Gangs And Delinquency Essay

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.

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.

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

What influences youth to join and leave gangs in America? This essay strives to seek and inquire an answer or explanation to this question. I will try to approach the answer to this question by analyzing the biggest factors of it such as the influence of social institutions, psychological behaviour, media and many more to determine the push and pull factors of a gang. Understanding that the dynamics of gang membership can be separated into formation & joining which will allow theories & methods of gang-related research to be refined.

Conflict within families drives females into the grasps of gangs because the female is looking for a group to protect and provide support for them. From the authors De La Rue, Espelage: “Research specific to female gang members has shown that family risk factors, including poor parental supervision, and high levels of family conflict, have been linked to an increased risk of gang involvement…” (De La Rue, Espelage 2014 pg.3). This quote explains how family conflict can lead into a female being at a higher risk of joining a gang. Conflict with the family can lead a female to want to leave their parents households to be able to have independence from an abuse or rules. A point from the author Fleisher proves that, “Once independent of her family, a youth needs her peer network more than ever. Depending on network dynamics, youth can

Individuals join gangs due to lack of fellowship at home, family members involved in a

Many juveniles that end up on probation come from low income families that live in bad neighborhoods. Many gangs are formed in bad neighborhoods, and juveniles are more exposed to gangs. Juveniles usually end up joining gangs because it gives them the comfort, and attention that they might not getting at home. Joining a gang is usually what influences a juvenile to commit a crime, and getting into trouble. A juvenile in a gang who is caught committing a crime, and put on probation it could benefit a probation officer to monitor their social media.

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.

The authors are more worried about what is the real reason delinquents become a member of a gang. There are a lot more younger delinquents than younger adults in gangs. The article points out that the delinquents are much more aggressive and stay in trouble more than delinquents not in gangs. The article will help with my research paper because it compares the older and younger members in the gangs and how they are organized. Oehme, Chester G., III.

Many times individuals turn to a gang to escape a life of poverty or financial uncertainty. A sense of hopelessness and desperation can result from being unable to provide the basic necessities. “Young people living in poverty may find it difficult to meet basic physical and psychological needs, which can lead to a lack of self-worth and pride” (Lee, Dean, and Parker 1). Individuals who are faced with a lack of money many times turn to crime if they cannot earn enough at a legitimate job to support themselves or their families. “This partly explains why gangs exist in poor, rundown areas of cities” (Grabianowski 1).

According to Siegel (2013) Albert Cohen developed the theory of delinquent subcultures in his classic 1995 book, Delinquent Boys. Cohen believes that the delinquent behavior of lower class youth actually goes against the norms and values of middle-class U. S. culture. These youths experience what he calls status frustration due to social conditions that enable them to achieve success legitimately. As a result of this social conflict the youths join gangs and become involved in behavior that is “nonutilitarian, malicious, and negativistic. This gang subculture possesses a value system directly opposed to that of the larger society. Their norms of society are completely opposite. Their conduct is right by the standards of their subculture

Cohen explains why delinquency is found in a gang of individuals. After the failure to achieve status sets in, these juveniles are left suffering and frustrated. He states that non-utilitarian forms of delinquency are malicious and negativistic. These individuals gain their status amongst others who have not achieved status through middle-class values. Disadvantaged individuals start to lose hope in the idea that they will live up to the middle-class standards. Gang participation was a way to rebel against those values. These juveniles would commit acts of stealing and vandalism in order to get approval amongst their peers. Cohen believed that the position of the individuals family in the social structure would determine how the child would

The term youth gangs refers to a group of three or more members, who are between the age of 12 and 24; they share an identity through the use of names or symbols; they see themselves as gang and are recognized by others as a gang; there is some amount of permanence and degree of organization; and the group is involved in an elevated amount of criminal activity (National Gang Center Staff, n.d.). Risk factors for gang involvement are based on factors such as individual, family, school, community. School risk factors include poor school performance, poor connectedness to schools, low degree of commitment to and involvement in school, and weak attachment to teachers (Howell, 2010). Community risk factors includes such things as greater level of criminal activity, neighborhood youth are involved in illegal behaviors, widespread access to and the use of firearms and drugs, and low level of neighborhood attachment (Howell, 2010). Additional factors that lead to gang involvement include learning disabilities and emotional disorders, school failure and truancy, no positive involvement outside of school, friends and peers are delinquent, low income, and early involvement in petty crimes and behavioral disorders in grade school (Hernandez, 2015). Reasons given for joining a gang as reported by youths includes for protection, for fun, for respect, for money, family members are part of the gang (and because a friend was in the gang (Howell, 2010).

Juvenile delinquents are children/adolescents that are between the ages of 10 and 18 and have committed any illegal act that violates the law. These acts aren't usually referred to as “crimes” as they would be for adults. These “crimes” are committed by minors and are called “delinquent acts.” These delinquent acts are believed to be caused by a number of factors that include the minors brain development, environment and social interactions. Peer groups are a very strong influence that can cause delinquent behavior in many adolescents. When friends commit crimes, adolescents often pick up the behaviors and rarely see the consequences that follow after the crime is committed. Peer group rejection can also be the cause of juvenile