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How To Reduce Gang Violence

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As a commander of the Gang Unit, I would first look at the neighborhood, see what changes can be made first that would be easy. When we think of gangs, most often, we think of the mafia-style gangs. These gangs moved a little more discreetly than the gangs that we have today that are pretty much in your face. The gangs of earlier times moved money and drugs in different ways like through gambling, liquor, and prostitution (Hoover, 2014). There was violence back then, but not like it is today. these youths of today will kill you over senseless things like sneakers, rims, boyfriends, girlfriends, and disrespect. The gangs of today contribute to higher violent crime rates, they tear down the communities with behaviors that result in vandalism, graffiti, drug dealing, and increased public fear of being victimized (Langton, 2010). These young gang members join these …show more content…

I would set curfews and enforce truancy to keep the children in the house at night and in school during the day (Fritsch, Caeti & Taylor, 1999). I would encourage some of the ex-gang members to speak at the local centers about how disruptive the gang life can be. I would hold ceremonies in honor of the youth that has died due to gang violence from all the rival gangs just to bring awareness to the growing numbers. Reaching out to the parents and families of these children and getting them involved. I would try to show them that a better life does exist no matter what life you have right now. Showing them how much better it could be if they worked together and not against each other. As a last resort, I would enforce the "pulling levers" strategy, which involves deterring violent behavior by reaching out directly to gangs letting them know that this behavior is no longer going to be tolerated. It was designed to control and deter serious violence( Braga, Kennedy, Waring, & Piehl,

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