Gangs Essay

Gangs are a big part of today’s society. They contribute to a large part of delinquent behavior present in our youth today. Chapter 8- Peer and Delinquency: Juvenile Gang and Groups provides an overview of gangs in general. Providing details as to why they formed their different activities, language and codes. First we must highlight that adolescents are the main focus in gangs. As children grow and go through adolescence they seek peer acceptance. They form cliques. Their group of friends play an important role is social development. The choice to join a gang can be contributed to acceptance and a sense of protection (Siegel).
In the 1970’s gang activity was high. With the creation of the Crips other rival gangs emerged such as the Bloods. Gangs are very territorial. They have unwritten rules setting boundaries for each other in their perspective neighborhoods. Gangs can also be classified by their race. There are Latino gangs and African American Gangs with their distinct characteristics and language. Although rivalry among races exists the way they communicate is similar. Gangs mark territory with graffiti, stylized lettering and 3-D designs. They also have a color to identify themselves and a dress code to identify their own (Siegel).
There are four different types of gangs defined in this chapter. The Social Gang is involved in few delinquent activities and little drug use other than marijuana and alcohol. These members are interested in social activities. Party Gang concentrates on drug use and sales, however, it forgoes most delinquent behavior. Serious Delinquent Gang engages in serious delinquent behavior avoiding drug dealing and usage. Organized Gangs are heavily involved in criminality. Drug use and sell are related to...

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... gang. Joining a gang can also be based on economic factors and what goes on with in the family. Many join for protection and to have that sense of family they probably don’t have at home. Gang activities have changed over time. At first it would just be about protecting the neighborhood, now the violence level has escalated for expansion purposes.
Gangs now are more violent than they were before. This is due to gang rivalry and turf wars for drug selling territory. The youth over the course of time are seeing more gang related activities. Gang violence and gang affiliations are being advertised across the nation. With rappers mentioning these gangs in songs to the creation of the Crip walk, gangs are impacting teenagers lives on a daily bases. Such acts by people teenagers look up to and the conditions they face in society can contribute to juvenile delinquency.