The Crime Of Wealthy Cities

Gangs are centered on a certain territory or turf that is claimed by that gang. When rival gangs enter that

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMCGs) is a contemporary issue that engulfs Australian society. What makes prosecution of such gangs so complex is the strong foothold that gangs have in organised crime and the façade that is worn in order to evade the eyes of the law. Various responses have been implemented in order to cease all violence and more importantly disenfranchise organised crime and prosecute those within the illegal syndicates. Legal responses put into act are: task forces and intelligence and lastly, targeting the organisation and membership. The non-legal responses on the other hand are, the media and the formation of political parties.

In the movie “Mystic River”, directed by Clint Eastwood it focuses on three boys that grew up in the streets of Boston. The urban environment that they grew up in as children directly impacted their lives, as they got older. One big universal theme of the movies was urban crime; the movie displayed both sides of urban crime (the corrupt side as well as the investigators and law enforcement, also known as the “good side”). All of the urban crimes shown throughout this movie relate to the way the boys lives played out. Within their urban neighborhood there existed such a closed social community that it is hard to believe that Jimmy Markum, Sean Devine and Dave Boyle came to grow apart at all, but the urban crime that was such a big part of

Gang crime is one of the most intriguing social phenomena’s across the world, as defining the deviancy has been difficult due to a broad range of definitions (Wood & Alleyne, 2010, pg. 101). One definition is given by David Curry and

In our society there is many different types of crimes, I will be focusing specifically on street crime and white-collared crime. Each of these criminal communities has criminals that in the end are just trying to reach a goal. Whether it is the American dream of living in luxury or just trying to make ends meet. “White collared” crime is defined as a nonviolent criminal act that is motivated by financial gain. Then there is “street crime” which is defined as a criminal offense that is committed in a public place. Some examples of white-collar crimes are: embezzlement, corporate price-fixing, fraud, bribery, forgery, money laundering, cybercrime, copyright infringement, etc. While some examples of street crime are: robbing, murder, rape, sale of illegal drugs, assault, auto theft, etc.

White-collar crimes are just as prevalent today as ordinary street crimes. Studies show that criminal acts committed by white-collar criminals continue to increase due to unforeseen opportunities presented in the corporate world, but these crimes are often overlooked or minimally publicized in reference to criminal acts on the street. Many street crimes are viewed as unnecessary, horrendous crimes because they are committed by lower class citizens, whereas white collar crimes are illegal acts committed by seemingly respectable people whose occupational roles are considered successful and often admired by many (Piquero, 2014). These views often allow white collar crimes to “slip through the cracks” and carry lesser charges or punishment.

Alleyne, Emma & Wood, Jane L., (2011). Gang Involvement: Social and Environment Factors. Crime and Delinquency 60 (4) 547-568.

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.

In New South Wales, the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Gangs) Act 2006. These 2006 provisions make it an offence to participate in a criminal group, defined as three or more people who have objectives to obtain material benefits from serious indictable offences or commit serious violence.

     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

What is a Prison gang initiation? It’s when current gang members induct a non-gang member into full membership. Ways of initiation include: (1) Beat in or jump: which the inductee must prove him/her self by enduring a severe beating by a pre-determined number of members for a pre-determined number of minutes. During this act the members use fists, kicks and stomps, or even clubs to beat the new member. This is to prove his and/or her worthiness by enduring the undeniably pain received from the gang members. (2) Assault on an innocent victim: This is when a prospective member of a gang is required to attack an innocent bystander…to prove strength/ loyalty. (3) Rape an innocent victim: This is one of the most sicken processes of joining a gang. If an individual is in prison then this means that are raping one of the same sex. (4) Blessed In: Occasionally, a prospective gang member will not have to endure any of the normal gang initiation rituals. He or she may be “blessed in.” This may be the result of the prospects reputation as one who is worthy of gang membership or he may be a family member of a gang member who has vouched for

“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

When most people think of the word status, they think of where it places them in society. If you have a higher status you might be considered a more important human being. If you have a lower status you might be considered “poor” or “in poverty”. But what does it mean to have a status as a gang? That questions certainly can’t be answered by me correctly, however I would imagine in a world of gangs having the highest status would make you the most feared gang. If you are going to join a gang, it might as well be one worth joining such as MS 13. If MS 13 is recognized worldwide as the most “dangerous” gang then they probably are! Having a status like that on the streets would make other gangs stay away from you, as well as make people afraid to tell you no or show you consequences. In the video we watched as a class police enforcement coming up short every time when they would “bust” them for drugs or something else. It made me wonder if the police really were being out smarted or if they didn’t want to dig too deep into an unfamiliar territory. Even though MS 13 is recognized as the world’s most dangerous gang, everyone seems to know little information about them. It is still unknown whether not

Not only does Ludeke touch on the subject of what causes youths to join gangs, but addresses a disparity issue of how MLO is not labeled as a criminal street gang by law enforcement (Rose & Clear, 1998, pg.443). It is important to realize that because Malibu Locals Only obtains a set of different characteristics, ultimately it influences how the group is categorized (Ludeke, 2007). Yet, other gangs composed of the stereotypical group that perform similar offenses are instantaneously labeled as criminal’s/gang members. If a group meets the criteria under the STEP act to establish it as a criminal street gang, law enforcement officials must apply the same standard to all groups justifiably (Ludeke, 2007).

Crime and criminalization are dependent on social inequality Social inequality there are four major forms of inequality, class gender race and age, all of which influence crime. In looking at social classes and relationship to crime, studies have shown that citizens of the lower class are more likely to commit crimes of property and violence than upper-class citizens: who generally commit political and economic crimes. In 2007 the National Crime Victimization Survey showed that families with an income of $15000 or less had a greater chance of being victimized; recalling that lower classes commit a majority of those crimes. We can conclude that crime generally happens within classes.