Gangs: Past and Present

The Irish, Jewish, and Italian gangs started in the 1800’s, and the blacks and mexicans started in the 1940’s. Although there were many gangs, there were also gangs like the KKK which were formed to protect themselves from reconstruction of

Gangs were a huge part of the 1920s/30s, and were first formed during the prohibition era. When the 18th amendment was ratified, there was even more crime and violence than intended. People would do anything for alcohol, so these gangs practically took care of that and made huge amounts of money. Even when prohibition was over, gang remained intact. Some famous gangsters, beides Bonnie and Clyde, were Al Capone, Baby Face Nelson, and Machine Gun Kelly.

The first successful organized crime group was the Forty Thieves of New York. This group “formed as hundreds of immigrants came together for their own protection and financial gain.” Organized crime became

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

Since each community had their own gang, there were several of them. There was the Chinese, Irish, Jewish, and Italian gangs. Each gang had their own style. For example: there was the Dead Rabbits gang. They were known for attacking regular civilians in broad daylight. They got their name by the unforgettable dead rabbits they carried on sticks while beating people up.

Gangs have existed in the United States for over 200 years. It all started when the first immigrants came to the U.S.A. Most of them came for a better life but many of them ended up in poverty. The first gangs were formed among poor adolescents who grouped together for the sake of socialisation and protection. They were of the same race or the same ethnic background. The first known gang specialized in crimes was called "The Five Points". They consisted of Irish immigrants and was established in New York City. They dressed in a specific way and used monikers or nicknames. Another early gang were the "Forty Thieves". Their gang leader was Edward Coleman and they formed in 1826. New York City's early gangs had an easy time of it because of

Gangs have been around for many years; the founders of some of the original gangs in the United States will be discussed. The statistics of youth gangs in Canada will be presented followed by an in depth discussion about why young adults can be persuade into

A gang from San Francisco were called the Hounds. Mostly soldiers from New York, they would rob stores, demand free drinks and food, and if they did not get what they wanted, they would beat and attack the merchants. In 1849 they raided the Chileno camps, due to their lack of love toward the foreigners. They set arson to the tents and would beat residents. This also proves how much crime was an issue in the gold rush times.

“Gangs have morphed from social organizations into full-fledged criminal enterprises” (Thomas, 2009, para 5). Gangs are highly sophisticated and more dangerous then ever. The number one reason to join a gang is money; and 95 percent of gangs profit comes from drug dealing

As immigration continued street gangs emerged in the United States in four regions during different periods of time. These first gangs were mainly comprised of white immigrants from Northern and Western Europe who came to the United States from the time the Revolutionary War ended in 1783 through to approximately 1860. In 1820, a second wave of immigration from other parts of Europe – Italy, Poland and Ireland began to arrive, along with a large Jewish segment.

The 1960’s or 1970’s is when gangs were originated. Gangs became a formation of protection against racial crimes being committed by whites. There were quite a few popular gangs such as the Slausons,

Since the 1800’s gangs as we all know have a history in the United States. The United States became a melting pot during this time as people of many ethnicities and religions entered the United States. Many of the new immigrants joined gangs in order to gain a group identity, protect themselves against other rival groups both immigrant based and natural born citizens, and build a unified presence. The five corners in new York city is a prime example of immigrant based gangs just trying to protect themselves and gain identity in the new world. Even though the street gangs of the 19th century were widely feared by other citizens and rival gangs, they don’t hold a candle to the threat that the gangs we have today to the safety of society.

Throughout the course of American history, the usage of gangs has always been embedded in the striving desire to be rebel, such as defeating the overhanging stature of the British empire. However as the 13 colonies formed a colonial gang in an effort to eliminate British influence in America, the definition of the word gang has transformed into an entirely different meaning. One common definition of a gang is a group of three or more individuals who engage in criminal activity and identify themselves with a common name or sign.This more sinister transformation of the word gang, has become the leading sovereignty against the fight for justice. These new evil gangs have also played an integral role in American history as well with great historical mob-bosses of Al Capone, Carlo Gambino, and Albert Anastasia. These ruthless gangsters resound in history because of their despicable acts and live in utter infamy. The precedents that these grave gangsters had set for the future generations of criminals, did not fail to live up to expectations. Modern gangs now in America are sprinkled all across the borders of the United States, ranging from each state and city to national street gangs, local street gangs, prison gangs, motorcycle gangs, ethnic, and organized crime gangs. American gangs are responsible for an average of 48% of violent crime in most jurisdictions, and up to 90% in other jurisdictions. Major urban areas and their suburban surroundings experience the majority of gang

Genuine gangs exist for a criminal purpose outside of merely consuming certain legal or illegal substances. Particularly in the context of criminal justice education, all other definitions of gangs serve no purpose other than to cloud the issue, and this is an issue where clarity is needed. An individual might say that he “and the gang” were getting together, but this has no bearing on the commonly understood usage of the term, and the one that is most worthwhile to consider in the criminal justice context. The definition of gang that should be used to properly compare such groups to fraternities is that found in the Virginia Code. The code states that a criminal street gang has as one of its primary objectives the commission of crimes (Downes, 2014). Secondly, the group must use identifiable names or symbols, and finally, its members must have engaged in two or more predicated criminal acts, including violence.