A Brief Note On The Problems Of Gangs

Initially gang activity could only be found in large metropolitan cities, but now gangs have invaded neighborhoods of all sizes across the country. Gangs introduce violence and fear to the communities they occupy, raise the level of drug activities, and destroy businesses and property which brings down the overall value of the whole area. Instead of going to school, many young people find themselves drawn in to the gang life which in most cases either leads to being locked up or death. There are various reasons why people would want to join a gang, but no matter what that reason might be one can only expect a life of violence and troubles.

In society today, there is a major problem We live in a society where gangs are taking over our neighborhoods in numbers. It is the responsibility of the individuals to part take in getting their neighborhoods back under control. Gangs are becoming a growing problem in American society. More young people are turning to gangs to solve problems in their lives or for acceptance. When youths join gangs, they drop all their social activities with school, family, and friends. However, individuals ruin their lives, and the chances of them having a decent education, and a successful life by getting involved in gang activity.

Gang involvement and its associated violent crime have become a rapidly growing problem for the United States. Generally, gangs consist of young people of the same ethnic, racial, and economic background. Usually of a low socio-economic status, these gangs engage in illegal money making activities and intimidate their neighborhoods and rival gangs with violent crimes and victimization. Gang members exemplify a high value for group loyalty and sacrifice.

If the media would stop running to cover all the gang activity in this country, I am sure the number of gang related problems would be reduced and the

Gangs originated naturally during the adolescent years of a child. They started from small play groups that eventually found themselves in conflict with other small groups of youth. Due to the conflict between the two small groups of youth it became a part of a child’s mind set to come together as a gang and protect their rights and satisfy the needs that their environment and families couldn’t provide. There are about 24,500 gangs in the U.S and out of those gangs 40% of them are juveniles (Hess, Orthmann, Wright, 2013). There are numerous reason why a child would join a gang, and the

What first comes to mind when you think of gangs? Most people picture groups of dangerous individuals causing violence and gang wars, as portrayed in the media. John Hagedorn in his novel: A World Of Gangs provides the reader with a deeper understanding of how “gangs” operate, and that trying to stop gangs abruptly through police force is more of a problem than a solution. Hagedorn begins by describing what gangs really are and what causes them. He notes that the urbanization going on throughout the world leads to poorer neighborhoods or slums and is leading to higher gang rates. Claiming that by the year 2020 half of the urban population will be living in poverty he shows that this can cause social disorganization and mixing that with discrimination is not a good combination that will lead to the formation of gangs. Being that the novel is non-fiction Hagedorn provides many different expert opinions to further his research and beliefs. He also uses quotes from those who are/were in some sort of relation to gang life which is a great way fully understand how they operate rather than only looking from the outside in. Beyond understanding why they form, Hagedorn looks into what keeps them around as well as many other related topics, but also into the problems of defining gangs as well as the world of hip-hop music and its influence on gang life.

The results threaten our children at a younger age and are thwarting the virtuous influence of education/school that we try to inspire our children with. It seems that our children see the some good out of joining a gang, whether it is because of security, fear, or pure nostalgia, it is happening and needs to be stopped nationally; the only way to stop gangs is through a national perspective because of the origins of gangs and because the are engrained in today’s culture and need to be a nationwide, or at least statewide initiative.

Violence within gangs is a big issue because gangs must prove themselves and show others that they should not be messed with. This is where another key point comes into play, respect. Gang members are expected to receive respect if they are giving it. For instance, if a gang messes with another, this is when the violence grows because retaliation is common. Furthermore, when talking about gangs in class another issue that was discussed is that most gang members talk about not having that father figure to look up to.

People in gangs are usually poor and sad. If someone has lost all their money and family and they have nothing left they will probably join a gang. For some people their gang is like family to them. People in gangs are usually called gangsters. Others in gangs are totally fine and they just want to have fun. The typical stereotype for gangs is that they are bad and people should stay away from them. Not all gangs are bad. There are so many different types of gangs and not all for them are bad. For example the greasers are not totally bad.

In generic terms, I guess some may say that gangs tend to keep to themselves (meaning they keep relationships with only those associated with that gang), group of people with similar ideas and visions, simply, just up to no good. Interaction with other gangs would merely be for retaliation purposes, initiation purposes (having to kill a member of a rival gang or some random innocent civilian). Gangs are exceptionally territorial and the fact that the Mexican Mafia prison gang and the La Familia drug

Gangs try to fight others for no specific reason as they just act as they are their own group who tries to control parts of the world. “Police said the gang had amassed 500,000 dollars from 14 banks by passing fake checks and phony money orders” (Hoag Overview 2nd paragraph). Most people in our world are greedy and try to get more money than everyone else to show that they are better. If we let this go on without arresting these gang members, many people will have no money, banks will close down, and the economy may even go down making it harder to live on. “Gangs pose a growing threat to public safety in the United States as their numbers rise and the range of their activities expands” (Hoag Overview 4th paragraph).

Gang crimes, such as graffiti, burglaries, murder and extortion, are devastating to a community’s well-being and sense of security. “The vast majority of violent incidents involving gang members continue to result from fights over

The problem of gangs persists and lives are still being lost today. Gangs are truly are an assault on whatever community they are in. They tear at the very fabric of family and community life. There have been many attempts to solve the problem of gangs, but most were not backed up by data or hard evidence and therefore they are difficult to assess. One factor as to why gangs cannot be stopped permanently

Though gangs are different from each other all over the world, they all operate under the same premise. Territory, money, drugs, power and respect are almost always the foundation of any criminal organization (LINK 7); the same principles as mafias or mobs, just more savage and less organized about their actions.

The first step we should take is bettering the children that are already incarcerated because of gangs. 90% of juvenile boys in a correctional facility are gang affiliated. Why is this number so high? Something that could be done is starting a program in the jail. The program could help motivate them and keep them focus. It also would also be a step closer in steering them away from being in the gangs they are in. Or restrain them from trying to join them. Why are so many young boys interested in joining gangs anyway? The main reason why so many young people are affiliated with gangs are because there are not enough interesting extracurricular activities or programs to keep these young people off the streets.