Gangs and Violence in California Essay

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.

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

Youth are joining gangs because of the social action such as parties, hanging out, music, drugs, protection, respect, and money. As a result of these items that youth idealize it causes many crimes in a community. However, many strategies have been implemented such as the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T). G.R.E.A.T, a national and international gang and violence prevention program that has been building trust between law enforcement and communities. G.R.E.A.T is intended as an immunization against delinquency, youth violence, and gang membership. It is designed for children in the years immediately before the prime ages for introduction into gangs and delinquent behavior. G.R.E.A.T provides tremendous benefits for students, law enforcement, educators, and public benefits. According to the G.R.E.A.T website “the G.R.E.A.T. Program reduces gang joining while increasing negative attitudes toward gangs and positive attitudes toward law enforcement. The program provides students with opportunities to model and practice life skills and attitudes needed to treat others with

Due to the misrepresentation of gangs on TV people have come to assumption that gangs are made up of a bunch of savages that look for violence when in reality most gang members are people just trying to get by. I believe that gangs exit in Chicago and around the United states because of the relationship between the government and education and the lack of government assistance toward certain communities. The government tends to spend less money on education in poverty stricken places when in fact they should be spending more money to help the community. I believe that the lack of government support is the reason many teens end up dropping out of school. In life, you must prioritize certain things, putting food on the table and supporting your family is far more important that going to high school and hoping you win the lottery just to afford college. People don’t join gangs because they love violence or because they want to look cool, almost all the time people join to support the people they love. Why not just get a normal job? Many people ask. In society, today you can’t get a decent job unless you go to college and graduate. Many people are not privileged enough to go to college or even high school so they end up joining gangs and selling drugs to support their family. For example, J.T was a very intelligent young man that had a bright future ahead of him after going to college on a sports

and influenced many parts of the U.S. The youth, being its main targets, become influenced and

The United States of America is commonly called a “melting pot,” due to its diversity in races, cultures, and religions all mixing together as one. Yet, as great as all that diversification sounds, there is a dark side to it as well. The USA is plagued by gang violence due to racism and segregation. The diverseness that makes the USA so great, is also the cause for one of its biggest social stigmas.

Juveniles involved in gang violence is not a current revelation, it has been an issue in the past as well. Since the 1950s through the 1980s gangs have been a part of the community and as the years pass they continually get more dangerous than what they were before (Miller, 1992). When this was going the media went ballistic on how gangs began to “flower in the 1950s, died in the 1960s, revival in early 1970s, and dormancy in later 1970s,” but later in a survey it was revealed

There are 15.1 million high school students in the United States, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES CITE). As of August 2010, nearly 45 percent of high schoolers reported the presence of gangs or gang members of their campuses. The presence of gang members on school campuses in the United States is growing, especially in inner cities. In order to combat this epidemic, gangs must be eradicated and preventative measures must be implemented.

(Arciaga, Sakamoto, & Jones, 2010). They also must provide skills and knowledge to help students avoid gang involvement. Create after school activities to provide youths with positive influences and involve parents in the gang prevention

Gangs continue to be a growing problem in the United States. Gangs pose danger not only to society as a whole but to children in particular. According to the Executive Summary: Changing Course prepared by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “nearly one in 12 young people said they belonged to a gang at some point during their teenage years” (Ritter, Simon, &Mahendra, n.d.). Despite the dangerous and criminal activities that gangs participate in, children as young as 11 and 12 become involved in gangs which makes early prevention absolutely vital.

Gang violence in low-socioeconomic populations is a growing problem for society. One of the biggest challenges that arise along juveniles who join gangs are cultural and societal factors that contribute to the massive growth of gang violence. Gang violence in South Los Angeles 77th Street GRYD Zone is reaching alarmin proportions. These gangs are taking control over the community and are increasing in size. Gangs are predominantly Latino, with a strong participation of the African American population (77th GRYD Statistics). There are a few public schools in the area, but with low attendance rates. More than a third of the population don’t have more than a 9th grade education and almost two thirds of the population does not have a high school diploma; this is consistent through the zone (77th GRYD Assessment). Poverty in this area is an enorumous problem cause by a lack of employment in the area. Sometimes selling drugs to maintain a house is the most obvious reason to the youth. The problems expand to a broader issue than just involving the issues mentioned previously, but goes beyond the social structure and more specifically the judicial system.

Interesting topic and well discussed. The influence of gangs on levels of youth violence is greater than the influence of other delinquents. Teens commit way more serious and violent crimes while being a gang member than they do if they leave the gang, or not being in a gang at all. Gang influence last a long time and it’s pretty difficult to overcome (trying to help teens leave a gang). Being a gang member intensifies a youth behavior, and they are far more involved in delinquency. So much, that the community rarely gets involve because they feel as though a child in a gang is hopeless and helpless. I don’t really think people see young gang members as children, when compared to a regular/ minor delinquent. (I think it’s unfair) As

Gang violence and activity among the U.S. has grown increasingly over the past twenty-five years. As these numbers increase, schools have ultimately become affected. A study released by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse reported, “45% of high school students have gangs or gang members on their

The existence of gangs in schools endangers the security, happiness and scholastic advances of students. Gangs disturbs the peace and security in neighborhoods, furthermore, schools, leaving numerous families broken apart. In the course of recent years, gangs have grown quickly both in capacity and in areas of their activities. Today, gangs are more fierce, they are more active across the board and common, and they are more settled in schools and in the society we live in. “Gang activity has been increasing over the past 25 years, and schools are not immune. Gangs can affect any school, regardless of size, location or ethnicity of students” (Anderson, 2017). The facts are resulting that gangs are present in the schools and neighborhoods especially.