Why Individuals Join Gangs

Associated with Street Gangs Gangs are becoming prevalent in today’s society and within our schools. More and more young people are turning to gangs in an attempt to escape their everyday lives and the future, which they perceive as dismal and bleak. They are initially attracted to the prestige and cash flow, which is glamorized by the street gang. Many gangs are actively involved in criminal misconduct, such as drug and gun trafficking, burglaries and homicides. However, street gangs are not just a

Every city has its problems but for the majority of cities one of their problems is gangs. Everyone has a different stereotype of what they consider to be a gang which makes it difficult to have one set definition of what a gang is. One definition is “young people who spend time in groups of three or more, spend a lot of time in public places, existed for three months or more, engage in delinquent or criminal behavior together in the last 12 months, and has at least one structural feature such as

criminal street gang. Not only does MLO fit the definition of what a reasonable person would believe a street gang to be, but most importantly it fits the definition of a criminal street gang as it is defined in the California STEP act. 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

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

When the word “gangs” comes to mind, one can immediately picture a big, tall male figure often covered with tattoos, piercings, and maybe even a bald-headed guy. One might think that gangs only occur in areas like Los Angeles, Brooklyn, and areas illustrated in movies. Gangs are also becoming more glorified in the media. For example, while listening to a rap song on the radio, some sort of gang reference will come up. Gangs can often target the young and the vulnerable due to many reasons, such as

Introduction Often when people hear the word gang, they immediately think of drugs, guns, and violence. When in reality there has been an ongoing debate that gangs are not no different from a sorority or fraternity. To demonstrate, a gang is similar to a sorority or fraternity because the members are dedicated to sister-hood or brother-hood. Sorority and fraternity life started long ago on college campuses for the improvement of the college campus. Gangs started for equality on the street. Gains promoted

fully developed. It is a period of life characterized by many up and downs where the individual experiences multiple personal changes (Gladding, 2012, p. 255). In this time of turbulence young individuals may enter into groups that society often refers to as gangs. It is accurate to say that gangs contribute immensely to crime and delinquency however, to say that this is the purpose of all gangs would be misleading. Gangs should instead be seen as existing on a continuum, some ranging from groups of peers

Influential and Sociological Aspects of Gangs: What Makes Individuals Want to Join Gangs? Magdaline Mouratides Sociology 100 Instructor Francisco Limόn November 29, 2011 Abstract The purpose of this research is to identify the sociological aspects and means in which individuals may use in order to affiliate themselves within a gang and their practices. The following research uses statistics and information given by police departments and the Department of Justice. I have searched for reasoning

Gangs, what are they? Who are they? And why are they a problem? What do we think of when we hear the word gang, overall it’s a word that comes with a lot of negative baggage, violence and not a very good thing. The word gang can have a lot of different meanings of people coming together for something. However, today in our societies the word gangs is defined as an organized group of criminals. A gang is a group of persons with close social relations that work together in unlawful ways for their profit

Joining a gang typically involves one associating with gang members, being accepted and trusted by other gang members and eventually being admitted into the gang. There have been cases of adolescent who have hung out with gang members for over a year before making a commitment to join the gang. Initiation into the gang can occur by being “beaten in/ jumped in” where other gang members beat an individual for a certain period of time. Another option, which is prominent with female gang members, is