Gang Prevention Essay

675 Words2 Pages

Better Gang Prevention

The Gang Prevention and Deterrence Act was presented by Sen. Orrin Hatch and Diane Feinstein in the winter of 2003. The Act stated an increase in funding for the federal prosecutors and FBI agents needed to conduct coordinated enforcement efforts against violent gangs. There are much better alternatives than trying to pass a law that most people will never even hear about, or increasing funding for prosecutors and FBI agents. Creating new gang-prosecution offences will not prevent teens from getting into gangs. Jeralyn Merritt, a criminal defense attorney in Denver, Co. also suggested sports and mentoring programs. We should not just focus on the children and forget about the adults, help …show more content…

If kids have no extracurricular activities, they end up roaming the streets with nothing to do. They eventually start hanging around the wrong types of crowds, eventually ending up using drugs or joining a gang, for protection or just to belong. They are taught that going to jail is not a big deal and most of them already have relatives who are incarcerated anyway, so what’s to fear. The largest street gangs like the Almighty Latin Kings Nation and the Imperial Gangster Disciples have already formed branches in every major prison across the United States. So the government thinks these criminals are suffering behind bars, just think of these prisons as a big get-to-gather. So let’s try and catch the problem before it happens. Instead of just punishing these kids for choosing the wrong path, let’s help guide them down the right …show more content…

Having an employment office like the Michigan Works offers help to those gang members who are trying to better themselves and are in need of employment. The employment office should have guidelines covering tattoos, certain colors and types of clothing worn, no gang memorabilia. There should be an agent at the Works office that focuses on drug enforced testing on known members. Having a legitimate job means they don’t feel they need to sell drugs or rob people. When these adult gang members keep jobs, they set better examples for the younger people already in

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