Overcoming Gangs : The Process For Becoming A Gang Member

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

Qualitative descriptions suggest that, for many, gang membership represents 104 Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice / May 2005an opportunity to enhance social capital as a means to cope with a multitude of problems. Although on balance gang life appears to be neither very rewarding nor satisfying (Hagedorn, 1988), identification with the gang is solidified in response to conflict—often with other gangs—as members pursue their individual and collective interests.

There are an abundance of reasons why some youth may choose to join a gang. The lacking of sense of guidance positively and

Many years of research have gone into studying why youth turns to gang involvement. A sector of this population has only recently been a focus of any study at all and that is the female. From the authors De La Rue, Espelage research they estimate that female gang membership is anywhere from 10 to 35% of the total gang population (De La Rue, Espelage 2014 pg. 1). There are many pieces that drive females to join the gang lifestyle. There are three major causes that drive females to gang involvement; family influences, relationship drives, and prior victimization.

The purpose of this research is to identify the sociological aspects and means in which individuals may use in order to affiliate themselves within a gang and their practices. The following research uses statistics and information given by police departments and the Department of Justice. I have searched for reasoning behind an individual’s decision to join a gang from a sociological perspective. It begins by defining a gang and what leads young individuals to a lifestyle and choice of joining these gangs. Sociological approaches are made in order to

States in 2004” this just supports the statement that it is a huge problem in the United States (Cooper, 2009, p. 1). Unfortunately, the Youth of America and these other countries have been a large demographic of these gangs for many years due to many contributing factors. One criminal factor that initiates gang violence are the overwhelming presence of adolescents and young adults involved with gangs, Celinda Franco states that not only youth participants but whole “youth gangs” have been on the radar for policy makers since the early 1900’s (Cooper, 2009, p. 2). Another factor is the nature of the remorseless and often violent nature of these gang related offenses many gang members act as if they have no conscience and no values, and the fact that a large percentage are “easy to influence” youth doesn’t help the case that most commit gang crimes on a whim. Finally, the fact that most of these gang related offenses that the youth carries out are in poverty stricken neighborhoods that have very poor socioeconomic status, this it is a bad situation that is difficult to escape from because young adults and adolescents do not have the means to move outside this zone and may never attain this goal (Cooper, 2009, p. 3).

In order to determine if the respondent was an actual gang member as opposed to respondents that were members of informal gangs, the respondents was asked to reveal the name of the gang they were a member of. If the respondent did not answer with the name of the gang, that respondent was not considered an actual gang member and therefore not counted (Katz et. al.). The sample consisted of 939 juvenile arrestees, 81% male and 19% female. Within the sample, 25.7% were 14 years of age or younger, 20.3% were 15 years old and 54% were 16 years old or older (Katz et. al.). Gang affiliation / participation were rather high at 52% of all respondents.

The lives of gang members, especially ones that are young, were filled with many challenges of everyday life. Both the analytical essay What It’s Like To Be A Gang Member and the poem We Real Cool portray the life of a participant as short and fatal. This demonstrates that its life is very violent and scary.

Joining gangs is a way to make friends and belong to a group where you are accepted by most (if not all) its members. A young female without friends is a prisoner in her own world, there is no consistent interaction with people and often feel like they are living a miserable life. The fun and wildness of gang membership are also an attraction for females, being able to have fun, go out to parties, trying out different drugs, doing careless things, and the adrenaline of doing bad things and not getting caught is very fun for most female gangsters (Carrasco, 1999). Gang membership offer females an opportunity to experience new things and be accepted by people who will not be just consider your friends but instead your brothers and sisters.

Oftentimes, adolescents will spend time with gang people for approximately annually prior to making dedication to participate (Decker and Van Winkle 1996). Initiation rituals, including being beaten with a row of gang people ("walking the roadInch), to carrying out a criminal offense or doing harm to part of an opposing gang are occasionally needed to participate a gang, but they are frequently inconsistently applied (Fleisher 1998 Spergel 1995 Burns 2001). Many gangs also positively recruit new people, particularly when gang membership is low. Martin Sanchez-Jankowski (1991) offered three typologies of gang recruitment: (1) Fraternity-the gang promotes itself as, "awesome, stylish, the social factor to stay inInch (2) Obligation-the gang attracts an individual's communal feeling and (3) Coercion-the gang uses physical and mental

The study at hand aimed to investigate the aspects that lead individuals to join a gang, the reasons as to why they decided to part ways with it, and the consequences that resulted from their affiliation. Through the analysis of interviews and observations, several themes were noticeable such as the initiation to the gang, desistance, consequences, and services offered to help reintegrate into society. Former gang members expressed and constantly mentioned their childhood having a major part in the decisions they made which ultimately lead to them being “jumped “into a gang. Some of the reasons this occurred so frequently among so many individuals was partly due to constant profiling, problematic relationships with many of them being at home, or the social environment they found themselves being surrounded by.

"They also report that most females join gangs for friendship and self-affirmation but also to work in an informal economy to generate income due largely to their economic marginality. They often see the gang as a refuge from victimization (typically sexual) at home" (Vito & Kunselman 375). This victim mentality among females can result in low levels of self worth and a desire for outside security that results in gang participation. Female gang members commit the same types of offenses as males, but are typically less violent and aren't as participatory in assaults. "A multiyear study of 74 female gang members revealed that their rates of violence dramatically increased in the period between joining the gang and their first pregnancy and then decreased with pregnancy and childbirth" (Vito & Kunselman 375). Male gang participation typically continues well into adulthood, while female gang participants are often drawn out of their involvement after

The subject of gang violence produces strong thoughts and emotions in a lot of people like citizens, police officers and the victims who witness these crimes take place. Gang members are aware of the public feelings about their crimes, but they do not give any regard because they are fused in their own culture. In large cities all over the world whether they be third world or industrialized municipalities gangs are a real and often times are an overwhelming terror. While there are many theories that discuss entry into gangs, there is not a lot that go into detail about the gang confrontations, feuds, and culture. Those that actually only venture on how individuals leave gangs. Many theorist do not analysis, explain, and or offer a detail examination

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.

Gang membership has accounted for the increase in the number of youth and street gangs since the 1950’s. The development of gangs globally, especially in New Zealand, exhibits the fact that there are significant influences pushing people towards becoming a gang member. There is a range of social and psychological factors that underpin the dynamics of a gang’s structure in which they help outsiders gain insight into how gang involvement is evoked. Research has established that there are push and pull factors to what we associate with the theory of ‘multiple marginality.’ This theory tackles how groups feel after being left on the boundaries of society, an action that consequently encourages them to become involved in deviant behavior. The growth in gangs, predominantly those with a heavy Maori influence -such as the Mongrel Mob and Black Power - has caused controversy as to whether ‘multiple marginality’ impacts and is solely responsible for this issue. There may be no single reason behind a spike in gang membership however; having the ability to understand the role of social and psychological factors is needed if we seek to address this concern. This alone is a key aspect in addressing the development of present gangs and why they are becoming more dominant in society.