Time has changed so do the social issues. Problems arising among the youth are at the alarming state. Main problem like gangsterism is affecting the country’s development. It is an ever growing problem in the world especially among teenagers. For example, a young rabbinical student was stabbed to death during the Crown Heights, N. Y., RIOTS of 1991 as the jury acquitted his assailant on state murder charges (Satris, 2002). The most powerful early risk factors for violence at age 15 to 18 are involvement in general offenses and substance use before age 12 (Office of the Surgeon Generaland& et al, 2001).The situation become more serious when the number of female students and primary school pupils take part in gangsterism is increase. What is gangsterism? According to Collins English Dictionary in 2009, gangsterism is the culture of belonging to organized gangs of criminals. So, the purpose of this study is to investigate the factors of gangsterism among teenagers. There are several of reasons that why teenagers involved in gangsterism such as peer pressure, family problem and financial problem. First, some studies had shown that the peer pressure is found to expose a child at the risk of later involvement in gangsterism (Fitch, 2009). As a teenager, they are very sensitive in this period. They are also easily influence by their friends. A study of gangsterism in Malaysia secondary school had showed that friends were most influences to the students compared to the family (Yahaya, Boon &Buang, 2008). Teenagers with weak social ties are those who attend few social activities and have low popularity with conventional peers (Office of the Surgeon Generaland& et al, 2001). They are aggressive and anti-social. This kind of teenagers is mo... ... middle of paper ... ... gangsterism is influence by peer pressure, family problems and financial problem. As the time pass by, the rate of gangsterism is increasing. A survey of 20,000 high school students by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta revealed that one out of five youths reported carrying a weapon to class (Bryjak&Soroka, 1994). If we do not prevent it well, it maybe will become a war in one day. The whole world will becoming full of violence. People may live in fear. They will not feeling safe and peaceful. The relationship between each other will become worst. The teenagers are pillars of the nation. If we do not curb it, the whole life of teenagers will be destroying by their hand. The economy of nation will decrease in a fast rate. The people will live in poverty. So, gangsterism must be prevent and avoid. As a resident, we must take some action to prevent this issue.
The term gang refers to “a group of people with a discernible structure, a recognized territory, and distinctive beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviors” (Pearce and Pettis, 2011). Gang violence is a wide spread phenomena. Gang violence can be found in all fifty states and in most major cities. With gang violence being so common, it is no surprise that this type of violence is not only affecting are youth, but they are also becoming a main cause of this violence (Graulich, 2010). Youth gang violence has grasped the attention of the communities. Members of the community are joining forces to put a stop to this type of violence (O’Brien, Daffern, Chu, and Thomas, 2013). It is important to learn and understand the history
Gangs can be classified as a group of adolescents who are perceived to be a threat to society, are mostly recognized by their name and territorial power, and have been involved in numerous acts that violate criminal law procedures in North America. (Esbensen, Winfree, He and Taylor, 2001). The first theme that was present in the pieces of literature collected was the lack of opportunities. As previously stated before, becoming involved in a gang starts at a young age. An article titled “Youth Gangs and Definitional Issues: ‘When is a Gang a Gang, and Why Does It Matter?’” explicates what exactly constitutes a gang, starting with young adolescents. Using a survey conducted in the United States, Finn-Aage Esbensen, L. Thomas Winfree, Jr., Ni He, and Terrance J. Taylor (2001) surveyed over 5,000 students. The questions asked were based on how and why they chose to be in a gang (whether they were a part of it currently or before the survey was conducted). The authors concluded their research in deciding unanimously that there was a connection between a social learning theory, and the commencement of gangs. Correspondingly, Herbert C. Covey (2003) created an academic book entitled, Street Gangs Throughout the World, which gave an in-depth look at the different types of gangs across the world. Throughout several chapters, Covey looks at the root causes of how any why gangs are formed. The author noticed that there was a significant trend among young, deprived adolescents and gang membership. (Covey, 2003). Covey (2003) indicated that the more underprivileged a youth was, the more likely the chances would be of them joining a gang, which is a major concern.
This paper will cover issues that young minorities encounter in the movies; Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2008), Gran Torino (2008), A Better Life (2011). Movies will be summarize, and compare and contrast youths experienced. Criminological theories shall be utilized to further elaborate issues. Finally steps and theories will be utilized towards solving issues, also possible methods to correct the issues will be addressed in the end.
From 1990 to to the present there has been a sharp increase in juvenile crime across the United States. From 1996 to the present there has been a slight decline from the statistics in 1995(OJJDP). What was the cause for this uprise in juvenile delinquincy? I will discuss 2 different theories to why there was such an increase in juvenile crime rates. I will analyze the rise of the "Gangsta-Rap" culture in the early 1990's and how it may have affected teenagers that are in lower-income families. Many people believe that the increase in real life violence on television is a cause for violence in juveniles. I will discuss the evidence for this theory. It seems to me that the best theory to explain the rise in juvenile crime is the social constructionist theory. Different sub-cultures of teens have higher crime rates than others because of their interests, whether it be the music that they listen to or the types of television programs that they watched as child.
Street Gangs are becoming popular in many cities across the country. According to the Department of Justice's 2005 National Gang Threat Assessment, there are at least 21,500 gangs and more than 731,000 active gang members (Grabianowski). Gangs bring fear and violence to neighborhoods, drugs, destroy property, involve youth in crimes and drive out businesses. When you have gangs in a community, it affects everyone in the community. An alarming amount of young adults are joining gangs and becoming involved in illegal activity. Most gangs have a rule that when you join the gang you are a member of the gang for life. Gangs can be removed from our communities with more community involvement and education.
Gang membership and in a broader sense, crime and deviance, are social problems which have plagued every society and do not appear to be eradicated anytime in the foreseeable future. However, sociologists and other academics have conjured up explanations like the strain theory, born criminal theory, phrenology and craniometry which have aided law enforcers in their deterrence efforts. According to the structural strain theory, gang membership increase with the presence of a discrepancy between means and goals. The government could open up more avenues for youths to develop their talents. For instance, a college for the arts would serve as a mean to the goals of youths who are artistic but not academically inclined. That being said, more has to be done to prevent youths from falling under the subculture of gangsterism
Youth gangs in North American society are nothing new. When we turn on the news we often hear stories of misguided youth contributing to yet another gang related crime. Even though it is known that youth crimes are overrepresented in the media today, the subject of youth gang activity is quite a predicament to our society. Over the last few years, there has been a moral panic created by constant exposure to the media which portrays a great amount of youth crimes and violence. In Canada there are large urban cities with high proportions of young people, many of which live in poverty, that now have the issue of dealing with youth gangs and youth crimes. Toronto, British Columbia, and Ottawa are examples of Canadian cities that have youth gang problems. The implementation of the new Youth Criminal Justice Act (2002) has changed the way youth crimes are dealt with legally in Canada. It is one step in the right direction for dealing with the issue of youth offending. Although the new act is not perfect, it will provide a better sense of justice to society because it calls for greater punishment for youths who re-offend. Youth Gangs in Canada are a potentially serious problem that needs to be addressed and tactically prevented. If preventative measures are not taken, these large populated urban areas in Canada will have problems similar to those of some major American cities. This essay will analyze the youth gang problem in Canada. It will cover topics such as types of youth gangs, the seriousness of the problem, and the cause for the creation of youth gangs from a Social Disorganization theory perspective. It will also examine the effect of the Youth Criminal Justice Act on gang crime.
The word gang has taken on many meanings throughout the years. Originally, the word was just used to express a group of people. You probably have heard someone talk about the local gang of boys or something of that sort. In older times, the word gang didn’t have such the negative tone that comes along with it today. As time has gone on, the word gang has grown to be a word that many worry about when they hear it. It seems a “gang” has evolved from just being a group of people to a group of people that associate in criminal or other antisocial purpose.
Gang violence is a growing problem in this world. No parent would like to imagine their kids dealing with weapons or being threatened by them. These violence’s affects each child individually and their families as well. These gangs recruit multiple different individuals for many reasons such as bribery, family traditions, or even threatening. Although, many kids feel like they have to be a part of it but there are many resources out in this world to prevent them from believing so. Gang violence has been a problem in society for several of years and is a growing problem each and every day.
In the beginning, cities and police departments refused to accept the fact that there was even a gang problem or acknowledged that that were even gangs present in their communities; however, it did not take long before their views on the subject matter began to change. As more of these so called gangs began to appear the more the general population began to notice how dangerous and violent they were becoming. While rural counties only exhibited six percent of gangs nationwide, smaller cities exhibited a whopping thirty-three percent (Riedel & Welsh pp. 222). It is in these smaller cities where the poverty stricken tended to flock to.
The social bonding theory stated by Hirschi suggests that, weak social bonds to parents, schools, and other institutions of socialization lead to crime (Riedel, 2011, pg. 94). First, when it comes to the institution of family, youth are more likely to become involved with gang activity if they do not have a strong bond with their family. For example youth growing up with only one parent, grandparents, or foster parents as opposed to a two parent home are more likely to become offenders (Riedel, 2011, pg.94). When applying this to youth’s involvement in gang activity, if the social bond to a youth’s family is weak this may result in looking for that family type bond from a street gang and its members. Secondly, looking at the institution of school and education, if the bond to the institution of family is weak then most likely the bond to the institution of education is going to be weak as well. If the social bond to education is weak the youth does not take school seriously, and instead will turn to activities that could end up getting them in trouble with the
Gangs originated in the mid 1800’s in the cardinal direction using it as a method to defend themselves against outsiders.The idea of gangs became populous, powerful, and a broad influence. But like all powers, they tend to corrupt and recognizes violence as a way of getting what they want faster than other methods.They turn violence into fun, profit, and control.Creating a situation that affects youth in today’s society.
As a kid I could remember walking to school every day. While on the way to school there was always a group of kids sanding outside of the school walking away. These kids dressed differently and they all whore the same type of clothes. It wasn’t until years later that I was told to stay away from them because they were gangsters. They were gangsters that caused problems to the community. These gangsters would go up to kids and try and jump them into their gang. For them the more members they had the more “territory they had.” One problem that major cities around the world have is gangs. Most of these gangs are made up of many juvenile delinquents looking for trouble. These gangs tend to hang out in certain places and claim it as their territory. Many of the gang members are drawn together by similar interests, and are brought up in similar neighborhoods.
With excitements, many teens get hurry out to disobey authority or involvement in crimes. The young may be engrossed to the mob’s way of living as it stays out of the law and takes place in illegal behaviors. Others prefer to be in the mob because of the many problems they encounter at homes. With the promise of a greater life by the gangs then the excited teens get attracted to the illegal activities of the mob (Bryman, 2008).
Stopping gang violence begins as early as child development in reducing children in becoming affiliated with gang problems. Gang involvement among youths continues to be a prevalent problem for parents, schools, and society. Even though there are endless possibilities on how society can reduce gang violence. I believe that effective parenting in early child development plays a huge role for children in preventing them from becoming affiliated with gang activity. In seeking then to understand the motivation for youths joining gangs, it is essential to look at good family function, which promotes healthy development, and how parents can get help if they feel if their child may be involved with a gang. Preventing youths from joining gangs in the first place is crucial in realizing on how to reduce youth gag activity.