The Rate Of Youth Gangs Essay

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

Research by Statistics Canada has revealed that: “Canada has 434 youth gangs with roughly 7,000 members nationally” (Statistics Canada, 2008). The research also identified that: “Ontario has the highest number of youth gangs and youth gang members in absolute terms, with 216 youth gangs and 3,320 youth gang members. Saskatchewan is second (28 youth gangs and 1,315 members), followed by British Columbia (102 youth gangs and 1,027 members) [9]” (Statistics Canada, 2008). “Nationally, the vast majority of youth gang members are male (94%) and fall within the age range of 16 to 18 years (39%); almost half (48%) of all youth gang members are under the age of 18” (Hornick. J, Macrae, L., Mellor. B., Pauls. M, 2005, p. 2).

According to the Chicago Police Report’s CompStat within the year of 2014, there were 407 murders citywide. Chicago, Illinois is one of the United States biggest cities, with one of the highest crime rates. Chicago is also known for their large amount of gangs including, youth gangs within the city. According to the Chicago Police Department, they defined by their department, a gang is, “An organized group with a recognized leader whose activities are either criminal or, at the very least, threatening to the community” (Chicago Police Department, 2014, para.1). Chicago has one of the highest population of gang’s members in the city with about 150,000 gang members. If a city has an extreme number of gangs, then youth members just come with its nature. According to the National Forum of Youth Violence there were 1,109 young kids that had been being shot. Out of the 1,109 kids, 216 of them resulted in losing a life (Emanuel, 2010 p. 10). If we were to have more recognition towards this issue, then we would see a major decrease in youth gangs along with the violence that comes with the gang lifestyle.

There is no definite term for the word “gang”. State and other local government organizations tend to create their own definition. The depiction of “street gang” is consistently intertwined with “youth gang”. However, the term “street gang” can mean two particular meanings that raise it’s face value. 1st, it proposes a common quality of gangs: They usually contain a street presence. Street socialization is a huge attribute of young gangs. 2nd, this expression also refers to “street crimes,” that is, violent and grave crimes (e.g., assaults, drive-by shootings, robberies, homicides) that happen on the streets and that frequently cause concern to citizens and policymakers. “More than 1 million young people in the U.S. (about two percent of youth) belong to a gang”("Study Finds 1 Million Juvenile Gang Members in U.S."). The ongoing activities of these infractions cause distress among the inhabitants within the community. Recently teenagers have been getting more and more involved. Questioning the future of the country. The majority portion of high-schoolers who attach to a gang do so at a young age, usually consisting between 11 and 15 years old. Well knit families are a huge protective factor in helping kids resist the urge of joining gangs. Youth join gangs for a vast amount reasons, including money, feeling of support and belonging, peer status, grasp a sense of protection, or portray an outlaw

In order to define the nature and scope of juvenile antisocial behavior we must determine that “gangs are variable, diverse and difficult to define in precise terms” (White, 2007) and that “adolescent antisocial behavior is an issue of major concern to parents, teachers, police and governments and is a significant cost to the

Although gangs target and recruit youth at a young age, sometimes youth have no other choice at times, but to fall into deviant behavior and gangs. Most of these gangs are within urban areas, and even some grow up in the same

“Violent crimes committed by juveniles are not diminishing, as other crimes, as reported by the Justice Department statistics, are (Siegel and Welsh, 2011).” We see that juveniles have more access, and more use of the weapons of violence, including gang affiliation. So why do young people join gangs? First of all, the gang

“According to statistics from the National Youth Gang Center, more than 24,500 gangs, consisting of more than 770,000 members, exist in about 3,300 cities in the U.S.” (Rank 1). Although it is not illegal to be a member of a gang, it should be noted many gangs participate in illegal activity for funding and will use the money as a way to entice new membership. The “money begins flowing, and with that comes all of the things associated with material wealth that is usually beyond the reach of these adolescents without the criminal activity of being involved in a gang” (Nawojczyk 3).

Street gangs in this country can probably be traced back to the first wave of Europeans who migrated to the colonies for a better life for themselves and their families. Many of the first gangs were formed as a means of self protection, with the thinking that there is simply strength in numbers. The missions of gangs in today’s society have grown and emerged to include many violent criminal avenues, including drug trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, and extortion but the original thinking that there is strength in numbers remains true. Criminology experts believe that the number of teens involved in gangs or gang activity may be as high as 1 in every 5 people in most urban areas. Those number jump to 1 in every 3 people in

The factors that go into the creation and growth of gangs goes beyond the people involved in them; but the circumstances and societal forces that push them into it. Many people depict people getting into gangs for all types of reason. Many resorting to the typical such as being rebellious, lazy, or holding a lack of morals. As I read an article on abc news regarding gangs, one man commented “All it takes is self-respect, alittle education and a backbone. I have no sympathy for gang members.” These people are ignorant to the real circumstanstances these individuals face and how much they endure. As Damien Pacman stated; a former gang member, "If you ain't got no job, you ain't got nowhere to go; after that, well, you're going to turn to the streets. The streets is calling you." Some of these factors include; and not limited to; Poverty and Family.

No guardian might want to envision their children managing weapons or being undermined by them. These violence’s affects each child separately and their families as well. These groups enlist various diverse people for some reasons, such as bribery, family traditions, or even bullying. Although, numerous children feel like they must be a member of it yet there are numerous assets out in this world to keep them from trusting so. Gang violence has been a problem in society for several of years and is a growing problem each and every day. American youth becoming involved in gangs is not a new phenomenon. The first documented youth gang was in the late 1700s in New York, so gangs have been part of American culture for well over two centuries (Arinde, 2006, p. 34). Most of the youth who get involved with gangs come from poor neighborhoods in large cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc. Seals (2009) expresses the general consensus on gangs thus: Gangs of aggressive and violent young offenders, terrorize neighborhoods in more than three-quarters of American large cities (Snyder & Sickmund, 2006). These collectivities attract only a third of high-risk youth, but their members account to about 80% of the serious delinquencies among minors (ibid.). Thus, although juvenile violence and crime can be linked to inferior socioeconomic conditions and racial issues, it is clear that gangs nurture young offenders towards lives of

Gangs are very dangerous to everyone in society. “Gangs are groups of people (mostly young males) who band together for protection and a sense of belonging. The U.S. Department of Justice officially defines a youth gang as a group of young people involved in criminal activity” (Gangs 1). About one million gang members are in more than 20,000 criminally active gangs in the United States. Also, that group of about one million people is accountable for up to eighty percent of our nation’s crimes. Since 2005, gangs have nationally added about 200,000 members to the already high total (Targeting Gangs 1). This is why more action from the community needs to be taken to help with the growing gang-related crimes here in America.

Juvenile gangs are gangs in which a children normally from ages eight to seventeen are a part of a group, commonly known of as a gang, that often sells or does drugs, commits violent acts towards other citizens of their neighborhood or community, or cause major disruptions in school or other organized areas. This is a paper that will go on to discuss the history of juvenile gangs focusing on a few different points. Those points include but are not limited to the different types of gangs, the average age of juvenile gang members, social and environmental risk factors, and also the involvement of law enforcement

    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,

Being aware of the gangs and gang members in America's communities is necessary, for, it can help citizens keep track of how the gangs in their areas operate. Typically, gang members will have their gang symbol tattooed on part of their body, or, they will flag (wear) the colors of their gang on their clothing. Believe it or not, gang members are proud of what they represent and they will wear their gang’s colors every day. Some gang members will go as far as painting their vehicles the color of their gang. Gangs do not just recruit adults into their gang, they also recruit kids. Reports of gang presence in cities across the United States have grown exceptionally since 1990 (Klein & Maxson, 2006). There are kids as young as 8 years old claiming to represent gangs, and