Belonging To A Gang Essay

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.

Gangs have been a growing issue across the United States for many decades now. Youth gang violence may have started around the ‘50s, but did not become a serious issue until the ‘80s and from there went through a downward spiral in some cities like downtown Los Angeles, which was where the notorious Bloods and Crips gangs both started. First, let’s simply define a gang as a group of people, mostly men ranging for ages 14-30, who claim territory and use it to make money for themselves and their neighborhood through illegal activities such as trafficking drugs and weapons. There are many reasons and components that are factored in when conducting research to hypothesize “why do people join gangs?” That is why it is necessary to compare and contrast all the social, biological, psychological, developmental, and substance abuse aspects and relate it to joining a gang. It is also important to touch base on the differences between males and females that join gangs, such as power differentials, social learning differences and social stratification differences.

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.

A two-pronged prevention approach has proven effective, with primary prevention strategies aimed at the community 's general population and secondary prevention strategies targeting youth between the ages of 7 and 14 who are at high risk of joining gangs. Prevention efforts undertaken by law enforcement departments around the country include: “Participating in community awareness campaigns (e.g. developing public service announcements and poster campaigns). Contacting the parents of peripheral gang members (through the mail or during personal visits) to alert them that their children are involved with a gang. Sponsoring gang hotlines to gather information and facilitate a quick response to gang-related issues. Organizing athletic events with teams of law enforcement officers and gang members. Establishing working relationships with local social service agencies. Making presentations about gangs to schools and community groups as a combined effort at prevention and information gathering. Sponsoring school-based gang and drug prevention programs (e.g. DARE and GREAT)” (Hess, 2013 p.230).

A pressing problem faced in urban schools today is gang affiliation. Children are exposed to mature music and clothing styles at an early age. No matter the gender or ethnic there is a rising issue in many schools across America. Three ways to reduce the problem of gang affiliation in urban schools are Parents, teachers, and administration need to be involved and vigilant. It is important to realize that as a parent you have a say in everything your child is exposed to.

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

To control gangs, law enforcement agencies have used preventive approaches, including community organization, social intervention, opportunity provision, suppression and organizational change (Spergel, 1990). Not unlike the ones that were talked about earlier. Suppression has historically been a major strategy used by police and involves targeting gang leaders and hard-core members for surveillance, arrest and prosecution. However, the Illinois State Police Criminal Intelligence Bulletin (1992), noted that even though street gangs are involved with drugs, murders, sexual assaults, armed robberies,

This paper will discuss three factors that contribute to youth joining gangs. Firstly, association with delinquent peers is a great predictor

Street gangs are most often associated with low income families and poverty. Most gang members come what we call broken homes where the father figure is not present. These children look towards the gangs and the streets for that fulfillment of a father figure and these gangs are more than happy to help them feel like family. Gang leaders talk these children to drop out of school, to participate in dangerous activities that involve drugs and alcohol. “Adolescents who involve themselves in gang activity are at a risk for several factors that may affect their psychological well-being and family involvement.

According to a recent Advancement Project report heir are six major risk factors that contribute to gang involvement: lack of jobs for youth, poverty in conjunction with social isolation, domestic violence, negative peer networks, lack of parental supervision, and early academic failure and lack of school attachment (Why People Join Gangs). These risk factors aren’t a guarantee that an individual will join a gang, but they are contributing factors that increase the odds. Additional reasons vary dependent on the individual. Gangs can provide them with a sense of family because there is a lack of support in their household.

In my community the problem of gang violence has become more of an issue. There are many ways to prevent this from happening. First, you have to be educated and aware of your children’s actions. Second, you have to improve your community’s supervision. Last, you have to be able to properly deal with young adults who are in a gang and handle it properly. Those are some ways you can prevent gang violence.

Gangs have direct effects on a society, such as increased levels of crime, violence and murder. Gangs also have long-term or late suggestions in that gang members are more likely to drop out of high school, struggle with unemployment, abuse drugs and alcohol or in end up in jail. These factors not only contribute to the gang members, but they also force taxpayers to pay for welfare and community-assistance programs. Common reasons for the younger generation to join gangs, include trying to find a place where they belong and sharing in mutual desires for safety from family problems or life challenges. Together, the feelings and attitudes among gang members haze them to act violently, often self-contradictory with rival gangs. This violence leads to injury and death of not only members but also of bystanders in the community. High gang activity also causes fear among community members, discourages business activity and obstructs home-value appreciation. Communities, also must pay for higher levels of law enforcement when gangs are prominent.

The police patrol is the safest way to get rid of the gangs, by telling the police and informing them that the community has a problem with gang activity. The police could get ride through every night to check in on the neighborhood. They should stay for a long time to see if anything goes down. The police need to get rid of the people off the corners of the road that are just standing there. They need to come at the right times to catch the gangs off guard, so the police can stop the violence from breaking out. They can protect the community if the violence gets out of hand that nobody can break it up. The police needs to stop the between the gangs because there is a lot of deaths that come out from the gangs, and the children don’t need to be around a lot of negative influences to bad things when they get

The term youth gangs refers to a group of three or more members, who are between the age of 12 and 24; they share an identity through the use of names or symbols; they see themselves as gang and are recognized by others as a gang; there is some amount of permanence and degree of organization; and the group is involved in an elevated amount of criminal activity (National Gang Center Staff, n.d.). Risk factors for gang involvement are based on factors such as individual, family, school, community. School risk factors include poor school performance, poor connectedness to schools, low degree of commitment to and involvement in school, and weak attachment to teachers (Howell, 2010). Community risk factors includes such things as greater level of criminal activity, neighborhood youth are involved in illegal behaviors, widespread access to and the use of firearms and drugs, and low level of neighborhood attachment (Howell, 2010). Additional factors that lead to gang involvement include learning disabilities and emotional disorders, school failure and truancy, no positive involvement outside of school, friends and peers are delinquent, low income, and early involvement in petty crimes and behavioral disorders in grade school (Hernandez, 2015). Reasons given for joining a gang as reported by youths includes for protection, for fun, for respect, for money, family members are part of the gang (and because a friend was in the gang (Howell, 2010).