Youth Gang Culture

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

Qualitative descriptions suggest that, for many, gang membership represents 104 Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice / May 2005an opportunity to enhance social capital as a means to cope with a multitude of problems. Although on balance gang life appears to be neither very rewarding nor satisfying (Hagedorn, 1988), identification with the gang is solidified in response to conflict—often with other gangs—as members pursue their individual and collective interests.

Monitoring a juvenile’s social media that has engaged in raping could benefit society and future possible victims of the juvenile, but it could also help identify the best treatment for the offender.

Juvenile street gangs are expanding, and evolving into crime that has not been linked to gangs in the past, according to the FBI. While they expand into white-collar type crimes like counterfeiting, identity theft and mortgage fraud, they also continue to be involved in illegal activities that they are more well known for, such as drug sales, recruiting new members, violent turf wars, and prostitution, the FBI reports. The number of active street gangs (including gangs in prisons) is around 33,000, and membership in those 33,000 is estimated to be about 1.4 million, the FBI reports. This paper delves into the scholarly literature available about gangs, and for the most part this paper focuses on juvenile gangs albeit some of the data may also include gangs that include older individuals. This paper focuses on gang members' relationships with adults, their interactions with counselors in schools, risk factors associated with gang membership, weapon-related issues and other matters connected to juvenile gangs.

     Youth gangs have been getting a tremendous amount of press and media attention as the problem grows worse and worse, and because of this attention and exposure the rate of adolescents joining these gangs is constantly increasing. As of right now, gang life is in a lime light all to its own. There has been documentaries, movies, books and so on that have demoralized it as well as glamorized it, and to trouble youths who think that they have no place else to turn, gang life seems as though it can be a very acceptable and possibly through their point of view, a positive change in their some what hitched lives. Social experts chalk up the sudden increase of youth gang activity to two distinct reasons; “ (1) the diffusion of gang culture through popular media, and (2) economic

They were rejected in “normal” society and labeled as social problems first by the schools and later by the police. This early experience was devastating and they began to deny their own integrity (Padilla 1996, 89). To build up their own self-worth and integrity, these youngsters turned to gang participation to make a name for themselves, and to feel

Absolutely 100 percent the family is the first and best line of defense against delinquency. Unfortunately, not all families share the same values and what may be considered a norm in one house may not be a norm in another home. Honestly, think of the families that have generations of gang members it is almost expected that their offspring will carry on with the gang life tradition, it is their “rite of passage” (Bartollas & Schmalleger, 2014, p. 264). Nonetheless, a family from the suburbs would not share the same desire for their children to join up with these “thugs”, instead of pushing their child to join they would be pulling against it. A perfect example of what one family would consider to be a blessing another would consider

Juvenile’s gang and violent go hand in hand. When you see a violent crime in lower social economic area the cause is usually juvenile gangs. Juveniles commit majority of the crime in the community they reside in. Juvenile gangs have a (OG) “Original Gangster” who gives out order within the group for the juvenile to do as there told. Once the order is given the juvenile will follow through. This paper will assess the negative Impact gangs have on a juvenile in the low poverty

The Life course of Youth Gang Members paper presented us with results of a study that observed the life histories of gang associated youth in the Ottawa area. The paper analyzes the institutional supports that gang-involved youth required as they grew up. Furthermore it contemplates what might have aided to keep them from becoming gang involved. The Life Course of Youth Gang Members presents three general types of organized groups; first one being “youth gangs”, then “street gangs” and “organized crime groups”. The two types of gangs are of interest: youth gangs and street gangs. Street gangs typically consist of young adults (18 – 30). Street gangs are predominantly systematized to engage in criminal activity. In distinction, youth gangs consist

In order to become a member of a gang, most gangs typically have new members “put on” by being beaten up by a large number of older members of the gang. After this, the new member must commit a crime and earn his stripes, either by robbing someone, beating someone up, or in other cases, shooting and killing someone. All members must prove themselves (Howell, 1998). To an outsider, it might seem crazy that a kid would want to join a gang, but to a poor inner-city kid who has very little, gangs provide a family like relationship for kids who feel they are all alone. They provide protection and respect that allows a young person to walk through his or her neighborhood and stay unharmed (Howell, 1998).

Youth can be drawn to gang membership when they feel the community is no longer safe through primary deviance which most people take part in and do not get caught (Super 2017) However, labelling theory ineffectively explains the differences in crime rates amongst neighbourhoods with a high gang presence and those without (Tutorial 2017). Thus, labelling theory is ineffective in attempting to explain how youth in neighbourhoods with a high gang presence is an influence for youth to join gangs (Super 2017; Tutorial 2017). Furthermore, it is unable to provide a bigger macro-level reasoning as to why youth in neighbourhoods with a high gang presence might influence youth to join gangs and participate in criminal behaviour (Tutorial 2017).

As previously mentioned, this trend is of growing concern, and although this occurrence is alarming, this problem is by no means confined to Britain, but has emerged worldwide within our communities’ and societies where disaffected and marginalised young people have come together to form ‘gangs’. Further, to this during my research on guns and gangs it was noted that there is a tendency to view gangs as an American phenomenon, a position that was verified by Gangs-Gangs international. There is no repudiating the fact that youth gangs pose a considerable problem to contemporary society; a conception which is corroborated by the government who have invested £4m from 2011-2013 in an attempt to tackle the anti-social behaviour and crime. While the government has ploughed a substantial amount of money into addressing the issues of youth crime, research into why young people engage and desist from gang activity has been scarce, suggesting that further research into the topic is necessary in order to prevent and deter young people from engaging in gang

At the time of writing this paper I was concerned about the unsystematic approach that is often persuasively referred to as gang violence. I felt there was a need to better understand what was really happening on our streets with our youth who are often propelled into a life of violence, criminality, hopelessness and despair. It may or may not be agreed that the delinquent behaviour displayed by Britain’s gangs are the product of various pathways, often found in the most deprived and marginalised communities suffering high family breakdown, various addiction (drugs and or alcohol) and

Youth gang membership is an issue that persists. However, the question of why it persists is a matter of theoretical significance. Thus, in this paper I will argue that Differential Association theory and Labeling theory can explain gang presence in the neighbourhood while Labeling theory struggles to explain peer gang membership as reasons youth join gangs. This paper compares the relative strengths and weaknesses of Differential Association theory and Labeling theory and I argue that Differential Association theory offers the most compelling theoretical perspective. I also argue that, unlike the other two theories, a Marxist approach accounts for the issue of why youth join gangs by analyzing class conflict.

In this paper I argue that Labelling Theory can explain the factor of low socioeconomic status while Differential Association Theory can explain how the factor of family as reasons why some youth join gangs. This paper compares the relative strengths and weaknesses of Differential Association theory and Labelling theory and I argue that Labelling Theory offers the most compelling theoretical perspective to help account for how these factors influence youth to join gangs. I also argue that unlike the other two theories, a Marxist approach deals with the issue of why youth join gangs by investigating the broad effects of inequality in society.