Theory-based evaluations of gang intervention and prevention programs are rare. In this article
we argue that the Gang Resistance Education and Training program, as developed by the
Phoenix, Arizona, Police Department and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms,
consists of pedagogical elements with strong conceptual and operational ties to two mainstream
criminological theones, social learning theory and self-control theory. Moreover, we provide a
model that, with a httle help from opportunity theory, integrates the two theories so as to take
advantage of each other's conceptual richness. Finally, we address the implications for both
criminological theory and anti-gang policies and practices.
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