Evaluating an Intervention to Reduce Youth Gang Involvement

Street gangs are a dominant employer of adolescent boys in many Latin American cities and a leading driver of school dropout, incarceration, and violence. Yet there is virtually no rigorous evidence on how to prevent gang recruitment in low- and middle-income countries. This project evaluates Parceritos, a novel, scalable intervention designed to prevent gang entry among high-risk adolescent boys in Medellin, Colombia. The program combines immersive, localized information on post-secondary education and employment with a behavioral intervention teaching planning and goal attainment as a skill. It is delivered in public schools by a trusted local NGO and targets the 15% of males identified as highest-risk through a novel screening algorithm.

The study is a two-cohort randomized controlled trial covering at least 2,668 high-risk boys across 100 schools. It will assess short-term changes in beliefs and planning skills, as well as medium-term outcomes in school retention, criminal involvement, and gang entry‚ measured through administrative data and triangulated field-based proxies. Results will inform Medellin education and security strategy and offer practical guidance for other Latin American cities facing similar challenges.

By testing a theory-driven intervention focused on belief correction and forward-looking decision-making, the study addresses a critical gap in the literature. It also introduces new tools for targeting and gang involvement. If successful, Parceritos offers a cost-effective, modular approach for cities seeking evidence-based strategies to interrupt the recruitment pipeline into organized crime.
CVI funding will support research activities and 1-2 year follow data on cohort being treated August-December 2025.