Memphis Police Problem

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.

The first chapter of Policing Gangs in America is entitled, “Studying the Police Response to Gangs.” The primary purpose of the chapter is to establish how police agencies; Inglewood, Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Phoenix in specific,

It truly is a shame that it took any extended period of time for the admittance of a gang problem to be made. Ignoring a problem in no way makes it go away; if anything, it could easily make it worse. According to an article from the Time Free Press, efforts to reduce the gang problem that Chattanooga is currently dealing with, and has been dealing with for a while, have been made, but they simply do not last due to a major lack of cohesion. In my opinion, I do think that there are small things the community could do together, coupled with the efforts of law enforcement, that could improve things; slowly, but surely. Stated in the article, “There are at least 780 social service programs within a 30-mile radius that are potential resources to

In time, violent crimes were slowly being decreased in the United States, but it seems to be making some sort of a comeback when it comes to youth violence and violence affiliated with gangs. This topic has appeared to be a dominant target for educators,

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.

“Forbes collected their information from the FBI Crime Statistics Database. Since 1985, the total violent crimes in the city have totaled above 8,000 each year” (Jennes). Some Memphians believe that the violence increase among the city because of the gang culture that spread across the whole city. Based on the police data, more than 12,800 documented gang members have been recognized in Memphis city. Almost 2,750 people have become a part of this culture in the past three years, which mean two to three people join every day. Additionally, many gangs that have originated in major states such as California and Chicago have been moved to Memphis, which make most of the committed crimes primarily relate to the gang culture which increased the violent crime rate by 6% last year as Jeremiah Graham and Dominique Jennes mentioned in their article about the Gang activity on the rise among Memphis youth. Most of those who joined and involved in the gang activities are youth because of the carelessness of the family. To give an illustration of what I mean let’s look at the case of the parent’s indifference, when the parental control of the child is not existing, this will lead him to the wrong way with the wrong people. “A child’s home and family are the center of development. One of the most important functions of this matrix is to provide structure and guidance in an effort to encourage and aid children in their socialization and identity development” (Stern et. al.,

Alleyne, Emma & Wood, Jane L., (2011). Gang Involvement: Social and Environment Factors. Crime and Delinquency 60 (4) 547-568.

A two-pronged prevention approach has proven effective, with primary prevention strategies aimed at the community 's general population and secondary prevention strategies targeting youth between the ages of 7 and 14 who are at high risk of joining gangs. Prevention efforts undertaken by law enforcement departments around the country include: “Participating in community awareness campaigns (e.g. developing public service announcements and poster campaigns). Contacting the parents of peripheral gang members (through the mail or during personal visits) to alert them that their children are involved with a gang. Sponsoring gang hotlines to gather information and facilitate a quick response to gang-related issues. Organizing athletic events with teams of law enforcement officers and gang members. Establishing working relationships with local social service agencies. Making presentations about gangs to schools and community groups as a combined effort at prevention and information gathering. Sponsoring school-based gang and drug prevention programs (e.g. DARE and GREAT)” (Hess, 2013 p.230).

With the leading number of gangs in the country, Los Angeles is thought of as the gang capital of the world. Employing gang suppression strategies that take distinct forms, from anti-gang injunctions to high rate of incarcerations, the City of Angels has failed to live up to its angelic name. Known instead for its demonic gang activity and police suppression efforts, Los Angeles has taken over media headlines as one of the most dangerous places to subsist. Representing a worrisome issue for residents, visitors, city government officials, as well as urban planners, gang violence has rapidly become a threat to public safety. Although current-day gang culture has eased off on the violence, it continues to be one of the greatest planning challenges

In 2006, Memphis had the second highest violent crime rate in the country. The mayor of Shelby county at the time collaborated with the District Attorney, the Sheriff’s dept, Memphis Police Director and business leaders to try to address the issue (Goggans, 2014). Collectively they created a 15 point research based crime reduction plan. Due to Memphis’ data driven policing initiative, their safe community strategy has helped with the decline in serious crime in Memphis by more than 26.6 percent. In January of 2011, Memphis saw its lowest murder rate in 30 years. Nevertheless, despite the success, violence among their youth is still on the rise (Goggans, 2014).

Hi my name Daja Pulphus and I attend Bronzeville Scholastic Institute located on the southside of Chicago. There are a variety of problems in my neighborhood but the biggest problem is the gang violence. I would solve gang violence by first encouraging parents to teach their children that joining a gang can ruin lives; lead to criminal records; and, ultimately, to prison. Also, encourage schools to actively participate in identifying gang members, removing graffiti, resolving potential conflicts among gang members, and providing parents with information on gangs. If I were to invite any five people –past, present, or future–to dinner, I would invite the famous Martin Luther King because he advocated for African-Americans, women and veterans

Chicago has the biggest gang problem in the country (Thomas & Bass, 2009). “There are more gang members per citizen in Chicago than anywhere else in the country” (Thomas, 2009, para 4). The average Chicago gang leader is 43, convicted of murder and lives in the suburbs. That leader on many occasions directs his gang from jail (Main, 2006) and 95 percent of inmates in the Cook County Jail are gang members (Thomas, 2009). Gangs are everywhere today just like they use to be. The high number of gangs causes violence and deaths to rise in Chicago.

Gang and gang violence has always been an ongoing problem within the country. Street gangs have evolved into some of the most notorious group associated with murders and killings that law enforcement agencies have encountered. Gang violence has become one of the most serious crime problem happening in the country that involves physical assaults, drive-by shootings, homicides, robberies, prostitutions, and home-invasion along with a long list of criminal activities. It had occurred and multiplied so fast in which it reach an all-time high epidemic of young gang people killed on the streets or entering into the juvenile and prison system throughout the country. Such death occurs on a daily basis especially in the inner cities that are

As the new Chief of Police for the city of Memphis, I would implement various strategies in order to combat the juvenile delinquent problem in the city. The first strategy would include maintaining data-driven policing through mapping and analysis of statistical information gathered through a variety of sources including an integrated approach of surveillance in targeted crime hot spots. My next strategy would be to help all branches of local law enforcement facilitate appropriate referrals to prevention and intervention programs for juveniles. I would also implement a mentoring program for those in my police department to become mentors for youth in the community to help encourage them to leave the gang lifestyle. I would also have monthly meetings with citizens in my community to get their input on various approaches that could be taken to help reduce gangs and juvenile affiliation with gangs.

If there is a great amount of gang activity- ongoing organization or group of three or more people and can be formal or informal engaging in activities of criminal acts which have a common name, sign, color and or symbol associated with them. They type of activity would be things such as perhaps wearing certain clothing, jewelry, badges, symbols to communication verbal and could be nonverbal threats, being that of handshakes or gestures of any kind, defacing private and or personal property, Stealing, trespassing and could be as serious as threats, attacks, and not limited to soliciting other individuals for gang membership. Then, we have Directed patrols which can involve and not limited to prostitution stings, and undercover operations. Also, there needs to be heavy law-enforcement presence that would be profoundly needed. Lastly, we need many traffic check-points in and surrounding these communities. Many things that would need to be enforced is that of loitering and trespassing for example. Strategic –Oriented Policing can come with different approaches because many different groups come with different problems but similar solutions. The National Institute of Justice states that “These various approaches may be aimed at goals that include crime prevention, effective use of police