Abstract: This paper will discuss the correlation of youth gangs and how the cognitive and social learning theory comes in to play, and why female and male juveniles end up in the system. It will touch bases on how youth surroundings have a lot to do with the decisions they choose to make and the life style they end up living. Gangs usually recruit youth off the street, if a child sees that being a part of a gang is an everyday thing and is normal then they will be influenced more to do that. The cognitive theory ultimately states that a child learns from observing and from there environment. This essay will touch on the different statistics and the reasoning for youth gangs and gangs in general, it will also show statics of youth who are apart of gangs and are incarcerated. It will also show how it correlates with the cognitive theory and social learning theory. 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
In James Howell’s “Gangs in America’s Communities” book he mentions that a gang should be looked at more of as a social network rather than an “organization” (Howell, 2012, p.60). This can be especially true for the youth who get involved in gangs. For the youth it is normal for them to want to belong somewhere so their peers have major influences in what they do and even how they think. The emergence or involvement of a gang among youth is identifying with each other and eventually giving themselves a name. Howell then describes the next step as grasping the gang culture by wearing distinctive clothing, colors, having rituals, gatherings, and the exclusion of other youth. Most youth join gangs between the ages of 11 and 15, the peak of gang involvement usually occurs between the age of 14 to 16. Some of the risk factors that get them involved in a
A gang can also provide money and stability for the youth and provide them with some sort of job and income, this is obviously acquired through committing crimes. According to our textbook Criminology Today An Integrative Introduction by Frank Schmalleger it states that, “ When we speak of a delinquent subculture, we speak of a way of life that has somehow become traditional among certain groups in American society. These groups are the boys’ gangs that flourish most conspicuously in the ‘delinquency neighborhoods’ of our larger American cities. The members of these gangs grow up, some to become law abiding citizens and other to graduate to more professional and adult forms of criminality, but the delinquent tradition is kept alive by the age-groups that succeed them.” (Schmalleger, 2015, p. 171) Most of the time youths that join gangs start at a very young age. They may feel joining a gang provides them with more than society will provide them, there are times that youths want to get out of their gang and be part of the normal society. Like it said in our textbook some of these youths that are involved in gangs are able to get out and become law abiding citizens while others stay and become more involved within their gangs. When youths are involved with gangs it
The concept of Juvenile gang’s is not unknown to the world. They can be found in any corner of the world and any ethnic/racial background. Gangs have been around since humans learned how to get into organized groups. This was about around the time of the middle ages. In fact, the first recorded history of such gangs was in the city of London (Sheldon., Tracy and Brown, 1996). For America, it was not until the early 1800s when juvenile gangs became a problem (Sheldon., Tracy and Brown, 1996). This being due to the social and economic problems in this period. Due to the wars, Immigration, and financial situation of the time, many juveniles see the gangs as a refuge from their situation. There are many reasons as to why a juvenile will seek
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
Gangs frequently socialize and even recruit youth that live in the gangs neighborhood and who attend the local public schools. Gangs target the youths that are eager to belong or easily talked into doing tasks for the gang. These gangs take advantage of the hardships these youths experience while growing up. Unfortunately this type of life is chosen at a critical time in the individuals life when they are at the point where their peers have a big influence on their personal decisions. In recent years gangs have began to recruit younger members mainly due to the fact that they are easily influenced and usually receive lesser punishments.
This paper will examine the factors that contribute youth to involve in criminal gangs. It aims to look at social disorganization theory as well as rational choice theory to understand youth and their involvement in gangs. Three main factors that this paper will be focusing on and studying thoroughly are the effects of parental supervision, the community the youth is raised in and peer influence. Despite many programs that are instilled to ensure that youth are helped with delinquency, there are still many influences such as parental supervision, community and peer influence that can sway youth and their decision to join a gang. Based on this discussion, this paper will argue that the ways that children are educated and raised at a young age
Parents want the best for their children. They try their best to keep them happy. However they tend to lose their children to the streets and the gangs. Why adolescences join these gangs should not be the question. There are many reasons why they join. Some reasons could be the absence of a parent, whether it is the mother or father. Lack of discipline or their parent’s could be a drug abuser. What motivates an adolescence to desire and acquire gang membership, is the key question. Counselors, jail officers, or a gang task team who have work with these youths on the field, and have gained their trust have heard the answer to this question. Kenneth Thompson a former blood gang member said that “Teenagers these days join gangs or make a team, for the purpose of safety, friendship, status, recognition, curiosity, excitement, money, out of a sense of tradition due to generational commitment (a family member was once a gang banger), peer pressure and drug abuse.” We also went on to say that “Back in his time, that it was different, we didn’t go just picking on people. If you mess with one of our members, than we’re coming for you.”
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
Gang involvement is an activity that happens over time. There is a certain sense of fear and need for swift action associated with the public's notion of gang. This paper argues that youth join gangs because of parental influences, school influences and poverty/socio-economic status.
prove themselves by breaking into a house or to steal a car. Other times the
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
This paper discusses and analyzes three different films, Crips and Bloods, A Better Life, and Gran Torino. The films each explore the social settings of three distinct minority groups; the paper notes and describes several similarities among the groups. These include widespread poverty, discrimination from the dominant social order, and the lack of availability of normal social opportunities. The General Theory of Crime is examined and used to explain why these minority adolescents act out the way they do. This analysis is an attempt to find the reasons for why individuals choose to get involved in criminal activity instead of “living above the influence.” Finally, the paper explores potential methods to provide the support necessary for keeping juveniles away from this criminal involvement.
“With a few exceptions, criminological theories of the 1950s and early 1960s focused on juvenile delinquency.”(Williams and McShane, 2014) Most of the theories researched during this time set out to explain what was considered the most common form of delinquency, gangs. Researchers set out to explain the origins or delinquent gangs and also look at why the different types of gangs are formed.
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 criminal justice issue, but a social problem, which is triggered by poverty, peer pressure, boredom, despair and lacking a sense of belonging.
Gang violence creates many problems on communities and societies. Although not all gangs are sophisticated and well organized, they all use violence to control neighborhoods and extend their illegal activities, jeopardizing the lives of those apart of the affiliations and civilians. A gang is an organization or group of people who have a commonality by name, recognizable signs, colors, and symbols. Gangs includes people who independently or jointly undertake in criminal operations, notoriously for being involved in many acts such as claiming territories and using it to make money through unlawful activities (drug trafficking, prostitution, etc.). Gang activity have a negative influence on youth and the common purpose of a kid to join a gang includes a sense of belonging, sharing in mutual desires for safety, family problems, friends are in it, or life challenges.