This research is based on a secondary analysis of 21 interviews conducted as part of a larger study on youth violence and youth violence interventions in Ontario under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, in which 84 youth recruited in youth correctional sites and high schools shared their experiences and views on youth violence and efforts by various authorities to prevent its occurrence and reoccurrence (Mann, Senn, Girard & Ackbar, 2007). I deductively analyzed 21 transcripts of interviews with male youth who self-identified as having participated in youth gang or drug trade activities. Focusing on themes salient to self-governance as advanced in the work of Alan Hunt and Gary Wickham (1994), this research addresses questions on how these youth think about, and on how efforts by child protection and criminal justice authorities contribute to their persistent involvement in violence.