Gangs And Crime

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.

Initially gang activity could only be found in large metropolitan cities, but now gangs have invaded neighborhoods of all sizes across the country. Gangs introduce violence and fear to the communities they occupy, raise the level of drug activities, and destroy businesses and property which brings down the overall value of the whole area. Instead of going to school, many young people find themselves drawn in to the gang life which in most cases either leads to being locked up or death. There are various reasons why people would want to join a gang, but no matter what that reason might be one can only expect a life of violence and troubles.

Chapter Four is entitled, “[The] Scope and Nature of the Current Gang Problem.” It focuses on recent trends in number of gangs, gang members and gang-related crimes in each city. In Inglewood, almost all the neighborhoods were claimed by at least one gang, with gang-unit officers agreeing that the city was facing a major gang problem. In Albuquerque, gangs were involved in drug trafficking and property offenses, with 7 out of 8 gang-unit officers believing the city had a major gang problem. In Las Vegas, migration from other cities was thought to be the primary cause of an increase in gang members. 50% of crime in Las Vegas is attributed to gangs, with most officers believing they had a moderate to major gang problem. In Phoenix, the gang problem is described as wave-like, with 70% of gang-unit officers thinking the city had a major gang problem. These statistics were backed up through interviews with officers and city records.

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.

Gang involvement and its associated violent crime have become a rapidly growing problem for the United States. Generally, gangs consist of young people of the same ethnic, racial, and economic background. Usually of a low socio-economic status, these gangs engage in illegal money making activities and intimidate their neighborhoods and rival gangs with violent crimes and victimization. Gang members exemplify a high value for group loyalty and sacrifice.

For years, gang crime has been loathed by society, as society has perceived it to threaten the well-being of its members. In addition to the fear of gang violence, concerns have been raised of gangs polluting youth; hence, policing strategies have emerged more increasingly in an attempt to put an end to the delinquency. Nevertheless, for society the causation of gang crime has been discussed to a lesser extent; thus, the objective of this essay will be to depict a viable explanation of gang crime through the use of two criminological theories. To accomplish the task at hand; I shall, define gang crime, provide a description of social disorganization theory, illustrate how the application of social disorganization theory provides an explanation of gang crime, describe differential opportunity theory, demonstrate how differential opportunity theory can explain gang crime, and exemplify as to which theory provides a superior explanation of gang crime. In the end, it will be clear that social disorganization theory is a superior explanation of gang crime in comparison to differential opportunity theory, due to its ability to deliver a more enhanced explanation than the one that is provided by differential opportunity theory.

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.

In the article Bored, Broke and Armed: clues to chicago’s Gang Violence by John Elgion who is , discusses the how the lack of education can turn children into gang violence.  He observes, Conditions were ripped for

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

Criminal activities and gangs have mostly always been an on going problem in the United States. Gangs and gang members are frequently involved with a variety of different crimes. The 2008 National Youth Gang Survey reported that there are approximately 774,000 active gang members in the United States (Egley, Howell, & Moore, 2010). The 2008 National Youth Gang Survey also states that there are about 27,900 active gangs in the United States (Egley et al., 2010). The active gangs in California have caused a major impact on the state in many ways. According to the California Department of Justice, approximately 300,000 gang members are living in California (Crawford, 2009). California also attributes more than 25

You think of a group of hoodlums who tote guns, sell drugs, and ruin neighborhoods as thugs, and gang members. These are things not tolerated or seen as good in society so it’s considered a violation of social norms. A street gang is group of people that form an allegiance based on various social needs and engage in acts that can cause harm to public health and safety. Members of street gangs engage in, or have engaged in gang-focused criminal activity either individually or as a group, they create and fear and intimidation in the community. They are punished by society and the consequences are different depending on the types of crimes committed. Societies “punishments” on the crime committed is what sociologist consider deviance; and

The Social Work Dictionary defines a social problem as “a condition among people leading to behaviors that violate some people’s values and norms and cause emotional or economic suffering”. The above definition accurately describes the social problem that gangs are, and their impact on a community. People who live in gang infested neighborhoods live daily with fears of losing their lives and the lives of loved ones. That fear, along with the fear that their family members will join the gang, or that they will be physically harmed in some way by the gang. They may exhibit many emotional, psychological and physical problems that people who don’t live in gang infested neighborhoods do not. Since before the 1940’s law enforcement and others have attempted to put a stop to gangs. These solutions usually hampered gang activity but didn’t eradicate it. Gangs evolve their practices over time to adjust to law enforcement tactics. Today gangs are involved in sex trafficking rather than drug dealing. Sex trafficking is easier to hide, more profitable and has less legal ramifications.

Gangs have direct effects on a society, such as increased levels of crime, violence and murder. Gangs also have long-term or late suggestions in that gang members are more likely to drop out of high school, struggle with unemployment, abuse drugs and alcohol or in end up in jail. These factors not only contribute to the gang members, but they also force taxpayers to pay for welfare and community-assistance programs. Common reasons for the younger generation to join gangs, include trying to find a place where they belong and sharing in mutual desires for safety from family problems or life challenges. Together, the feelings and attitudes among gang members haze them to act violently, often self-contradictory with rival gangs. This violence leads to injury and death of not only members but also of bystanders in the community. High gang activity also causes fear among community members, discourages business activity and obstructs home-value appreciation. Communities, also must pay for higher levels of law enforcement when gangs are prominent.

The environment of where a person was raised is another leading cause of crime. When someone grows up in a place where they see all these bad things happening in their society it serves as a role model to them and they adapt other people’s actions. Growing up in a household where somebody does not have parents or a guardian telling them what is right from wrong leads you to do the unthinkable because they do not have any family direction showing you the right way to live life.” One of the most important environmental factors during childhood development is that of socialization or the way a child is ‘taught’ how to act”(Chemistry Web) Lack of faith causes a person to think of violence as their only way to get attention. When someone has no religious values, they think of all the bad things that are bothering them instead of the good that they can bring into their life. Gangs in an environment are a big cause of bringing crime to a society because they are the people who do the most outrageous crimes. They are the ones who are drug dealers, who bring graffiti into neighborhoods, and who commit drive by shootings. Individuals join these gangs to be accepted, to be honored by the people within the gang, and because they may not value themselves

Another reason why the percentage is so high is because gangs are everywhere. It’s hard to not join something you are always around. 86% of US cities have reported gang activity