Unfortunately, even though the gangs were a force for good during the riots, it has not subdued the crime that followed in the riots aftermath. Because of the police being leery of sanctions against them for perceived police brutality, crime has risen to a 15 year high in Baltimore. This appears to have to do with the criminal element realizing the caution of the police and the police themselves afraid of incarceration due to misconduct (Sanburn, 2015).
Those Affected Baltimore is the largest city in Maryland, housing over 620,000 residences and approximately 4,000 officers and support staff (About us, 2015; Baltimore city, 2015). If it is taken in a local standpoint, the riots in Baltimore affected the lives of over 620,000 residences directly. This interruption of life comes in the form of roadblocks, destruction of public buildings, destruction of private businesses, halting of public transportation, and city wide curfews (Candea, Bruce, & Shapiro, 2015). In addition, all of the nation’s over12,000 police departments (Bureau of Justice, 2015) looked to see how Baltimore handled their riot situation. Furthermore, Baltimore is also a major tourist destination for not only leisure activities, but also business conventions, which adds the numerous travel plans that were disrupted during the riots (Cutler, 2015). Lastly, in the grand scheme of things, the over 321 million U.S. residences (United States Census, 2015) were affected in one way or another by the riots in
Chapter Four is entitled, “[The] Scope and Nature of the Current Gang Problem.” It focuses on recent trends in number of gangs, gang members and gang-related crimes in each city. In Inglewood, almost all the neighborhoods were claimed by at least one gang, with gang-unit officers agreeing that the city was facing a major gang problem. In Albuquerque, gangs were involved in drug trafficking and property offenses, with 7 out of 8 gang-unit officers believing the city had a major gang problem. In Las Vegas, migration from other cities was thought to be the primary cause of an increase in gang members. 50% of crime in Las Vegas is attributed to gangs, with most officers believing they had a moderate to major gang problem. In Phoenix, the gang problem is described as wave-like, with 70% of gang-unit officers thinking the city had a major gang problem. These statistics were backed up through interviews with officers and city records.
Baltimore city had a strong economy, and it was among the top prosperous cities in the United States (U.S)leadingin wages, jobs, and industries up until the 1950s. Since the 1960s, however, the city has seen a decline in its economy as a result of systematic governance failures. Recently, Baltimore has been experiencing an increase in homicide unlike prior years, and in fact, by the end of 2015, various law enforcement organizations predict the city will break its homicide record. As a citizen, Baltimore’s murder rate is a crucial issue to tackle than police brutality because it is symptom indicative of larger issues that need to be addressed and solved in the black community. Three major issues often talked about in Baltimore
Jon Stewart’s Baltimore report focuses on the lack of urgency within the city council. Stewart opens up with comparing older riots to the “lawless” acts in Baltimore. It was made clear that Baltimore was in shambles prior to the protests that broke out due to Freddie Gray’s death. Stewart also explains that people should stop ignoring the roots of the problems in the communities.
For decades racial discrimination has been a reoccurring issue that has shaped the relationships across the country. Riots, in the case of the L.A. riots, are a form of venting and a negative form of freedom of expression. Almost immediately after the jury`s decision to seize the officers of charges that included assault with a deadly weapon and excessive use of force towards King, riots broke out across Los
Most law-enforcement personnel agree on a couple of key points: gangs will always be around, but the negative impacts caused by gangs can be prevented or mitigated to some extent. However, media reporting has a natural tendency to cover areas experiencing escalations in gang violence, sometimes directly or inadvertently creating the illusion that the upsurge is
With the leading number of gangs in the country, Los Angeles is thought of as the gang capital of the world. Employing gang suppression strategies that take distinct forms, from anti-gang injunctions to high rate of incarcerations, the City of Angels has failed to live up to its angelic name. Known instead for its demonic gang activity and police suppression efforts, Los Angeles has taken over media headlines as one of the most dangerous places to subsist. Representing a worrisome issue for residents, visitors, city government officials, as well as urban planners, gang violence has rapidly become a threat to public safety. Although current-day gang culture has eased off on the violence, it continues to be one of the greatest planning challenges
As the years pass, the rate of gang affiliated crimes in the Unites States has progressed extensively, accumulating more inmates into our major prisons doubling the maximum occupancy that the jails can hold. In the U.S there are currently 33,000 active violent street, motorcycle, and prison gangs with a recorded 1.4 million members combined. The registered number of police officers is a mere 683,396; which is not even half of our countries gang population. Incredibly enough, even with their small numbers these officers do the impossible to control, learn, and manipulate the ways of the inmates; taking all of the precautions necessary to stop and protect the normal citizens on the streets and the
While the population is diverse, the economic and class structure are not. The city is segregated amongst social and class lines that have caused conflict between the residence and the police force for some time (Inkeep, 2015). Because of these past interactions between the Baltimore citizens and police, the events pose sociological interests that are different from other recent riots and protests. In addition, the context is different because unlike past riots where ethnic race was a contributor, this riot was more about social injustice
“Prisons began to bulge with gang members when states enacted tougher laws for gang-related crime in the mid to late 1980s.”(Martinez) On one hand the laws enacted helped get gang members off the street, but in another way it backfired by not stopping the gangs’ activity. “In many ways their number and power grew even more in prison.”(Martinez) The problem of gangs and violence has been addressed many times throughout the years by the United States Correctional Board but the board has yet to take the problem seriously.
The events of the Detroit Riots are much like the 2015 Baltimore Riots of today. Freddie Gray, who was apparently in good health at the time of his arrest, sustained neck and spine injuries while in transport in a police vehicle. Gray was in a coma and died the following day. What initially started out as peaceful protests began due to the inability of the police to adequately or consistently explain the events following the arrest and the injuries sustained by Gray in police car, turned violent after Gray’s funeral. Stores were looted, rocks were being thrown at the police and buildings and cars were set on fire. The end result was at least 400 people arrested with hundreds injured including police and civilians along with hundreds of businesses
The Watts Riots erupted on the backdrop of simmering racial tensions in the United States. There were many varied long term causes for the eruption of the riot that rocked Watts and the surrounding areas, but the immediate cause of the riot was routine police work - police responding to a call of a concerned citizen worried about a man driving his car erratically.
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.
Every crime has a correlation with a theory in criminology. These theories explain why crime happens and some even go to the extent to come up with a solution to prevent or stop crime. This paper will explore how certain theories of criminology connect with the riots that happened in Ferguson, Missouri. Facts from different articles will be used to back up the theory. The theories will explain why rioters committed the crimes did. The paper will take the actions of the protestors and explain why they did what they did.
Gang crimes, such as graffiti, burglaries, murder and extortion, are devastating to a community’s well-being and sense of security. “The vast majority of violent incidents involving gang members continue to result from fights over
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