Ways To Reduce Gang Violence

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.

In Policing Gangs in America, Charles Katz and Vincent Webb describes every issue in American Gangs today. The ultimate goal of this book is how the gang officers work and the different kind of atmosphere they work in. Their job isn’t like other law enforcement jobs. It’s one of the more dangerous occupation in the Criminal Justice system. These gang officers focus on how they react to public gang issues.

The Short North Posse terrorized the Wienland Park neighborhood since the early 1990’s. The north side gang became so entrenched in violence, local police and prosecutors teamed up with the Federal Bureau of Investigation an issued the largest federal murder indictment in history in the state of Ohio. The Columbus Dispatch reported that in 2014, “Law enforcement around central Ohio, collaborated with the FBI on a two-year investigation that lead to a twenty-five count indictment that included 11 murder charges.” A person could possibly entertain the idea that since the gang members were indicted and brought to justice, the system is running a course and the problem is under control. Nevertheless, the majority of sensible people might successfully flirt with the notion that if Columbus had a well-established anti-gang program throughout the community, these nine men and two women would have never lost their lives to senselessness. Gangs such as the Short North Posse, that often referred themselves as the “Cut Throat Committee” could have possibly been avoided if the city took an earlier initiative to curb the rise in gang activity by applying awareness programs and interventions.

In low income areas and large cities, gang violence is a major problem. Gang violence in Chicago is reaching alarming proportions. Day by day they are increasing rapidly. None of the solutions work effectively to eliminate gangs. However police departments and other government officials are trying their best to provide the same security as other areas in chicago. Thousands of innocent people are dying each year from these ill mannered thugs. In today’s societies gang activity is everywhere, whether it includes violence, drugs, death or any illegal activity. There are several aspects which are causing these violent activities. In past years the police department and the mayor designed different strategies to stop this violence. From my perspective better education and scholarships are the only way to reduce gangs and other illegal activities.

In society today, there is a major problem We live in a society where gangs are taking over our neighborhoods in numbers. It is the responsibility of the individuals to part take in getting their neighborhoods back under control. Gangs are becoming a growing problem in American society. More young people are turning to gangs to solve problems in their lives or for acceptance. When youths join gangs, they drop all their social activities with school, family, and friends. However, individuals ruin their lives, and the chances of them having a decent education, and a successful life by getting involved in gang activity.

What ever happened to kids wanting saying they wanted to be a police officer, fireman, doctor or teacher when they grow up? Does anyone ever say, when I grow up I want to be in a gang? According to the National Gang Threat Assessment there are over one million gang members in California and over forty percent are under the age of eighteen. Just in Fresno alone there are over twelve thousand gang members and over 500 gangs (Overend). Gang violence is a growing problem and if we don’t try to control it now it will be a bigger problem in the future.

Gang violence has been around for a long time all the way back to the 1800 and have greatly increased all around the globe ever since. Gangs are a group of people that fight and kill other gangs over turf,money,pride, and drugs. People usually join gangs from around the age of 8 to the age 20. Most gang members join because they have been abused by their parents or because they don 't have a family. Gangs treat each other like a family, that is the most common reason why people join, they want to be accepted, they want to feel like if they belong something.

The correlation between gangs and drugs has always been an issue for the United States government. Major cities often overlooked the problem of youth gang violence, thinking it was only a 1960’s trend. Sixty years later, gangs and drugs continue to be a problem, but in an increasing number within urban, suburban and rural areas in the United States. People may characterize this problem with words such as violence, increase drug activity, and delinquencies, but not many seem to see the bigger picture. Lack of interaction, collaboration, and strategies from law enforcement, youth centers, businesses, churches, and political icons are increasing gang violence and drug related offenses in major cities. In such cities as Chicago, minority groups are the most vulnerable to joining a gang, which then leads to an involvement with drugs; they are faced with barriers – lack of family support, poverty, segregation, unemployment, etc. An incident that happened in Chicago history is the closing of the Cabrini-Green Project, where people involved with gangs had to find a new home, scattering gang-members throughout the city, and eventually leading to their spread and growth.

The American headlines of any large city will site killings on street corners, robberies, assaults, intimidation, and drug interaction. While not all-criminal activity is associated with gangs, the 780,000 strong members do account for a large majority of the problems that are plaguing America. There is no one-way to stop gang activity in one single swipe, but through a combination of cooperation, education, and training techniques law enforcement can minimize the gang’s movements and even stop a crime before it is committed.

When addressing public safety issues, one might assume that the most obvious approach encompasses an elementary and uncomplicated strategy involving strictly law enforcement practitioners. A seemingly straightforward approach however is in actuality nonexistent. While allocating additional resources (like personnel and physical security assets)

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

This paper deals with gang violence in the city of Chicago since the beginning of time. It takes a deep look into the history of Chicago gangs and how they interact today. Also the past problems the City of Chicago made when dealing with gangs and the problems that gangs today have and how Chicago has the worst gang problem in the country. Also how gangs have turned themselves into big, and lucrative enterprises most known for money. Also stated are possible solutions to stop or reduce violence of the gangs that all start off with teaching the young kids about gangs and gang prevention.

Another unintended consequence of the war on drugs has been a dramatic decrease in the rule of law. Gang culture has grown at such a rapid pace that there are now an estimated 900,000 current gang members involved in 20,000 different gangs in the U.S. One cop explained, “Street gangs don’t have to recruit; they’re not running around looking under mattresses for recruits; kids want to join.” Consequently, legalizing drugs would cut off the main draw to gang activity, which is profit from the drug

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