The Legacy of Walter Miller and the Boston Special Youth Project

• In Event: Revisiting Roxbury: Crime, Gang Networks and the Life Course

Abstract

The Boston Special Youth Project operated from 1954 through 1957 and produced reams of data, contact cards and little academic or policy research. This paper discusses the major components of the project, among the first outreach and community intervention programs to address gang issues. A number of interviews were conducted between 2012 and 2014 with participants in the program. Their perspectives are discussed.

Authors

• Scott Decker, Arizona State University

• Richard K. Moule, Jr., University of South Florida