Essay about Gang Violence: Problem on the Rise

In todays United States we have a huge problem affecting society, gangs and the violence that follows them wherever they go. These days’ gangs aren’t just compiled of grown adults, they often lure in young teens to do dirty work and to add numbers to their turf. Despite laws aimed straight at these gangs they still defy the law and wreak havoc upon the territory that they claim. The members in the gang have a gang first mentality and will do everything possible to provide for and protect their fellow members. They will very rarely snitch on their own to help put a stop to some of the meaningless crimes committed by these savages.

First: they were the first gang in Chicago (Quite possibly the whole USA too) to ever using gang signs. The sign was the formation of 2 hands in the shape of a Cobras head.

They also have signs to show victory and a primo sign after a fight or gang war.

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.

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

There are approximately 1.4 million active street, prison, and outlaw gang members comprising more than 33,500 gangs in the United States, according to the National Gang Intelligence Center of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Gangs are defined as a group of people who form an alliance for a common purpose and engage in violent or criminal activity. Gang violence continues to grow in California. It is inarguable that the gang problem has become more entrenched, over the past 25 years, especially here locally in Porterville.

gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs.16 Idaho has a gang task force, known as the Treasure

While they might sport the tattoos, the jackets, colors, and signs, often these members are only tangentially affiliated. According to much of the available literature, tattoos also serve as a badge of protection against coercion from other gangs (Jackson and McBride 1985). In the current study, tattoos signify a number of different and personal matters, only one of which gang membership and a warning to others.

Many people recognize that gangs have been around for what seems like forever. What they don't realize is that the numbers are increasing to amazing proportions, there were 28,000 youth gangs with 780,200 members in the United States (in 2000) and 20% to 46% of those members are female (Evans). And what is even more shocking is, in Chicago alone there are 16,000 to 20,000 female gang members (Eghigian). These girls start out as ?groupies?, become members, and sometimes even leaders of all-girl gangs because of troubles in the home, a need for money, for the social scene, or just because it is all they know.

The issue with the youth gangs in South Central L.A. has long roots back into the history of American community, attracting attention of the people who have interest and study the history of L.A. neighborhoods. The gangs are also known as the “Bastard of the Party”. The reason it was called with this name has traces back into the history of the former political party the 1960s known as the Black Panther party, Black self-organized party who fought against the white supremacy during their period of time in order to get equal recognition for the African-American people. The youth gangs were later formed, inspired by the Black Panther, with initial intention for self-defense from the White neighborhood

The Black Guerrilla Family was started in the year 1966 by W.L. Nolen, Lester Jackson, James Carr and other racist who were black in the San Quentin state prison in California. The founders adopted the militia structure and ideology of the Symbionese Liberation Army. The gangs were started so as to unite the black prisoners and get rid of a violent uprising. This uprising was believed to be from a racist prison administration that was white. The gang attracted thousands black American offenders, and was listed for a number of staff assaults and the murder of Marin County judge in 1970. Its territory is in California and some selected areas in the United States. It also has a paramilitary kind of structure. It has around 50,000 members. If one wants to join the gang, one has to be black and must be nominated by an existing member. They have a symbol of a dragon that is attacking a gun tower of a prison. This gang is still growing in most of the American prisons with some of its members outside the confinement.

By adopting their own logo and system of leadership the Hells Angels have formed an identity for themselves that no one else can steal. Every motorcycle club in the United States of

Even today the 18th Street Gang is considered the largest gang in Los Angeles, California. It is estimated that there are thousands of members in Los Angeles County alone and approximately 200 separate individual autonomous gangs which operate under the same label in other counties throughout southern California. It is considered one of the most violent gangs in the United

Street gangs in this country can probably be traced back to the first wave of Europeans who migrated to the colonies for a better life for themselves and their families. Many of the first gangs were formed as a means of self protection, with the thinking that there is simply strength in numbers. The missions of gangs in today’s society have grown and emerged to include many violent criminal avenues, including drug trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, and extortion but the original thinking that there is strength in numbers remains true. Criminology experts believe that the number of teens involved in gangs or gang activity may be as high as 1 in every 5 people in most urban areas. Those number jump to 1 in every 3 people in