But at every stage of the gang crime evolutionary continuum, there are obstacles to effectiveness. Almost universally, the earlier stages are marked by denial. For a variety of reasons, many private citizens, and often government, law enforcement and educational leaders as well, are loathe to recognize a clearly emerging streetgang presence in their community. Further along the continuum, it is not uncommon for law enforcement, educators and some parents to recognize the signs of streetgangs in their community, while other residents do not. They simply do not understand what they see, or they view the problem as somebody else's responsibility.
Recognition is only the first step.
Finally, in communities where criminal streetgangs have become entrenched, members of the community are often afraid and skeptical. The settling in of hopelessness is easily understood. Residents in these communities often view the problem as intractable. A prevailing sentiment is that government can't or won't do anything about gangs. Gang Proliferation No longer confined to densely populated urban locales, criminal streetgangs have begun to appear in suburban and rural communities.