The Chicago Tribune By James Howell

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.

Gangs have been a growing issue across the United States for many decades now. Youth gang violence may have started around the ‘50s, but did not become a serious issue until the ‘80s and from there went through a downward spiral in some cities like downtown Los Angeles, which was where the notorious Bloods and Crips gangs both started. First, let’s simply define a gang as a group of people, mostly men ranging for ages 14-30, who claim territory and use it to make money for themselves and their neighborhood through illegal activities such as trafficking drugs and weapons. There are many reasons and components that are factored in when conducting research to hypothesize “why do people join gangs?” That is why it is necessary to compare and contrast all the social, biological, psychological, developmental, and substance abuse aspects and relate it to joining a gang. It is also important to touch base on the differences between males and females that join gangs, such as power differentials, social learning differences and social stratification differences.

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

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.

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.

Youth gangs is commonly thought of as self formed association of peers having the following characteristics: a gang name and recognizable symbols, identifiable

2014). A reason for gang relations for youth is that they may one day follow in the footsteps of their parents and siblings who are involved in gang relations in the neighborhood, because they may be perceived as role models (Young et al. 2014). Parents and siblings teach the youth ways to survive and to overcome low socio-economic status when there is no other means to survive (Young et al. 2014). Youth are taught to believe that joining of the gang will create a sense of protection and a higher status for the family name (Young et al. 2014). As this research suggests, parental influences are a significant factor in youth gang relation because it can encourage the youth to get involved in gang membership, to follow in the footsteps of their parents and siblings to feel interconnected with their family and society (Vuk 2017; Young et al. 2014).

Dating back to the 1800s, the United States has had a long history of gangs and gang violence. There are a total of 1,150,000 gang members in the United States and 40% of them are under the age of 18 years old. There has been much research done on gang members, but the theory that stands out most is Social Identity Theory. When considering that almost half of gang members are under the age of 18, it is not shocking that Social Identity Theory applies to the lives of these gang members.

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.

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.

Kyle Cooper is one of the most prominent and influential designers of both the 20th and 21st centuries. As Jon M. Gibson states, his title sequences have, “…brought attention to an art form that has long been considered an afterthought…”. With more than 150 title sequences, five Emmy nominations, the Title of Honorary Royal Designer and the winner of the AIGA medal in 2014, Cooper has become a huge affect with title designers in the 21st century. His creation of the title sequence for Se7en (1995) is what brought the limelight to Cooper, after having such a success with both the public and filmmakers all around the world. The New York Times went so far as to say that this specific title sequence was one of the most important design innovations of the 1990s. Influenced by the works of Pablo Ferro, Saul Bass, Stephen Frankfurt and Maurice Binder, Cooper’s style and designs changed the way in which title sequences for movies, series and video games are done nowadays, by evoking a revival in the importance of a meaningful and well-designed title; something that had been gradually lost in the previous decades.

Youth gangs have existed in various forms since at least the 19th century, although the nature and extent of their activity has evolved over time. Over the past 25 years in particular, gangs have expanded rapidly both in size and their areas of operation. Gangs today are more violent, their activities are more widespread and

The term youth gangs refers to a group of three or more members, who are between the age of 12 and 24; they share an identity through the use of names or symbols; they see themselves as gang and are recognized by others as a gang; there is some amount of permanence and degree of organization; and the group is involved in an elevated amount of criminal activity (National Gang Center Staff, n.d.). Risk factors for gang involvement are based on factors such as individual, family, school, community. School risk factors include poor school performance, poor connectedness to schools, low degree of commitment to and involvement in school, and weak attachment to teachers (Howell, 2010). Community risk factors includes such things as greater level of criminal activity, neighborhood youth are involved in illegal behaviors, widespread access to and the use of firearms and drugs, and low level of neighborhood attachment (Howell, 2010). Additional factors that lead to gang involvement include learning disabilities and emotional disorders, school failure and truancy, no positive involvement outside of school, friends and peers are delinquent, low income, and early involvement in petty crimes and behavioral disorders in grade school (Hernandez, 2015). Reasons given for joining a gang as reported by youths includes for protection, for fun, for respect, for money, family members are part of the gang (and because a friend was in the gang (Howell, 2010).

    Gang violence is a huge problem in America today. More and more children are joining gangs every day. It has become evident that these gangs made up of young people are causing numerous problems. Gang violence and gang activities impact all of those around the gang members. The kids in these gangs are hurting themselves, each other, their families, and the communities around them. Those who are associated with the gangs through family ties or just those who are associated with the gangs through geographical location. Before we can understand how gangs effect the people and communities around them we must first understand what gangs actually are. We must try and understand how the gang members think,