Ludeke believes MLO is a gang and his article develops a convincing argument. According to the STEP Act, a gang is:
Any ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons . . . having as one of its primary activities the commission of one or more of the criminal acts enumerated in paragraphs (1) to (25), inclusive, or (31) to (33), inclusive, of subdivision (e), having a common name or common identifying sign or symbol, and whose members individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity. (Ludeke, 2007). MLO has more than three members, their primary activity is to protect their turf by any means necessary, and they have shown this resolve by committing “assault with a deadly weapon or by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury and intimidation of witness and victims” (Ludeke, 2007). They have a common name and its members have collectively engaged in a pattern of gang activity by committing the crimes already mentioned. Based on this, MLO meets the criteria of a gang and not only could the sheriff’s department prosecute MLO’s crimes as gang related, but they could also seek to obtain civil injunctions against them. It is hard to imagine that a group meeting all the characteristics of what makes a criminal street gang as described in the STEP Act, would not be prosecuted as such. Law enforcement’s failure to identify MLO as a gang begs the question, if this was not Malibu, if these kids were not
In todays United States we have a huge problem affecting society, gangs and the violence that follows them wherever they go. These days’ gangs aren’t just compiled of grown adults, they often lure in young teens to do dirty work and to add numbers to their turf. Despite laws aimed straight at these gangs they still defy the law and wreak havoc upon the territory that they claim. The members in the gang have a gang first mentality and will do everything possible to provide for and protect their fellow members. They will very rarely snitch on their own to help put a stop to some of the meaningless crimes committed by these savages.
Chapter five, “Form, Function and Management of the Police Gang Unit,” analyzes the police response to gangs by examining the structure, functions and management of
According Ludeke’s article, MLO has been responsible for nearly killing a young man, beating another, and threatening witnesses with death if they went to the police. While he recognizes that MLO is not as big a threat or as notorious as other well-known gangs, it does not take away that an emerging gang is a gang nonetheless. Ludeke’s thesis can easily be identified in his article title alone. While he first asks the question of whether MLO is a dangerous street gang, he also answers it by emphasizing the criminal justice system’s failure to identify suburban gangs which by default hurts their efforts to fight them. Failing to identify MLO as a gang prevents law enforcement from finding the correct theory as to why youths join gangs. Since MLO members
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).
Statistics Canada has done research on identifying the facts that are contributed to the definition of a youth gang member. Partnered with the Montreal Police Service, Statistics Canada was able to generate the definition of a gang member: "An organized group of adolescents and/or young adults who rely on group intimidation and violence, and commit criminal acts in order to gain power and recognition and/or control certain areas of unlawful activity [2] (Statistics Canada, 2008).
The courts feel that with the alliance with other law enforcement agency officials that the group can put away the Very Bad Bike Club for a long time. Gang Cases often bring advantages to them when they go to court. “First, many states have passed special anti-gang legislation, and many local jurisdictions have invoked old civil
“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
Although detectives are working hard on the case to prevent further chaos between these two groups, the lack of witness and evidence is slowing them down. This information, provided by the gang-crimes unit, is unfortunate but not so unusual. The fear gangs have put into the community is the cause to blame.
I would describe the gang that the author, Sudhir Venkantesh, studies in this book as a deviant group because they are not following usual or accepted standards in social behavior. “Deviance is a behavior, trait or belief that departs from a norm and generates a negative reaction in a particular group”. (Real World, Kerry Ferris, Jill Stein, p 153) According to this definition we can definitely see gangs departing from a norm by committing many crimes and not obeying the laws. One example to deviant behavior from the book is when Sudhir Venkantesh for the first times sees J.T and his gang beating up a man for not doing what he has been told. Sudhir Venkantesh states that “I had been hanging around J.T. for several months by now, and I’d
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).
Ludeke has proven that MLO is a street gang by identifying that they have a common name and are
It is very difficult to give one unified definition for the term ‘Organized Crime’. Similarly it is very difficult to give one concise definition for the term ‘Organized Crime Groups’. The conventional definitions of the organized crime does not provide us with any single definition for such groups but provides us with certain characteristics that are most commonly found in the criminal groups also used synonymously with the criminal enterprises. The FBI defines a criminal group or a criminal enterprise as a group of individuals with an identified hierarchy, or comparable structure, engaged in significant criminal activity. These organizations often engage in multiple criminal activities and have extensive supporting networks (“Organized Crime” n.d.)
A gang, has a manager, “a person that directs resources to achieve a goal” (Baye and Prince, 2014). Just as with the majority
The varying definitions of gangs across police services have made it difficult to configure the scale of gangs on a national level. A recommendation was made in the Gang and Youth Crime publication that a more unified definition is required to gather reliable data in order to address the country’s concerns.
The structure of organized crime can vary greatly, from the rigidly structures Mafioso described by Joseph Valachi in (year) to loosely organized temporary groups. Organized crime groups can be ethnic in nature, although the traditional image of an organized crime group consisting only of one nationality is extremely rare,