Gang Involvement Among Youth And The Criminal Justice System

In James Howell’s “Gangs in America’s Communities” book he mentions that a gang should be looked at more of as a social network rather than an “organization” (Howell, 2012, p.60). This can be especially true for the youth who get involved in gangs. For the youth it is normal for them to want to belong somewhere so their peers have major influences in what they do and even how they think. The emergence or involvement of a gang among youth is identifying with each other and eventually giving themselves a name. Howell then describes the next step as grasping the gang culture by wearing distinctive clothing, colors, having rituals, gatherings, and the exclusion of other youth. Most youth join gangs between the ages of 11 and 15, the peak of gang involvement usually occurs between the age of 14 to 16. Some of the risk factors that get them involved in a

The study at hand aimed to investigate the aspects that lead individuals to join a gang, the reasons as to why they decided to part ways with it, and the consequences that resulted from their affiliation. Through the analysis of interviews and observations, several themes were noticeable such as the initiation to the gang, desistance, consequences, and services offered to help reintegrate into society. Former gang members expressed and constantly mentioned their childhood having a major part in the decisions they made which ultimately lead to them being “jumped “into a gang. Some of the reasons this occurred so frequently among so many individuals was partly due to constant profiling, problematic relationships with many of them being at home, or the social environment they found themselves being surrounded by.

There are an abundance of reasons why some youth may choose to join a gang. The lacking of sense of guidance positively and

Alleyne, Emma & Wood, Jane L., (2011). Gang Involvement: Social and Environment Factors. Crime and Delinquency 60 (4) 547-568.

Gangs can be classified as a group of adolescents who are perceived to be a threat to society, are mostly recognized by their name and territorial power, and have been involved in numerous acts that violate criminal law procedures in North America. (Esbensen, Winfree, He and Taylor, 2001). The first theme that was present in the pieces of literature collected was the lack of opportunities. As previously stated before, becoming involved in a gang starts at a young age. An article titled “Youth Gangs and Definitional Issues: ‘When is a Gang a Gang, and Why Does It Matter?’” explicates what exactly constitutes a gang, starting with young adolescents. Using a survey conducted in the United States, Finn-Aage Esbensen, L. Thomas Winfree, Jr., Ni

The word “gang” can be defined in many ways however; there is no “agreed-upon definition” that “has been developed to apply to gangs” (pg. 201). When I think of the word “gang” I think of a group of individuals who interact, communicate, simply “hang out” and/or participate in many activities together. There is not just one type of gang. “Gangs can be large or small, long term or short term, more or less territorial, more or less criminally involved” (pg. 201) and can be made up of different races/ethnicities. In this paper I will be explaining the different types of gangs in Texas, characteristics of juveniles who may be involved in gangs or gang activity, the reason/factors for their involvement, consequences that they may face, and a conclusion on how we as members of society can help deter today’s youth from gang involvement.

     Youth gangs have been getting a tremendous amount of press and media attention as the problem grows worse and worse, and because of this attention and exposure the rate of adolescents joining these gangs is constantly increasing. As of right now, gang life is in a lime light all to its own. There has been documentaries, movies, books and so on that have demoralized it as well as glamorized it, and to trouble youths who think that they have no place else to turn, gang life seems as though it can be a very acceptable and possibly through their point of view, a positive change in their some what hitched lives. Social experts chalk up the sudden increase of youth gang activity to two distinct reasons; “ (1) the diffusion of gang culture through popular media, and (2) economic

It is important to note that the pushes and pulls of gang membership are not necessarily mutually exclusive, in that they may simultaneously impact a youth’s decision to join a gang. However, by and large, numerous studies have found that youth themselves are more likely to report being “pulled” into the gang. This is especially evident in widespread accounts of youth who report joining the gang based on the social desire to be around gang-involved friends and/or family. In comparison, youth less frequently report being coerced or actively recruited to join the gang. This finding is important to note, since the latter is commonly (though erroneously) believed to be the primary reason youth join gangs, with many states developing legislation

Juveniles are committing crime everywhere, but the nation is not aware of the behavior behind these acts of delinquency. No matter how much focus there is on juveniles partaking in crimes across the states, there is little understanding on why they turn to crime and what are the factors that come into play to lead them down this path. Many external factors such as, the environment they live in, family, school, peer groups, and individual self-being can bring them a step closer to the life of crime. When juveniles live under circumstances that alter or determine the way they live, crime and a sense of brotherhood is what they look for in the emptiness. When these factors come into the circulation of the juvenile’s life and there is not a stable and productive lifestyle, they are more likely to become a part of the gang world. The focus here is whether these factors drive juveniles straight to the membership of gangs or if juveniles have a choice to defer against it.

Gang behaviour and conformity is due to lack of family, guidance and/or authority. Gang members often come from homes where they feel isolated or abandoned. They may turn to gangs when their need for love is not being seen at home. “[After completing a ten-year study of gangs in New York, Boston and LA, Jonkowski wrote] I found that there was as many gang members from homes where nuclear families were intact as there were families where the father was absent.” (Jankowski, 2002) Many teens in gangs do not feel loved and therefore do not feel important or special. Usually, in most

The Life course of Youth Gang Members paper presented us with results of a study that observed the life histories of gang associated youth in the Ottawa area. The paper analyzes the institutional supports that gang-involved youth required as they grew up. Furthermore it contemplates what might have aided to keep them from becoming gang involved. The Life Course of Youth Gang Members presents three general types of organized groups; first one being “youth gangs”, then “street gangs” and “organized crime groups”. The two types of gangs are of interest: youth gangs and street gangs. Street gangs typically consist of young adults (18 – 30). Street gangs are predominantly systematized to engage in criminal activity. In distinction, youth gangs consist

The process for becoming a gang member varies, some gangs require jump or beat in, or for females, to pull a train (Molidor, 1996). The typical gang initiation is a beating, where the members of the gang surround the prospective member for several minutes, if the prospect fights his or her way out, they are initiated into the “family” (Vigil, 1996; Peterson, Taylor, and Esbensen, 2004; Molidor, 1996). However, females must sometime also pull a train, have sex with numerous male members of the gang, in order to solidify their membership (Molidor, 1996). Youths become gang members for different reasons, some reasons include for protection (Alleyne and Wood, 2010; Peterson, Taylor, and Esbensen, 2004), for the potential to gain respect and status (Alleyne and Wood, 2010), to belong to a family, and power (Molidor, 1996). The most widespread reason is protection, individuals who join gangs are those who feel the most threat from those around them–school, family, and community (Alleyne and Wood, 2010). According to Peterson, Taylor, and Esbensen (2004), roughly two-thirds of gang members are beat in for their intiation. However, in regards to joining a gang for protection, they concluded that gang members experience higher victimization (getting robbed for drugs/money, victims of drive-by shootings, etc.) than nongang members, despite joining the gang for protection against victimization. Youths also become gang members via peer pressure, their peers are

Youth participation in gangs actually decreased from 1996 to 2004, but the violence within these gangs has not. Homicides committed by youth gang members still remain as a monumental problem across the United States of America. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention reported in its 2004 survey of youth gangs that there were an estimated 760,000 gang members that year. Many of the kids affiliated with gangs come from lower income, single parent homes; therefore, the youths of America often turn to gangs to fill the void of not being part of a “family”. To combat this problem and save our youth from a life of malfeasance, the people of the communities of America must take a stand against the negative influences that impact these youths.

There are many factors that contribute to youth joining gangs. Children who are raised in a single-parent household, multiple family/foster home transitions, or come from low income homes have a higher risk of participating in gang activities (Howell, 2010). Growing up with a disadvantage these children struggle in school due to poor concentration, attention deficit and low intelligence (O’Brien, Daffern, Chu & Thomas, 2013). Alongside with education, they also have behavioral issues of violence and aggression which makes it difficult to get along with fellow peers (O’Brien, Daffern, Chu & Thomas, 2013). This rejection tends to lead to low self-esteem, anger, self-harm, drugs and vulnerability. Hence

In the teenage years there is a fight for identity, and belonging. Thus gangs will take advantage of this desire, and need, because young people are highly impressionable. A common public perception is that most youth are coerced into joining a gang (Howell, 2007). The opposite is indeed true. Most join of their own volition. “Gangs are often at the center of appealing social action— parties, hanging out, music, drugs, and opportunities to socialize with members of the opposite sex. The gang may be appealing because it meets a youth’s social needs.” (Howell, 2007) Many young people willing join gangs because of their protection, fun, respect, money, or because a friend was in the gang.