Why Gangs Are Still Relevant Today

“Gangs have morphed from social organizations into full-fledged criminal enterprises” (Thomas, 2009, para 5). Gangs are highly sophisticated and more dangerous then ever. The number one reason to join a gang is money; and 95 percent of gangs profit comes from drug dealing

What first comes to mind when you think of gangs? Most people picture groups of dangerous individuals causing violence and gang wars, as portrayed in the media. John Hagedorn in his novel: A World Of Gangs provides the reader with a deeper understanding of how “gangs” operate, and that trying to stop gangs abruptly through police force is more of a problem than a solution. Hagedorn begins by describing what gangs really are and what causes them. He notes that the urbanization going on throughout the world leads to poorer neighborhoods or slums and is leading to higher gang rates. Claiming that by the year 2020 half of the urban population will be living in poverty he shows that this can cause social disorganization and mixing that with discrimination is not a good combination that will lead to the formation of gangs. Being that the novel is non-fiction Hagedorn provides many different expert opinions to further his research and beliefs. He also uses quotes from those who are/were in some sort of relation to gang life which is a great way fully understand how they operate rather than only looking from the outside in. Beyond understanding why they form, Hagedorn looks into what keeps them around as well as many other related topics, but also into the problems of defining gangs as well as the world of hip-hop music and its influence on gang life.

Chicago has the highest gang population in the United States (www.huffingtonpost.com) and the highest amount of gun related murders to boot. As an effect of these crimes, many of the targets are not the rich and the powerful but instead are the weak and the poor. Those that cannot defend themselves to a great extent, they are seen as easy targets that will soon give up if it has taken too long to find the culprits. Since the underclass is the primary target for crime from the underclass it is like they are just undermining themselves in order to gain some type or upper hand on the next man that holds no real bearing. Even when taking “good moral” individuals some have turned to crime because they see no other way to make means for themselves or their loved ones. Some of these people have been laid off and have no other source of income, their back is against a wall and they want out. They want so badly to have money again so that they survive and not live on the streets like they see others, so they commit crimes for others that will pay. It is because of this desperation that violent crimes still thrive and until people realize this then violent crime will still keep the underclass suppressed. (www.clombia.edu)

Rational Economics Theory is utilized as an umbrella argument to explain why all individuals, including youths, become integrated into gang organizations. The theory is downright the same to microeconomic Rational Choice Theory and argues that individuals, in their desire for financial gain or more utility, utilize gangs and criminal organizations as a means to achieve their ends. Gangs are seen as nothing more than businesses or organizations that serve a primary economic function and act to provide financial sustainability for those without the ability to achieve it through other, more legitimate means.

Social movements emerge for a number of different reasons, specifically for gangs it is injustice and inequality: police brutality, racial discrimination, colorism, and poverty, due to a lack of education and school funding because of corrupt politicians. Gangs of America were born out of police brutality and low income areas, which tend to be segregated from other communities of wealth. Not only are their interactions with law enforcement negative, but they have a “dog eat dog” mentality with each other because of such high poverty rates.

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.

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 critical theorist would explain an increase in the juvenile gang population are from peer groups, school, and the community. First, peer groups can be delinquent peers, gang members in class, friends that use drugs, etc. The more kids who are surrounded more often by these groups are more likely to be involved in gangs, especially if these friends are their support group. Second, children who are doing poorly in school because low aspirations, no motivation, or few role models (e.g., teachers, police, and parents) may impact the child to be surrounded by negative peer groups. As a result, there are higher chances of dropouts, change of behavior, and a different lifestyle. Third, the community—where children are raised. A very poor neighborhood

The correlation between gangs and drugs has always been an issue for the United States government. Major cities often overlooked the problem of youth gang violence, thinking it was only a 1960’s trend. Sixty years later, gangs and drugs continue to be a problem, but in an increasing number within urban, suburban and rural areas in the United States. People may characterize this problem with words such as violence, increase drug activity, and delinquencies, but not many seem to see the bigger picture. Lack of interaction, collaboration, and strategies from law enforcement, youth centers, businesses, churches, and political icons are increasing gang violence and drug related offenses in major cities. In such cities as Chicago, minority groups are the most vulnerable to joining a gang, which then leads to an involvement with drugs; they are faced with barriers – lack of family support, poverty, segregation, unemployment, etc. An incident that happened in Chicago history is the closing of the Cabrini-Green Project, where people involved with gangs had to find a new home, scattering gang-members throughout the city, and eventually leading to their spread and growth.

Gangs have direct effects on a society, such as increased levels of crime, violence and murder. Gangs also have long-term or late suggestions in that gang members are more likely to drop out of high school, struggle with unemployment, abuse drugs and alcohol or in end up in jail. These factors not only contribute to the gang members, but they also force taxpayers to pay for welfare and community-assistance programs. Common reasons for the younger generation to join gangs, include trying to find a place where they belong and sharing in mutual desires for safety from family problems or life challenges. Together, the feelings and attitudes among gang members haze them to act violently, often self-contradictory with rival gangs. This violence leads to injury and death of not only members but also of bystanders in the community. High gang activity also causes fear among community members, discourages business activity and obstructs home-value appreciation. Communities, also must pay for higher levels of law enforcement when gangs are prominent.

The problem of gangs persists and lives are still being lost today. Gangs are truly are an assault on whatever community they are in. They tear at the very fabric of family and community life. There have been many attempts to solve the problem of gangs, but most were not backed up by data or hard evidence and therefore they are difficult to assess. One factor as to why gangs cannot be stopped permanently

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

Throughout this class, we have learned all these forms of explaining crime. From those theories, that two that stood out most, and I believe best explains crime, is rational choice theory and social learning theory. Although these examples cannot explain certain circumstances (e.g., psychological disorders, unusual environmental stimuli, epigenetics, unorganized crime), these two do a good job at explaining what factors within a situation make crime more likely as well as the actors in an individual’s life that can influence them to offend respectively. Like all theories, these two are not perfect, but they help us understand how crime can be explained and remain simplistic. In this case, simplicity is a very effective tactic to explain crime to the general public.

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.

Rational choice theory, also known simply as choice theory, is the assessment of a potential offender to commit a crime. Choice theory is the belief that committing a crime is a rational decision, based on cost benefit analysis. The would-be offender will weigh the costs of committing a particular crime: fines, jail time, and imprisonment versus the benefits: money, status, heightened adrenaline. Depending on which factors out-weigh the other, a criminal will decide to commit or forgo committing a crime. This decision making process makes committing a crime a rational choice. This theory can be used to explain why an offender will decide to commit burglary, robbery, aggravated assault, or murder.