gang members. Gang violence in the United States has brought the issue of gangs to the forefront of the agendas needing addressed in communities and schools across the country.
             GANG FORMATION – WHY IT HAPPENS
             While there are those who believe that youth of today's world actually crave the violence associated with gang activity others who have studied the issue believe that is merely the identity association of acceptance and the brother- and sisterhood of joining a gang that draws youth into gang membership. One expression of this view can be found in the work entitled: "A History of Intolerance in America" the author, Jim Carnes (1995) states that:
             " [The] narrow view of American-ness [in our original Constitution] reveals a common truth about the way most of us view ourselves and others. We derive a large portion of our identity from the groups we belong to. Our family, our school, our team, our side of town, our party, our country, our religion, our race, our language-all of these are different ways of saying "us." And for every "us" and "ours," there are "them" and "theirs." . . . Public opinion polls and daily headlines make it plain: Around the country, many Americans-and, increasingly, young Americans-are drawing bolder lines between "us" and "...