The Pros And Cons Of Gang Violence

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.

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.

Gang violence in youth has gotten to far there are more and more juveniles getting recruited by gang members in society. We here all these gang violence going on and sadly most of the gang activity that goes on is done by juveniles. Being a part of a low income society I see what kind of people are involve in gang activity and many mostly all are under age making them strive for respect with our fearing consequences. Like sated on the LAPD websites the fill us the community in on how early gangs start recruiting juveniles as described on their web site it sates “Gang involvement can begin as early as elementary school. Children as young as seven or eight years of age have been recruited to work in criminal street gangs. Many parents and educators

Dynamics of Gang Violence: A Look at the Social, Biological, Psychological, Developmental, Substance Abuse Factors and Gender 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.

The people who are most affected by this are usually always the most innocent. Enemy gangs usually do drive-by’s which are meant to kill an enemy gang usually end up killing innocent pedestrians walking down the street. Business owners are also being involved by this. Gangs usually use abandoned houses or businesses as a way to mark their turf. They also graffiti on business walls which lead to a loss in customers which lead to a loss in money for the business which leads to the business shutting down leaving yet another abandoned house for the gang.Most gangs also break into houses at night and steal from the home residents often killing them or robbing them of all their prized possessions.They are also almost always involved in gang wars where they kill enemy gang members so that they can gain more turf. Gangs also usually smuggle immigrants through

Youth gang violence has turned into an unmistakable issue in the public eye reaching across national boundaries as well as socio-economic, cultural, racial, and class distinctions. Not only is the problem widely dispersed geographically, but its incidence is also extensive, making it a common, acknowledged, and a mainstream behavior for many teens. Gang activity is extremely common in lower income neighborhoods and ethnic ghettos where underprivileged children are regularly recruited. Youth gang violence has always been an issue in the United States since the 1950’s but many crime analysts tended to overlook the problem of youth gang violence in major cities due to historical events such as the Korean War, U.S. Supreme Court ruled segregation was illegal in the Brown v. Board of Education decision, and the Civil Rights Movement. The first nationwide study undertaken of the nature and extent of gang violence was reported by Walter B. Miller. Miller whose study concentrated primarily on the increase of gang violence and four major motives such as respect, guarding local communities, control, and gain the of monetary goods.

In the neighborhoods of the west, east and south sides of Chicago, people are aware and cautious of gangs everyday, knowing their territories, afraid of being caused harm, attacked for wearing certain colors, and unable to go to certain areas. This is similar to the Native Americans when the nation was expanding, they were forced off their lands, threatened with violence, often killed, in 1830 the Indian Removal Act was put in action by President Andrew Jackson. Yet the difference between the Chicago Turf Wars and the Western Expansion is the reason as to why they occurred, the gangs form to create a sort of family with people who want to feel like they’re needed, where they receive social or emotional stimulation that they don’t have at school or home or to escape personal problems or issues at home. Children that have had a rough childhood or who just want to fit in, they reach out to gangs for support. The expansion of the nation was based on gaining more land and also having a sense of unity and culture, where southerners would pass their beliefs in slavery onto the new land to gain more

Chicago has the biggest gang problem in the country (Thomas & Bass, 2009). “There are more gang members per citizen in Chicago than anywhere else in the country” (Thomas, 2009, para 4). The average Chicago gang leader is 43, convicted of murder and lives in the suburbs. That leader on many occasions directs his gang from jail (Main, 2006) and 95 percent of inmates in the Cook County Jail are gang members (Thomas, 2009). Gangs are everywhere today just like they use to be. The high number of gangs causes violence and deaths to rise in Chicago.

Active gangs in a particular area will be a cause of danger and fear among people who live there. Gang members threaten the lives of innocent people in their community, these people have to live in fear of getting robbed or even worse, getting murdered and lately these gangs are becoming even more popular. Cory Little Light in his article gang life 101 states that ‘’ I mean drugs and violence have plagued our reserves and communities for years, but never has it ever been as bad as it is right now’’. They also disrupt the peace in certain communities because of all the petty crimes they do. In the American musical west side story the officers of the town have to follow every move the jets and the sharks make to make sure they are not making trouble. Gangs also are a danger because they often end up hurting innocent bystanders; like in the case of Asia saddleback the twenty

The purpose of this paper is to review and verify a recent study by Scott H. Decker of the University of Missouri – St. Louis, entitled Collective and Normative Features in Gang Violence (Decker & VanWinkle, 1996). The study will attempt to address why our local increase in gang violence has reached monumental heights causing an increase in gang members appearing your court.

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

The history of gang violence is a topic that I am dearly interested in because I have a

What is brotherhood? How does it apply to those involved? Why does it exist? Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines brotherhood as “an association for a particular purpose.” To gang members, young and old, brotherhood is an escape from society’s constant pressure to fit in, to succeed, to conform to social norms. It is within a brotherhood that gang members find peace and comfort. Brotherhood is a way of life; it is the very essence that allows a gang to thrive in the metropolis of violence.

Imagine if there were no more gangs roaming the streets. There would be less violence and less reasons for mothers to be worried. This may sound impossible, but this can be reality if we take the proper steps in fixing the problem. We have to focus on the starting point of gangs, we have to find out why people join gangs in the first place. We need to focus on the young people and providing them more opportunities to better themselves instead of lowering themselves. If we pay attention to the youth, that will bring us one big step closer to our goal of ending all gangs, but it's not that easy.