Disorderly youth are big problems in most communities whether they are associated with gangs or not. Problems consist of loitering, graffiti, property damage, vandalism, noise, cursing, fighting, assaults, panhandling, shoplifting, underage drinking, drug dealing, etc. Some problems are only highly annoying while other misconduct is full of hatred and violence. No matter the significance of the problem is should be handled because if not small problems can turn into much bigger issues in which will be harder to handle later on. Many problems with disorderly youth occur in shopping malls, businesses, public parks, school grounds, convenience stores, and other common areas.
Gangs are very appealing to youth where gangs thrive because they fulfill the need for attention and the need to belong. Identity can be gained in the gang culture along with friendships and the closeness that lacks in a child’s home. Gangs fulfill survival functions for youths by becoming family and earning living through illicit activity. (Hess, 2011) There are many theories and methods that can be used in the situation of disorderly youth.
The Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP) believes if joining gangs is prevented early on, then there will be no problems to deal with later on and therefore created three implications for efforts to prevent youths in joining gangs. Prevention efforts should begin early, target youths exposed to multiple risk factors, and address all facets of youths
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.
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
The streets of Philadelphia are rapidly becoming a home to violent acts and random homicides. Innocent lives are taken every day due to the strong presence of gangs, and the streets are run by unruly groups of fearless young adults. Gang violence in Philadelphia is a major issue, and the citizens will never be safe until gang prevention occurs. Gang prevention is not a simple task, but with the right resources available, it is possible. Gang violence is a problem that will contribute to the collapse of Philadelphia, and it has yet to be solved throughout many generations. With gang violence on the rise, the best solution to gang violence is to educate the youth and parents about gangs and use family support to prevent the creation of gang
There is no definite term for the word “gang”. State and other local government organizations tend to create their own definition. The depiction of “street gang” is consistently intertwined with “youth gang”. However, the term “street gang” can mean two particular meanings that raise it’s face value. 1st, it proposes a common quality of gangs: They usually contain a street presence. Street socialization is a huge attribute of young gangs. 2nd, this expression also refers to “street crimes,” that is, violent and grave crimes (e.g., assaults, drive-by shootings, robberies, homicides) that happen on the streets and that frequently cause concern to citizens and policymakers. “More than 1 million young people in the U.S. (about two percent of youth) belong to a gang”("Study Finds 1 Million Juvenile Gang Members in U.S."). The ongoing activities of these infractions cause distress among the inhabitants within the community. Recently teenagers have been getting more and more involved. Questioning the future of the country. The majority portion of high-schoolers who attach to a gang do so at a young age, usually consisting between 11 and 15 years old. Well knit families are a huge protective factor in helping kids resist the urge of joining gangs. Youth join gangs for a vast amount reasons, including money, feeling of support and belonging, peer status, grasp a sense of protection, or portray an outlaw
According to the Chicago Police Report’s CompStat within the year of 2014, there were 407 murders citywide. Chicago, Illinois is one of the United States biggest cities, with one of the highest crime rates. Chicago is also known for their large amount of gangs including, youth gangs within the city. According to the Chicago Police Department, they defined by their department, a gang is, “An organized group with a recognized leader whose activities are either criminal or, at the very least, threatening to the community” (Chicago Police Department, 2014, para.1). Chicago has one of the highest population of gang’s members in the city with about 150,000 gang members. If a city has an extreme number of gangs, then youth members just come with its nature. According to the National Forum of Youth Violence there were 1,109 young kids that had been being shot. Out of the 1,109 kids, 216 of them resulted in losing a life (Emanuel, 2010 p. 10). If we were to have more recognition towards this issue, then we would see a major decrease in youth gangs along with the violence that comes with the gang lifestyle.
In 2003 as a response to communities with a large amount and growing number of youth gangs the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), a branch of the U.S. Department of Justice, initiated the Gang Reduction Program (GRP) (U.S. Department of Justice 2008). The formation of gangs is seen as a response to system failures and community dysfunction. As a result, one of OJJPD’s anti-gang initiatives is to make communities safer and have a pro-social environment (U.S. Department of Justice 2008). Furthermore, OJJDP plans to provide economic and social opportunities that gangs often promise to new recruits which are often obtained in an illegal and dangerous fashion (U.S. Department of Justice 2008). OJJDP believes that the
Antisocial behavior can commonly be described as disruptive acts of hostility and aggression toward others. Gang or gangs is described as an organized group of criminals. This essay will discuss the nature and scope of juvenile antisocial behavior as it relates to organized gangs, discuss three of the most common forms of antisocial behavior in organized gangs, and discuss three proactive solutions to gang violence.
Juvenile street gangs are expanding, and evolving into crime that has not been linked to gangs in the past, according to the FBI. While they expand into white-collar type crimes like counterfeiting, identity theft and mortgage fraud, they also continue to be involved in illegal activities that they are more well known for, such as drug sales, recruiting new members, violent turf wars, and prostitution, the FBI reports. The number of active street gangs (including gangs in prisons) is around 33,000, and membership in those 33,000 is estimated to be about 1.4 million, the FBI reports. This paper delves into the scholarly literature available about gangs, and for the most part this paper focuses on juvenile gangs albeit some of the data may also include gangs that include older individuals. This paper focuses on gang members' relationships with adults, their interactions with counselors in schools, risk factors associated with gang membership, weapon-related issues and other matters connected to juvenile gangs.
Gang involvement is on the rise in most communities affecting socioeconomic status, racial relationships, and inhabitants (Esbensen et. al., 2012, p. 128). Despite a continuous increase with youth gang affiliations in underserved communities, there is still a scarcity of promising or effectual gang prevention and intervention programs offered by schools. Facing time and resource constraints school administrators need to consider the “cost and benefits” of each possible intervention plan (Esbensen et. al., 2012, p. 142). Consequential to low intervention programs, risk factors such as communal disorganization, poverty, low educational success, acquaintance
In recent years, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) noticed the increase in the number of teens between the ages of nine to seventeen being involved with gangs in the United States. While most people would agree that gang membership is an individual choice, scholars believe that it is more important to shift the focus of these programs from an individual level to a community level. This literature review examines a few of the prevention programs the OJJDP have implemented in the school’s curriculum and after-school
In order to come to a solution, an understanding of different aspects of the problem is required. Gangs are not a recent trend. “While they have existed in some verifiable form in the United States since the 19th century, the 1950’s showed the worst juvenile delinquency statistics the world had seen (Siegel and Welsh, 2011).” Major cities such as New York enacted curfews to help curb this issue, however at the time not many studies had been performed to realize the widespread activity and cause of such delinquency rates.
Gangs are becoming prevalent in today’s society and within our schools. More and more young people are turning to gangs in an attempt to escape their everyday lives and the future, which they perceive as dismal and bleak. They are initially attracted to the prestige and cash flow, which is glamorized by the street gang. Many gangs are actively involved in criminal misconduct, such as drug and gun trafficking, burglaries and homicides. However, street gangs are not just a criminal justice issue, but a social problem, which is triggered by poverty, peer pressure, boredom, despair and lacking a sense of belonging.
Juvenile criminal gangs have long been a significant issue with the criminal justice establishment. Youths coming together to commit criminal acts normally attributed to adult and more vicious criminal organizations are now being routinely committed by juveniles. The reasons for these youths in committing the activities have somewhat baffled author tries as well as scholars and researchers. It must be noted however, that juvenile delinquency is not new; laws in the past have sought to control the criminal and deviant tendencies of children, and prescribing changes from rehabilitative to retribution against criminal acts committed by juveniles. Many of the common assumptions-from being accepted and venting violent behavior- have long been
Most gangs are created to form a sense of power and control. All types of problems are presented to the youths of today growing up in major cities. Before being so eager to jump to conclusions, we must try to understand these problems, or we will never find a solution to them.
This paper will go over the nature and scope of juvenile antisocial behavior as it relates to organized gangs. It will describe three of the most common forms of antisocial behaviors in organized gangs. It will also cover and describe three types of proactive solutions to the gang violence.