Not All Street Gangs Were Formed For Ill Doing

¨Gang members have been responsible for 61 percent of all homicides [in Chicago] in 2011, up from 58.7 percent in 2010¨ (Hidden America). These are some of the few disturbing statistics about gang violence in Chicago; however, as many people do not know, gangs have not always been about drugs and violence. In the early 19th century, gangs are not what people perceive them to be today. Gangs in the 19th century were volunteers with the fire department back in the Antebellum Period, which is the period before the civil war and after the War of 1812. As time went on and as the professional firemen forced the volunteers to break up, they started spreading apart. Then by the late 19th century, gangs started developing on the south side. This is

Gangs were first originated so ethnic or neighbored groups could defend themselves against other people/outsiders. Gang names were usually taken from the area the gang resides in, which would be the street name or street number. There are many reasons why people group up and make a gang. Gangs see that violence gets them what they want faster than most of the other methods. They turn to violence for fun, profit, and most of all control. Most of the gangs were minorities who were being oppressed or bullied for their race or color and sometimes homosexuality.

Initially gang activity could only be found in large metropolitan cities, but now gangs have invaded neighborhoods of all sizes across the country. Gangs introduce violence and fear to the communities they occupy, raise the level of drug activities, and destroy businesses and property which brings down the overall value of the whole area. Instead of going to school, many young people find themselves drawn in to the gang life which in most cases either leads to being locked up or death. There are various reasons why people would want to join a gang, but no matter what that reason might be one can only expect a life of violence and troubles.

From the outside looking in, many would few gangs as a tight knit, criminal enterprise that causes violence and problems for the community. They believe that their violence and feuds are with rival gangs. In reality, gang members fight against members of the same gang, they are not organized in their structure and many join gangs to meet some psychological or emotional

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

Defining gangs have been compared to packs, teams, and groups. Participants of gangs do not necessarily commit violent acts or commence in illegal matters. The National Gang Center has come to a consensus on defining gangs with the commonalities of three or more members between the ages of 12 through 24, shared identity, recognized by others as a gang or crew, has levels of organization, and usually involved in criminal activities (Shelden, Tracy, Brown, 2013). Some gangs are excluded from this definition due to not proportionate with their usual activities. Overall, we can consider gangs to be founded when members share similar characteristics and establish a symbol to represent their livelihood.

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

People seem to struggle to understand the concept of gangs. There are a lot of strange factors that go into the makeup of gangs. Yes, there are no positive aspects of gangs, but those negative aspects have reasons as to why they are so negative. It is the people who join, that make gangs so threatening. Men and women who join are trying to get away or rebel from someone or something. They may feel that joining a gang will give them the security of a “family”. Those who join are so broken that they try to put the pieces together when joining a gang. This has been the case throughout U.S.

     A gang is defined as a group of individuals with the same objective that are bound together by a bond of trust. The majority of gangs are

First, most of the time’s gang’s form because poverty is an issue. For example, the MS-13 gang formed in El Salvador, where poverty is a big issue. The reason why they form is that there are no other opportunities out there for them. In addition, gangs also revolve around drugs, violence and street crime. Drugs are common in some gangs, but mostly all gangs revolve around violence.

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,

Gangs are not a new thing they have been around for years but what is a gang really? According to the National Institute of Justice there is not universally agreed definition of what a gang is such a motorcycle gangs, prison gangs, organized crime, terrorist and so much more. The federal definition is a group of three of more individuals that identify themselves as a group. They have created a sense of fear or intimidation they also have a symbol, a style of clothing, a common name and much more. These groups engage in criminal activities and use violence to keep power and a reputation. These groups will recruit, have meetings, and provide protection for members and their families. The state defines a gang as an ongoing organization or group

Abstract: This review studies in depth research done on street gangs. Social issues have social scientists turning away from including this in their research around this time. Sociological views have been changed dramatically in the past 40 years due to gender and racial studies. Also, women have started to join gangs since America has been changed with woman equality laws passing.

Many experts differ on the definition of what a “gang” is. Police use the term to refer to groups that hold and defend territory, or turf. Experts use the term to describe any congregation of youths who have joined together to engage in a delinquent act (Siegel & Welsh, 2011). The State of Florida (F.S.S. 874.03) defines a "Criminal Street Gang" as “means a formal or informal ongoing organization, association, or group that has as one of its primary activities the commission of criminal or delinquent acts, and that consists of three or more persons who have a common name or common identifying signs, colors, or symbols and have two or more members who, individually or collectively, engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal street gang activity” (Statutes & Constitution, 2016). As children progress through adolescence they learn quickly who they get along with and who they don’t. They bond with certain groups of kids that they have things in common with. For some this need provides a social and emotional basis for antisocial activity transforming the clique into a “gang” (Siegel & Welsh, 2011). Researcher Jeffery Fagan found that most gangs fall into one of four categories: