Historically, gangs began to develop around the time frame of the 1970’s. Irish gangs have been known to be the first initial gang, followed by the Germans, Jewish, and Italians (Pacheco, 2010, p. 10). Gangs are larger in population and tend to be more prevalent in the United States, compared to other countries. In 2008, statistics showed that there were 20,000 active gangs and more than 1 million gang members in the United States (Pacheco, 2010, p. 12). According to Pacheco (2010) there are different types of gangs. Although these gangs are formed for individual purposes, broken up, they can form a multitude of different types of gangs. There are your traditional gangs (Crips, Bloods). Business, profit gangs, which are generated around financial gains. Hate group gangs, which their purpose is to target different ethnic groups, races or homosexuals. Copycat and delinquent social gangs, which seem to be the least relevant. Street gangs, which are prone to target younger individuals, but the actual ages of the gang members vary. Third generation gangs which are known as “terrorist”. Hybrid gangs are new to this generation, they could be considered the “hipster” of gangs. Then there are prison gangs. They are usually small in population and are structured along an individuals ethnicity (Pacheco, 2010, pp. 12-15). Gangs serve a multitude of purposes for their members. The gang becomes their family. They are able to trust them, rely on them, and the gang gives them a sense of self and importance. Gangs have the ability to offer status, refuge, protection, and opportunity of stigma free life within this population (Tower, 2013, p. 82). In the PBS show Interrupter ex-gang members and ex-gang enforcers joined together ... ... middle of paper ... ...g the culture of youth violence. Retrieved from http://www.bing.com/search?q=historical+overview+of+gangs+and+the+pourposes+they+serve&go=Submit+Query&qs=bs&form=QBRE Tower, C. (2013). Exploring child welfare: A practice perspective (6th ed.). Boston, US: Allyn and Bacon. Walker, R. (2013, October 15). Gangs or us. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.gangsorus.com/hispanic_latino_gangs.htm Walker, R. (2013, October 15). Gangs or us. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.cgiaonline.org/gangs2000/african90s.html Walker, R. (2013, October 15). Gangs or us. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.gangsorus.com/united_states_gangs.html Walker, R. (2013, October 15). Gangs or us. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.gangsorus.com/asian_gangs.htm Walker, R. (2013, October 15). Gangs or us. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://www.gangsorus.com/rico.htm
Gangs have been around forever and there are two types of gangs which are, street gangs and prison gangs. They have the same structures that are divided as leadership and soldiers. The main difference between a street gang and prison gang is that a prison gangs are more disciplined than a street gang. Incarcerated members cannot escape their environment and therefore, are forced to comply with the facilities and gangs regulation. Gangs are always involved with criminal activity and it's difficult to control negative behavior and to lower recidivism rates for gang members.
Merriam-Webster defines a gang as: a group of persons working together (2): a group of persons working to unlawful or antisocial ends; especially: a band of antisocial adolescents. Youth gangs are united under common interests and are typically regarded as a menace to society often performing illegal activities. Gangs have existed for hundreds of years in a number of cultures, however many people educated on them put the emergence of the modern youth gang in the nineteenth century. Gangs and youth groups have existed since at least the middle Ages. Accounts from England in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries describe criminal gangs that robbed, extorted, and raped. Although these early gangs had characteristics associated with the modern youth gang, today’s urban street gangs emerged in the United States where the social and economic pressures associated with rapid industrialization, urbanization, and immigration created an environment that organized criminal gangs could thrive under (Mihailoff).
Throughout the centuries, gangs have been rapidly growing. As early as the 1730s different groups of people in Europe began forming gangs. At first they were composed of people upset with the government who started riots to rebel against the government. Decades later, gangs began to spread worldwide very quickly. Gangs made their way all the way to the United States, or the 13 colonies at the time. They were largely created by people upset with the government. There were gangs for federalists supporters, and gangs for people who supported the Anti-federalists (“Gangs” 2015). As centuries passed, people formed gangs for different reasons. Beginning in the 1940s in cities like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and Detroit, gangs of white
Marcus Hoover of Stanford University credits California as the origin of gangs in the article “Where All the Madness Began: A Look at Gang History” since it is the home of both the notorious Bloods and the opprobrious Crips. Hoover defined a gang member as this: “any person who actively participates in any gang with knowledge that its members engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity, and who willfully promotes, furthers, or assists in any felonious criminal conduct by members of that gang.” Research shows that the leading cause for gangs popularity and growth is the lack of a stable home system and a non-family presence. During the time of mobs, author Claire Sterling states; in her article “The Mafia Poses a New Threat to America” from Gangs: Opposing Viewpoints; teens and adults would find comfort in a group, which they believed had their best interest in mind. Gangs are not just in America, gangs operate all over the globe. Gangs know good and well exactly what they are doing. Although not all acts of certain individuals can be b...
What other theoretical elements--from theories we have already covered or other social considerations could explain the attraction to or resistance to gangs? Are there patterns and trends that might have theoretical significance?
When one hears the word “gangs”, many would start leaving the premises or speak in hushed whispers due to the threats attached to these groups. Some would argue, especially its members, that the perceptions on gangs are exaggerated considering that not all gangs are violent in nature. Regardless of these arguments, many often fear gangs as history and the media portray the violence and chaos brought by these groups when they are in their territories or fighting rival organizations. However, there are several sentiments being raised by people when it comes to the possible impacts of gang membership to the individual who become involved with these gangs. How much changes would these gangs bring to the individual and the community? Gang membership
Gangs have become one of the most serious crime problems in the United States. Gangs have been around in the United States for a long time. Gangs "Once found principally in large cities, violent street gangs now affect public safety, community image, and quality of life in communities of all sizes in urban, suburban, and rural areas. No region of the United States is untouched by gangs. Gangs affect society at all levels, causing heightened fears for safety, violence, and economic costs” (2005 National Gang Threat Assessment, National Alliance of Gang Investigators Associations, 2005).
The authors do a splendid job at going over gang structures and the common misconceptions that are out there about gangs. I do agree with them for the most part that gangs are disorganized and have high turnover rates at the leadership level. I do believe from my experience that some gang activities are very well planned and carried out. This is why researching this gang is so hard because of all the differences with gangs and that they are not well organized. It makes combating this problem even harder. Also, it is clear that more research is needed to develop better deterrence and therapeutic programs and
History has shown time and time again that most gangs are violent, involved in drug activity, murder, sex, and all types of illegal activities. And how do we know this? Gangs are portrayed in mass media, TV, games, and movies as being completely evil and extremely filled with horrible people. Most people believe that gangs are going to take over and fill the streets with violence and death if they are not stopped because of what they have seen or heard in the media. Some believe that media actually contributes to gang related crime. While yes most gangs are bad for our youth, the community and everyone involved, but there are also positive aspects that are not shown and some gangs try to good and make a difference in the community. The good aspects of gangs are not widely talked about as the negative aspects are so people have a negative viewpoint of gangs. While I am not for one minute saying some gangs are not horrible I am going to talk about a few gangs who are
arose with Italian immigrants related to the Sicilian Mafia and others. These street gangs in New York City used to steal and murder whoever they needed if it was for the gang. One of the most famous street gang members was Al Capone, street gangs were very popular in the 1920's and 1930's. Most immigrants and young teens were involved in gangs due to lack of money and goods. Hispanics, Asians and African Americans began banding together to form gangs in the 1950s and 1960s. By the 1970's and 1980's the gangs were forming together in Los Angeles and New York forming gangs, mostly out of the same race. Teen violence between two different gangs, as well as senseless violence, flourished. In 2007, there were an estimated 775,000 gang members in the U.S., according to the National Youth Gang Center. In 2011 the NGIC or National Gang Intelligence Center, said that "There are an estimated 1.4 million street, prison, and outlaw gang members living here, more than 33,500 gangs in the United States."An estimated 230,000 gang members were in U.S. prisons or jails in 2011. Many types of gangs make up the general structure of an organized
having the following characteristics: three or more members, generally ages 12-24; a gang name or some sort of identity, generally indicated by such symbols such as clothing, graffiti, and hand signs; some degree of organization; and a elevated level of involvement in delinquent or criminal activity.”(Curry, 2014). A large misconception about youth gangs is that a gang must have a large membership ratio, which resembles the likes of the Los Angeles based gangs, The Bloods or the Crips, or has to be strongly racially or ethically based such as the Neo-Nazi’s or Latin Kings. This is not all together true. Indeed a large majority of gang activity results from highly involved associations like the four previously mentioned, but smaller less known or even recognized gang...
We are having gang problems in the U.S. Murder state in the brg. U.S cities like Los Angeles have a lot of gangs. America has more deaths ( because of gangs and murders). People in gang problems get murdered most in the U.S because of fights or drugs. If we didn’t have any kind of gangs than their would be less deaths in the U.S.
Miller defines the gang as a stable group, neither overly aggressive nor violent, that helps to prepare young inner-city males for the role adult. (Miller, 1958) The 1995 national youth gang survey from the office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention states “youth gangs are groups of youth in your jurisdiction aged approximately 10 to 22 that you or other responsible persons in your agency or community are willing to identify or classify as a gang. C.L. Maxson states that a gang is “ a group of adolescents or young adults who see themselves as a group (as do others) and have been involved in enough crime to be of considerable concern to law enforcement and the community” (Maxson, 1998).
et me start off by describing to you what a gang is. The legal definition of a gang is "a group of individuals bonded together by race, national origin, culture, or territory, who associate on a continual basis for the purpose of committing criminal acts”. The audience this is targeted for are the people that don’t see this violence every day. I believe that those who live in places where youth and gang violence is an issue already know what the root causes of these activities are. However, those outside the circle of violence might be less aware of the causes. People who are in gangs are usually lower class people that live in the urban areas of big cities most of the time. Gang members are recruited at young ages in their own neighborhoods
Almost all cities in the United States have trouble with gangs. Gangs include members from all walks of life. They are made up of female members as well as male members. They can be found in neighborhoods, schools, and even prisons. Many people dislike gangs and wished they did not exist. Some people see being in a gang as their way of life. Today, many young people are attracted to gangs. Gangs are glamorized and talked about in songs and seen in movies. Gangs hold a special attraction for some people. Potential members are recruited into gangs every day for various reasons. Even though there are many reasons why young people join gangs, there are things people can do to prevent young people from joining.