Researchers have long sought to understand the salience of gang involvement (Varano, Huebner and Bynum, 2011). Studies show that those involved in gang activity “begin their delinquent/criminal careers earlier, experience higher levels of violent victimizations, have accelerated levels of participation in the most serious forms of delinquency, experience great number of incarceration periods, and are generally more problematic when incarcerated” (Varano, Huebner and Bynum, 2011). Gang involvement typically leads to delinquent behavior in youth and it leads them down the wrong path of life. There is typically a higher rate of youth involved in gangs who come from broken homes, do not have jobs, are on drugs or come from families that do drugs, and school drop
In response to a growing gang problem in specific communities, the OJJDP has refined the Comprehensive Gang Model to better fit the issues related to today’s gangs. The GRP incorporates several new aspects into the pre-existing Comprehensive Gang Model. The revamped program was tested in four communities: East Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, W...
Morch, S., & Andersen, H. (2012). Becoming a Gang Member: Youth Life and Gang Youth. Online Submission
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).
Gangs have been in existence since the beginning of time. These kind of groups, or gangs, usually participate in several criminal and illegal activities that negatively affect society. These activities include theft, robbery, extortion, rape, and many types of vandalism. Gangs have increasingly became a problem society has often had to deal with. People wonder where and how it all started. It is in fact evident that gangs can change a person’s life in a negative way. Many fall into these bad steps by peer pressure or even movies. Being influenced by what the media projects, accepting peer pressure, and how a person is raised in the wrong household are all examples of how one is led into a gang. These groups have had many negative effects on society for many years. The impacts that gang membership lead to affect society are what people should be aware of.
Gangs have been a point of concern for states and societies around the world for centuries. Youth gangs are not exempt from that same categorization and have operated for the same amount of time worldwide. Over the last century however, a proliferation of youth gangs has been witnessed, especially among Hispanic youths immigrating into the United States. Researchers and scholars have offered multiple theories as to why youths, and Hispanics youths in particular integrate themselves into gang organizations. Three schools of thought arise when conducting gang integration research. Rational Economics Theory1 proposes that youths, and all individuals, join gangs for financial and material benefit. Cultural Deviance Theory considers youth gang members as exposed to a lower class subculture that rationalizes and even promotes crime, delinquency and gang membership, contrasting to the “normal” set of prescribed values and culture in more civilized society. Acculturation Theory argues that youths join gangs as a means to be acculturated by ethnically or compositionally similar peers, whether as a response to ethnic marginalization by members of the host country or inability to acculturate to their new home.
First issue that I would like to address is a Gang-related issue. Gang has been an ongoing problem in the U.S since the early 1920’s. The characteristics of the modern gang today are nothing like the pasts and it is very important for our criminal justice system to know the differences and characteristics of the gangs. According to (Bartollas & Miller, 2011), Jeffrey Fagan has identified four major types and characteristics of modern gangs; “Type 1 gangs were involved in a few delinquent activities and only alcohol and marijuana use. These gangs had low involvement in drug sales and appeared to be social gangs. Type 2 gangs were heavily involved in several kinds of drug sales, primarily to support their own drug habits. They were also heavily involved in vandalism. Type 3 gangs had the highest levels of member participation, including extensive involvement in both serious and non-serious offenses. Another feature of this type was less involvement in both dr...
Gang involvement has been quite higher than past years. The 2008 National Youth Gang Survey estimates that about 32.4 percent of all cities, suburban areas, towns, and rural counties had a gang problem (Egley et al., 2010). This represented a 15 percent increase from the year 2002. The total number of gangs has also increased by 28 percent and total gang members have increased by 6 percent (Egley et al., 2010). This shows how relevant gang related activity is in today’s society. More locations are beginning to experience gang activity for the first time. Gang crime has also been on the rise in the past...
“We're this big melting pot, but someone turned up the heat too high, and the stew started to burn. Gangs, crime, fights, [violence] and fear are now a regular part of our local stew (Neil Shusterman).” Gang violence has been going on since the 1940s and to this day, as we speak, the numbers continue to increase through-out Los Angeles California. Gang violence has doubled their crime rates that has been happening present to this day. In order to prevent and reduce gang violence is to encourage those to attend to programs where ex gang members discuss and share their problems and emotional disorders due to gang violence. Through the course of human events it seen throughout history how gang violence has influenced the lives of adults and young adults affecting our generation today and how it is our mission to end gang violence making it safer for our communities.
Although a standard definition does not exist, gang delinquency can be defined as law-violating behavior committed by groups of youth and adults, that are complexly organized and that have established leadership and membership rules (Curry & Spergel, 1988). Gangs engage in a range of different crimes, but most significantly in violent crimes, as a means of upholding norms and values in regards to: mutual support, conflict relations with other gangs, and tradition (Curry & Spergel, 1988). They are organizations concerned with territory, status, and the ability to control behavior. For disadvantaged youth, who lack the opportunities to succeed in a socially acceptable manner, gangs effectively provide meaningful social and even economic structures. In gang membership, there is the opportunity to create personal identity, but there are minimal standards of acceptable status (Curry & Spergel,
The case histories are taken from real-life situations and present both problem and solution for a wide range of situations. These stories present the point of view of both parent and teen, which the reader can compare and contrast to his or her own situation. They also provide insight into the probable cause of the conflict as well as explaining how the problem was actually resolved.
This book review covers Policing Gangs in America by Charles Katz and Vincent Webb. Charles Katz has a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice, while Vincent Webb has a Ph.D. in Sociology, making both qualified to conduct and discuss research on gangs. Research for Policing Gangs in America was gathered in four cities across the American Southwest; Inglewood, California, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Phoenix, Arizona. This review will summarize and discuss the main points of each chapter, then cover the relationship between the literature and class discussions in Introduction to Policing and finally it will note the strengths and weaknesses of book.
The presence of gang violence has been a long lasting problem in Philadelphia. Since the American Revolution, gangs have been overpopulating the streets of Philadelphia (Johnson, Muhlhausen, 2005). Most gangs in history have been of lower class members of society, and they often are immigrants into the U.S (Teen Gangs, 1996). Gangs provided lower class teens to have an opportunity to bond with other lower class teens. However over time, the original motive of being in a gang has changed. In the past, gangs used to provide an escape for teens to express themselves, let out aggression, and to socialize with their peers. It was also an opportunity for teens to control their territory and fit in (Johnson, Muhlhausen, 2005). In the past, authorities would only focus on symptoms of gang violence and not the root. They would focus on arresting crime members instead of preventing gang violence. Gangs are beginning to expand from inner-city blo...
Tobin, Kimberly. Gangs: An Individual and Group Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.
The paragraph suggests that although ethics is not a matter of dogmatism, it is a matter of personal preference or choice, something one cannot-or should not-ar...