I lived in a huge neighborhood in Montgomery Alabama called County Downs, in a large brick two-story house with a patch of fresh green grass in the front yard where two trees strongly stood. My dog was kept in the backyard surrounded by a metal fence with a metal gate. When the gate opened, the bolts made an obnoxious loud squeak, which could be heard from all the way upstairs inside of the house. The neighborhood was located right next to some unpleasant, dark, and crime filled apartments. Those apartments were most likely where the local gangs hid because restaurants and stores located right next to the apartments such as Hardees and Dollar General often gave reports of break-ins and theft. The gangs tended to target families mostly in the month of December because, of course, Christmas is in that month, and Christmas means presents, spending a lot of money, and most importantly vacation. A perfect time for criminals to strike. The gangs would often try to break in someone’s house at least four to six times a week during the month of December. The neighborhood watch program would send at least one, if not more emails everyday, notifying my family about recent crime in the area. Most of the crimes were theft. As a young teenager I often struggled with the questions of, why do people steal? Is it worth the risk of being caught? I would watch stories on the news of criminals being caught and sentenced to several years in prison, or criminals robbing homes and managing to
I was born on October 6th 1992 in Modesto California. I was raised in the West Side, which is predominately known for its poverty, gangs, and violence. The neighborhoods that I grew up in were heavily populated by minorities such as Cambodians, Mexicans, and African Americans. Within these minorities there were separate gangs that would all fight amongst each other. For example the Cambodians had the Asian Boyz and the West Side boys, Mexicans had the Norteños and Sureños and the African Americans had the Crips and Bloods. I never affiliated myself with any of these gangs but was often exposed to their lifestyles either through my oldest brother or by simply living on the wrong side of town. My oldest brother was gang affiliated and he
Even though gangs provide a sense of support, the "values" instilled in members are horribly dangerous to society. Murders and drive-by shottings go unpunished more often than not in areas like the Henry Horner Homes. Gangs have become powerful enough that high-ranking members who are forced to face the law are protected by high-priced attorneys and investigators (163).
. The shutting down of factories in South Central Los Angeles contributed to a number of gangs forming. Many African Americans moved to that particular part of the city because of how well the factories. The city also grew in population because of all the jobs that were available. When the jobs were gone and the factories shut down and move to other states the youth were left without role models. A fifteen year old boy named Raymond Washington started the gang which eventually became known as the Crips. Furthermore, with all of the other young people without jobs and role models they pulled together and started another gang of people that were not a part of the Crips. This gang will also change names a couple of times and become the Bloods.
Scott Decker and Richard Wright studied and wrote a book on criminals who make their livings burglarizing people’s homes. They named the book Burglars on the Job. Their study found that most of the criminals that were career burglars stole to further their drug habits. Many of these career criminals were only making a living by stealing from others.
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.
Shoplifting is a major problem in today. The temptation of not paying for something, just hiding it away and saving your own money is a large factor for some people. The culprit just thinks he's getting a product for free and doesn't know what he's actually doing to himself and the community. Shoplifting effects everyone, yourself and the everyone in the local neighborhood.In this essay I'm going to explain some of the circumstances of stealing from local stores, or any store. After I've been caught stealing I found out how wrong it is and how it is a disadvantage to everyone.
Most often, this is mainly because small towns and rural areas do not have the
Street gangs in this country can probably be traced back to the first wave of Europeans who migrated to the colonies for a better life for themselves and their families. Many of the first gangs were formed as a means of self protection, with the thinking that there is simply strength in numbers. The missions of gangs in today’s society have grown and emerged to include many violent criminal avenues, including drug trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, and extortion but the original thinking that there is strength in numbers remains true. Criminology experts believe that the number of teens involved in gangs or gang activity may be as high as 1 in every 5 people in most urban areas. Those number jump to 1 in every 3 people in
When someone decides to steal, they are causing the police to take time out of their day to deal with minor issues. While this happens, there are other important issues occurring where people’s lives could be at risk and police resources are needed. Shoplifters need to think about how they are affecting their community’s safety, not just theirs. Petty crimes like larceny are a burden on police and it is a citizen’s moral duty to understand who they are hurting when they steal. Along with the police being misused, court systems are also using their time and effort for petty things. Millions of people volunteer or are paid to bring justice to those who break the law. Although stealing is extremely wrong and it is an important issue to be addressed, a court’s time and effort would be better spent on dealing with bigger issues. Once again, when someone shoplifts they don’t understand who they are hurting and the burden they are placing on a community. These issues need to be more focused on, and the harms they cause people and the community need to be highlighted.
Individuals who are affiliated with gangs commit crimes such as homicide consistently. Gangs target areas where people are not unified and would be less likely to contact authorities if violence broke out. Drive by shootings occur so often that Detective Dale Wallis says “they [gangs] do not care who’s going to get shot” (qtd. in Minty 1). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did a report to determine the top five United States cities to have high levels of gang homicide. Those five cities were Los Angeles, California; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Long Beach, California; Oakland, California, and Newark, New Jersey. The study
As human beings we all see and hear about crimes from a day to day basis. We all question why we have crime and what makes a person commit a crime.
On the way to “Twister Two” one of my friends suddenly had a candy bar in his possession. When he was asked how he got it, he simply replied, “I stole it.” It was so amazing to me that he could do that, and act as if it was no big deal. To me stealing would be a thing that needed to be planned and executed, but to him it was just another place that he ripped off. He explained that it is easy to do, “you just grab what you want, wait ‘til no one’s looking, and then walk out.” This is when I first began pondering the idea of stealing. I had never stole before because I knew it was against my morals, but there was that rebel in me that wanted to try it. He, on the other hand, had probably stolen so many times that he could do it with his eyes closed, and he had never been caught. Lucky him.
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
Growing up I would watch documentaries, TV shows and read books about crime and the criminals behind the crimes. These helped demonstrate to me some of the reasons why people may commit their crimes, along with the different punishments that are given and how the legal system works. From a young age I have been fascinated with how these crimes are
In addition to social reasons there are also economic reasons for people to commit crime. Some of these reasons are poverty and lack of job. There are people who have a large family to maintain but do not have enough money to do so. There are some people who cannot find jobs. This will drive a person to steal. People don’t have to do illegal things in order to maintain their family people can try to get government benefits. If people cannot afford their kids what they want can drive their kids to go and steal what they want. Lack of jobs can get people to get aggressive. It also makes people to take the wrong direction. There are people that do drug trafficking or do illegal jobs for someone else such has kidnapping, committing murder, and etc. People that commit these crimes end up in prison. But even though they do go there they