Juvenile Gangs Research Paper

The following paper will discuss prison gangs. From early prison gangs and their effects on the community to present gangs and their effects on the community. It will discuss the types of crimes that are committed by these gangs. The ability for these gangs to reach out to their counterparts on the outside of prison walls is tremendous. These gangs in our prison system can still cause chaos in our communities and influence our youth population.

Gangs are becoming prevalent in today’s society and within our schools. More and more young people are turning to gangs in an attempt to escape their everyday lives and the future, which they perceive as dismal and bleak. They are initially attracted to the prestige and cash flow, which is glamorized by the street gang. Many gangs are actively involved in criminal misconduct, such as drug and gun trafficking, burglaries and homicides. However, street gangs are not just a criminal justice issue, but a social problem, which is triggered by poverty, peer pressure, boredom, despair and lacking a sense of belonging.

In some instances there are times where the parent may be absent from the juvenile’s life causing that juvenile to act in a manner to do what he or she pleases.This stems from the “free will” approach within the rational choice theory. Juveniles also look at how their parents treat each other, and if there is a history of issues within the family, child victimization, or even low education and poor discipline issues, juveniles or more likely to get involved in things that they typically should not be involved in such as gangs and other delinquent acts. It is said that seventy percent to eighty percent of juvenile offenders had abusive backgrounds. These issues within these abusive families could lead to disruptions within

Within the past two decades, a growing concern has been focused on what can be considered a social epidemic among the youth of our nation. This social distress stems directly from the rising number of youth gangs throughout the country. Gang mentality and social deviance of this form has been noticed and documented in this country for decades. “ Prior to the 1970’s, gang violence was still popularly associated with white ethnic enclaves in the cities of the Midwest and East, and gang incidents were typically brawls involving fists, sticks and knives. Today, gangs are made up largely of ethnic groups, especially African American and Latino Americans, and handguns and other military hardware are the typical vehicles for the acts of

Gangs are nothing new to American society, what is new and disturbing is the recent spike in juvenile crimes with reported ties to certain gangs. Youth gangs have been prevalent in schools in large cities since the 1970 's. However, they have become even more prevalent in schools in the recent past. In the student survey component of the 1995 National Crime Victimization Survey, more than one third (37%) of the students reported gangs at their schools and the percentage of students reporting the presence of gangs at their schools nearly doubled between 1989 and 1995, and then decreased in 1999, according to a more conservative measure.

The vast majority of young people involved in gangs suffer from persistent social and economic inequalities. The process of a young person’s involvement in gang happens over time. This process is influenced by major risk factors such as high levels of poverty, economic deprivation, and familial conflict. A closer look at the sociological theories of criminology may assist us in understanding youth gang involvement. In this paper, I compare the relative strengths and limitations of two competing theoretical approaches to explain the factors that influence youth gang membership. I argue that Social Disorganization theory can explain both socioeconomic and poverty, while Labelling theory can explain neighborhoods with a high gang presence as reasons that compel a young person to join a gang. I argue that, unlike the other two theories, Marxist theory approaches the issue of youth gang involvement by questioning how capitalist societies generate economic inequalities. In contrast to Social Disorganization and Labelling theory, I argue that Marxist theory offers the most compelling theoretical perspective to explain youth gang involvement.

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.

Abstract: This paper will discuss the correlation of youth gangs and how the cognitive and social learning theory comes in to play, and why female and male juveniles end up in the system. It will touch bases on how youth surroundings have a lot to do with the decisions they choose to make and the life style they end up living. Gangs usually recruit youth off the street, if a child sees that being a part of a gang is an everyday thing and is normal then they will be influenced more to do that. The cognitive theory ultimately states that a child learns from observing and from there environment. This essay will touch on the different statistics and the reasoning for youth gangs and gangs in general, it will also show statics of youth who are apart of gangs and are incarcerated. It will also show how it correlates with the cognitive theory and social learning theory.

Putting gang members, especially the younger ones in prison is perhaps the worst possible idea, no matter what the reason for their jailing. Chances are their associations in prison will turn them into more expert, hardened criminals when they get out. For the very youngest offenders, chances are they will be expected to ask for protection in return for homosexual favors, which, if that practice continues on the outside, can mean even more serious repercussions by homophobic gang members.

The most known African american gangs are the Crips and Bloods. They were “the two most violent and criminally active African American gangs-originated” (Hoover 1). The Crips formed in Los Angeles. Neighborhoods and schools would be assaulted by the Crips. They would also do armed robberies. “They developed a reputation for being the most fierce and feared gang in the Los Angeles area” (Hoover 3). Other gangs were being formed because people felt like they needed to be protected from the Crips. A gang that was formed was the Bloods. This gang was from Compton, California. These two gangs were involved in many crimes such as robbery, assault, and selling drugs. They usually sold “marijuana, phencyclidine, and lysergic acid diethylamide” (Hoover

Many of the existing prison gangs began as street gangs that formed in the community,

Monitoring a juvenile’s social media that has engaged in raping could benefit society and future possible victims of the juvenile, but it could also help identify the best treatment for the offender.

Living in Madera for 18 years, I came to respect law enforcement and all they have done to help better our community. The specific branch I respect the most is the gang task force. The officers of the gang task force have cleaned up the city of Madera and helped change many kids to avoid a life of crime. They have to do so much but yet, when I turn on the t.v. Or computer to dive in deeper about the gang task force line of work, most of what there is to find are authors, newscasters, and the general public bashing them along with the rest of law enforcement. It is basic human nature to stereotype and group things together. The gang task to no exception. The gang task officers are viewed by many as racist, profiling, and lying

Gangs pose a threat to the safety of United States prisons by performing illegal activities and the encouraging violence. It is important to develop strategies to reduce gang recruitment, limit their influence, and sanction their misconduct in order to create a safe environment for all prisoners. With this, inmates that are involved in gangs should be put under twenty four-hour lockdown. By isolating these members, prisons will be able to limit their influence.

Gang crimes is one of the main issues in our community and what the residents in most areas in the united states are currently worried about one thing in mind about gangs and one of the answers is violence that incudes drive by shootout in their neighborhoods due to rival gangs coming on other gang’s territory for financial reasons for example like getting people in that area to pay protection money or sell drugs ,recruiting and to gain more ground and parents today are worried for the safety of their kids when they go to school and out while waiting for the bus to come and pick them up every day. Gangs today in our modern society have four important dimensions’ age, size, commitment and attraction.