Gang Violence

No parent wants to see their child becomes gang that uses weapon, hurts someone, or goes to prison. Gang violence affects children, their families, and their community. In 1980s, African American gangs in Los Angeles became drug dealers, specifically cocaine, as a means of earnings. High rates of unemployment in African American community in Los Angeles forced young people to turn on drugs, and large number of youth became drug dealers to gain economic security. Main problem was drug availability and its huge profit to be made in the drug dealing. Political groups such as The Black Panther Party emerged to deal with racism and police brutality in Los Angeles because of white officers involved abusing African American citizens. Many also blame racism, injustice, and the War on Drugs was the causes for long imprisonments for non-violent drug offenders. A massive imprisonment policy of African Americans, led to huge racial inequality in the criminal justice system by excluding jobs, education, housing, and voting after their released. Injustice, racism, unemployment, drugs, gangs and gang crime were primary problems that African American community in Los Angeles experienced in 1980s.

Youth gang violence has turned into an unmistakable issue in the public eye reaching across national boundaries as well as socio-economic, cultural, racial, and class distinctions. Not only is the problem widely dispersed geographically, but its incidence is also extensive, making it a common, acknowledged, and a mainstream behavior for many teens. Gang activity is extremely common in lower income neighborhoods and ethnic ghettos where underprivileged children are regularly recruited. Youth gang violence has always been an issue in the United States since the 1950’s but many crime analysts tended to overlook the problem of youth gang violence in major cities due to historical events such as the Korean War, U.S. Supreme Court ruled segregation was illegal in the Brown v. Board of Education decision, and the Civil Rights Movement. The first nationwide study undertaken of the nature and extent of gang violence was reported by Walter B. Miller. Miller whose study concentrated primarily on the increase of gang violence and four major motives such as respect, guarding local communities, control, and gain the of monetary goods.

) Moreover, the pattern of this kind of murderer, the killer, is almost by definition a person who takes his chances like the soldier of fortune he thinks he is. (37) Most killers do not engage in anything like a cost-benefit analysis. They are impulsive, and they kill impulsively. If capital punishment does deter criminals, it can do so only indirectly. Potential murderers must have some standard of right and wrong. They must acknowledge morals issues. They must be without mental illness and they know and have the capacity to think about what they are doing. This conception of general deterrence seems deeply flawed because it rests upon a doubtful conception of how this murderous population internalizes social norms. Although the perpetrator

Mental illness is a condition characterized by emotions, thoughts, or behavior that are substantially abnormal for a given time and place in history (p. 514). Historically, it has been broadly been defined by self-harm, unrealistic thoughts and perceptions (delusions, hallucinations, magical thinking, etc.), inappropriate emotions, and rapid shifts in moods or beliefs. All these criteria compare the

Public violence appears to be the main topic of news coverage today. Society is susceptible to violence and no one is safe from the possibility of becoming a victim to crime. Crimes are committed with the belief that getting caught is impractical. People want to understand the insanity of criminals. When perpetrators kill themselves after taking the lives of others, the idea of questioning or assessing them are lost. The researchers that study crimes combine their knowledge with psychologist and sociologist to gain full spectrum of understanding why people commit violent crimes.

Gang violence is across the country and is a standout amongst the most noticeable issues in the prison system today. Gangs are known to endeavor to control the penitentiaries/correctional facilities, ingrain fear inside the jail framework and all through the general public, and convey negative attention to the system. “Gang affiliated inmates comprise about 18 percent of the 18000 inmate population”(Seabrook). A growing number of prisoners and a large amount of them serving longer sentences for brutal violations propose a striking increment in gangs and violence in the prison system in the upcoming future.

have you ever been in a war that at the end your hurt your own kind but make friend with others. Well in this essay you will read how two girls hated each other, but later they will become close. They will both lose someone that’s close to them, but one of them loses more than others.

The purpose of this paper is to review and verify a recent study by Scott H. Decker of the University of Missouri – St. Louis, entitled Collective and Normative Features in Gang Violence (Decker & VanWinkle, 1996). The study will attempt to address why our local increase in gang violence has reached monumental heights causing an increase in gang members appearing your court.

In the article “gang and violence in California’s Youth Correction Facilities: A research foundation for developing effective Gang policies” is the article where I got my research question from. It states how many youths in gangs that are incarcerated have recognized that they need treatment for their drug abuse, but are less likely to participate in drug programs. They are less likely because they have shown more of a distrust in staff as well as the staff having lower levels of trust from the staff, they have more negative outlooks when it comes to treatment services. All of these caused a problem because the rapport needed for these services to be effective are hindered because of the attitudes of the gang members from both genders. In an effort to help the gang members the DJJ created a program known as “The Blueprints for Gang Prevention Initiative” This program was created to be different approach in dealing with gang issues (Maxson et la 2012, 7).

Media had delivered this false idea that harsh penalties would decrease violent crimes which pushes politicians to make tougher laws. During Reagan and Bush presidency, they implemented get-tough policies against crime that resulted in hash punishment (Elias, 1994). Politicians are in favor of get-tough policies but yet crime are still in the rise and citizens are still live in fear of being a victim of crime violence (Elias, 1994). Despite politicians and media’s constant claims that tougher punishments are the solutions to gang violence, but in reality, it is distracting people from pursuing the real solution.

Gang violence is one of the most pressing issues in our communities nowaday. When anyone of us hear the phrase “ gang violence”, we just assume that it is a bad thing, it is the reason of social disorder. However, do we really understand about gang violence? In other words, do we truly know how big is its severity? By reading “ Brothers in Arms”, one of the Bluford series books of the authors Paul Langan and Ben Alirez that talks about gang violence, we can somehow dig more deeper about gang violence issues. “Brothers in Arms” shows how gang violence can affect dramatically to individual’s behavior, and as the results gang violence might destroy the person that involves with it. The authors Paul Langan and Ben Alirez use characterization and

I grew up where it was a lot of bad things happening in my city. I seen plenty of my friends lose their live at a young age. It’s not a pretty site tending a friend funeral that’s younger then you. Seeing everyone in the building cry is so wrong. Gangs where I’m from goes by what neighborhood you grew in. You not actually in it until you start hanging with the wrong people or repping your set like throwing up gang signs. I witness a couple of good people getting shot because they was at the wrong place and the wrong time. Gang violence is nothing to be proud of at all kids just need to have that come to Jesus speech in the room.

Youth often report joining a gang for protection. However, as numerous research studies have shown, the risk and rate of victimization, especially violent victimization, increases substantially while youth are in a gang. This finding is notably similar to that of the increase in the criminal offending rate during periods of active gang membership. Thus, there is a seemingly paradoxical relationship between the expectation that joining a gang will provide protection from violence and the fact that actual rate (and risk) of victimization while in a gang increases. Research specifically examining this issue points to a compelling explanation: Given the “choice” between seemingly random acts of street violence when not in a gang versus the more structured and less random acts within the gang culture (including the sense of group protection that being part of a gang engenders), individuals are more likely to choose to belong to a gang.

When looking down an alleyway with limited visibility, there can be unforeseen outcomes which gives the lack predictability and produces fear. As reported by Rosenzweig, “Today there are 100,000 gang members vs. 12,000 cops in Chicago. Up to 40 percent of all homicides in major cities nationwide from 2009 to 2011 were gang-related. Gang members were responsible for 61 percent of all homicides in 2011, up from 58.7 percent in 2010.” What Rosenzweig is presenting is that each year, homicide crimes rates and gang population increase dramatically as each year progresses. The significance of the photo of the alley is that it is a very rare opportunity to observe kids playing in the front of their house because the adolescents are vulnerable to the

What is Mental Illness? Mental illnesses are disorders of the brain that disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, moods, and ability to relate to others-and if severe interferes with all aspects of daily living.