Justice Department Looking at Links Between What Attracts Young People to Gangs, Violent Extremism

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Attorney General Eric Holder will address preliminary research that links the factors that draw young people into criminal gangs to drawing those same individuals towards violent extremism in remarks at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism on Thursday.

The Department of Justice is currently funding a pair of studies which aim to explore the connection. If the link is shown to exist, the department notes that several anti-gang strategies have proven effective in recent years — including the community-based intervention model. There is hope that similar plans could be utilized to curb homegrown terrorism.

“We are learning that there may be similarities in the factors that lead to gang involvement and violent extremism,” Holder planned to say, according to remarks prepared before the event. “In both instances, the sense of belonging to a cause, however misguided, may be a lure for disaffected young people — and understanding this potential link may help us tackle the problem of violent extremism.”

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