Causes Of Murder Rates

¨Gang members have been responsible for 61 percent of all homicides [in Chicago] in 2011, up from 58.7 percent in 2010¨ (Hidden America). These are some of the few disturbing statistics about gang violence in Chicago; however, as many people do not know, gangs have not always been about drugs and violence. In the early 19th century, gangs are not what people perceive them to be today. Gangs in the 19th century were volunteers with the fire department back in the Antebellum Period, which is the period before the civil war and after the War of 1812. As time went on and as the professional firemen forced the volunteers to break up, they started spreading apart. Then by the late 19th century, gangs started developing on the south side. This is

In the 1940s the black population grew onward and since there were now more blacks in Chicago, there were buildings that were being built for low-income and poverty families and since the blacks were just now coming into Chicago looking for better employment they had to move to where they could afford. Now these buildings were being built on the west and south sides of Chicago. These buildings became like forts to these gangs These gangs grew intense over time in Chicago as well in New York. Gang war erupted over drug trafficking turf, which made black gang problems explode in the 1960s. It got so bad that law enforcement said that it was too dangerous for them to patrol around that area. Gangs of Chicago controlled many things like drug distribution

As stated in an online article by Youth Today “according to a 2009 study by the National Youth Gang Center, quality of life issues, such as employment or educational opportunities, were the most significant factors in gang member migration, and not the expansion of existing criminal activity.” (Duda) Most people will associate criminal activities of gangs with the inner-city boundaries because these are the issues that are far from their all green suburban yards, something that could never impact their lives directly, or so they think. “We don’t associate the suburbs with people being poor or homeless, but it’s one of the fastest growing populations,” says Rebecca Petersen, author of Understanding Contemporary Gangs in America and a Criminal Justice Professor at Kennesaw State University. (Duda) Increases in the cost of living and new

Gun violence is a major problem in Chicago. There has been an estimate of nearly six hundred shooting victims in a matter of three months into the New Year. It is very sad how so many innocent people lose their lives due to such violence. Even the safest neighborhoods have become dangerous because of ignorant gang members who settle their problems with rival gangs by shooting each other. It is hard to feel safe in a community where you fear being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Although throughout the United States activist and educational campaigns have flooded U.S citizens with education on the detrimental effects of maternal alcohol consumption, women are still continuing to consume alcohol while pregnant. Fifty three percent of non-pregnant woman drink alcohol, and despite health warnings, twelve percent of pregnant mothers in the United States still consume alcohol (Pruett &Waterman & Caughey, 2013, p. 62). Fetal alcohol exposure is also believed to be widely underreported in the United States (Pruett et al., 2013, p. 66). Current research concludes that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption, nor a safe time during gestation for alcohol consumption to take place (National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome [NOFAS], 2014). Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is an umbrella term used for the various conditions that maternal alcohol consumption causes. Although each case of FASD can present differently, cognitive disabilities, facial deformities, and growth retention are a few of the hallmark adverse effects that alcohol has when it enters fetal circulation (Paley & O’Connor, 2011, p. 64). The United States is impacted economically by these debilitating conditions as well, as it costs our nation $746 million dollars annually to care for these children (Bhuvaneswar, Chang, Epstein & Stern, 2007, p. 3). Nurses in America, and across the globe have a key role in helping to eliminate, and minimize adverse effects of these conditions

Individuals who are affiliated with gangs commit crimes such as homicide consistently. Gangs target areas where people are not unified and would be less likely to contact authorities if violence broke out. Drive by shootings occur so often that Detective Dale Wallis says “they [gangs] do not care who’s going to get shot” (qtd. in Minty 1). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did a report to determine the top five United States cities to have high levels of gang homicide. Those five cities were Los Angeles, California; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Long Beach, California; Oakland, California, and Newark, New Jersey. The study

The correlation between gangs and drugs has always been an issue for the United States government. Major cities often overlooked the problem of youth gang violence, thinking it was only a 1960’s trend. Sixty years later, gangs and drugs continue to be a problem, but in an increasing number within urban, suburban and rural areas in the United States. People may characterize this problem with words such as violence, increase drug activity, and delinquencies, but not many seem to see the bigger picture. Lack of interaction, collaboration, and strategies from law enforcement, youth centers, businesses, churches, and political icons are increasing gang violence and drug related offenses in major cities. In such cities as Chicago, minority groups are the most vulnerable to joining a gang, which then leads to an involvement with drugs; they are faced with barriers – lack of family support, poverty, segregation, unemployment, etc. An incident that happened in Chicago history is the closing of the Cabrini-Green Project, where people involved with gangs had to find a new home, scattering gang-members throughout the city, and eventually leading to their spread and growth.

Gangs in Chicago go hand and hand because of the rich history this topic has to offer. Coincidence? One may think not. In the time of famous mobster, Al Capone, gangs in Chicago were just evolving but did not live up to the names they have today. This includes their literal name, “gangs” , and the reputation they have today. However, groups similar to these of today have been around since the beginning of time, and not until after Al Capone did these groups get their name of “gang(s)”. Before they were just known as “mobs”. These sort of “gangs” were groups that had similar interests, backgrounds and goals they had in common. However, there is a difference between them then and now, but there are similar characteristics as well. The makeup of gangs today seem to have the same consistent patterns in terms of people who join, how they join, and where they join.

One of the biggest potential problems however, is society. Chicago’s government affects violence by creating a disadvantageous environment within communities. Certain areas within Chicago have experienced the brunt of this through the closing of public schools and overall lack of funding. This results in children traveling far distances to school or even families taking time out of their work day to drive their children. Without easily accessible education and the funds for schools to create opportunities to keep children off the streets, children are at a higher risk to participate in anti-social behaviors. Another societal cause results from the stigma that certain Chicago communities are inherently dangerous. Just as a self-fulfilling prophecy may cause an individual diagnosed with schizophrenia to develop schizophrenic symptoms, a public perception that a community is violent may cause individuals within that community to act out

Chicago has the highest gang population in the United States (www.huffingtonpost.com) and the highest amount of gun related murders to boot. As an effect of these crimes, many of the targets are not the rich and the powerful but instead are the weak and the poor. Those that cannot defend themselves to a great extent, they are seen as easy targets that will soon give up if it has taken too long to find the culprits. Since the underclass is the primary target for crime from the underclass it is like they are just undermining themselves in order to gain some type or upper hand on the next man that holds no real bearing. Even when taking “good moral” individuals some have turned to crime because they see no other way to make means for themselves or their loved ones. Some of these people have been laid off and have no other source of income, their back is against a wall and they want out. They want so badly to have money again so that they survive and not live on the streets like they see others, so they commit crimes for others that will pay. It is because of this desperation that violent crimes still thrive and until people realize this then violent crime will still keep the underclass suppressed. (www.clombia.edu)

Chicago has the biggest gang problem in the country (Thomas & Bass, 2009). “There are more gang members per citizen in Chicago than anywhere else in the country” (Thomas, 2009, para 4). The average Chicago gang leader is 43, convicted of murder and lives in the suburbs. That leader on many occasions directs his gang from jail (Main, 2006) and 95 percent of inmates in the Cook County Jail are gang members (Thomas, 2009). Gangs are everywhere today just like they use to be. The high number of gangs causes violence and deaths to rise in Chicago.

In the chicago essay,how weekends in chicago have gotten worse day by day.”Violence in Chicago over the weekend dropped sharply from a week before, but there were still 32 people shot in the city, seven of them fatally, including a 16-year-old boy.”In the previous weekends in chicago at least 63 people were shot and 8 were killed ,according to the police.It was the most violent weekend of the year except for the long Fourth of July holiday. So far in the year of 2017,at least 2,498 people have been shot in Chicago. That's down 2,821 this time last year, when violence hit levels not seen in two decades.

Chicago is facing a serious problem. Over this year 's Fourth of July Weekend, eighty four people were shot resulting in fourteen deaths. After this violent weekend, Mayor Rahm Emmanuel nearly called for total martial law, calling upon United States Military 's support to help protect Chicago 's citizens and patrol Chicacgo 's streets. So far in 2015, over 2,300 people have been shot in the city of Chicago, and it is only a matter of days until the death toll surpasses four hundred on the year. There are a number of factors that contribute to this inflated level of violent crime. Some would point to loose gun restrictions, others to gang fragmentation. I believe the most influential factor leading to these high rates of crime in certain

The simple fact is they shouldn’t. These women place on their children the hardships of physical and mental pain that will last their entire lives. They’re abilities to lead normal lives are taken from them and the probability that they will always be dependent on a person for their care. So, where can the line be drawn to either help women with alcoholism refrain from drinking while pregnant, or punish those who just don’t care when it comes to their unborn? Should society make laws and imprison a woman for harming her unborn child, but who is to say while jailed she won’t drink.

One main cause is drugs being a big use and huge demand in the inner city.(Detroit: The Last Days) “Law and order has completely broken down in the inner city, drugs and prostitution are rampant and unless you actually murder someone the police will leave you alone”(Detroit: The Last Days). Drugs were brought into the Detroit city very early and have never left; in fact the problem has just gotten worse. Many in the inner city turn to drugs either for money or to ease the pain of their problem lives. These people think it will help but instead it is causing more problems instead of helping. Therefore it keeps going, many young children now days are getting involved younger and younger because they are forced to believe it is the only way of survival in such a corrupt environment like the projects in Detroit. If drugs stay such a constant problem Detroit will have a harder time getting back to its true roots.