There are several factors that play into youths joining gangs. These factors are a big deal and can easily be fixed to lower the youth gang rate. For my research paper I will be writing about youth gangs and how factors in a childs life pertains to why they join gangs. I will research why youths get involved with gangs and how it affects the communities. I will explain what types of gangs are out there and what kids get involved in what gang. I will also explain what a gang is and how to know if someone is gang affiliated. I will also research in ways we can come together to put a stop to youth gangs. I will compare the lifestyles of these children who end up in gangs compared to the children who don’t end up being in gangs as youths. I will …show more content…
"In 2012, there was an estimated, 30,700 gangs (an increase from 29,900 in 2011) and 850,000 gang members (an increase from 782,500 in 2011) throughout 3,100 jurisdictions with gang problems (down from 3,300 in 2011) " (http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/248025.pdf). This is not just youth gangs, this is all gangs in general. Just think how many youths are getting sucked into that lifestyle. Children who get into gangs need to feel safe and feel like they have a family. This is one of the biggest reasons why youths get into gangs. They feel neglected or they need a purpose. As youths grow up through their adolescent stage they lean towards groups of people who support, assure, protect and direct. (Siegel and Welsh pg. 215) Others who are in gangs show these kids who feel neglected the qualities they need to see. When you are in a gang you and your other gang members have each others back. Loyalty means so much to people in gangs. This is a big reason why youths get into gangs. They feel safe and they feel like they are part of a family. They can depend on the ones in their gang. There are several factors that play into youths joining gangs. These factors are a big deal and can easily be fixed to lower the youth gang …show more content…
A lot of gang members come from a lower-class life. Even though low class or bad neighborhoods is where most gang members come from these gangs in these types of communities don’t last long. According to the juvenile justice textbook it says that "They find that neighborhood disadvantage does promote gang membership, but that the association in not linear: at extreme levels of structural disadvantage gang membership begins to decline." (Siegel and Welsh pg. 231) A child who comes from a low-class community or a bad neighborhood is more likely to get into a gang than other kids who are from a
Some teens join gangs because they are antisocial and it gives them a feeling of belonging to something or being a part of something. Another factor that influences youth to join gangs is victimization. It has been proven that more gang members were abused at some point in their life (Howell, 2010). Children who come from broken homes are also more likely to join gangs. These children typically receive less attention from their families and so they look for that attention in other
These issues are of utmost importance, gang membership does not only present an issue on an individual level, but on a societal level as well. Gangs are well-known for their proclivity for violence, even to those who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Youth gang crime is no longer limited to big cities; these problems have now spread beyond those boundaries into suburbs, small cities, and even rural areas (Spergel & Grossman, 1997). These organizations put us all at risk, and are a threat to public safety. Furthermore, these groups put our youth at risk and threaten to destroy their
Gangs have been in existence since the beginning of the Roman Empire. There were speeches made by Roman orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero, which references groups of men who constantly fought and disrupted Roman politics (Curry, 2013). The history of street gangs in the United States begins with their emergence on the East Coast around 1783, as the American Revolution ended. Though many believe the best available evidence suggests that the more serious street gangs likely did not emerge until the early part of the nineteenth century (Sante, 1991). Although our country has had their share of feared gangs like in the 1980’s with the turf war between the Bloods and Crips, back in the 17th and 18th century the Mohocks of Georgian, England were one of the most feared gangs. What draws juveniles to the gang lifestyle? Many people will say that most gang members are children from impoverished communities, single family homes where there was no father present, or maybe there is a more psychological/sociological answer? By appearance and presence most gangs cause fear, crime, and disillusionment in the communities they occupy. Throughout history joining a gang has been perceived as a life without any reward, yet by joining this lifestyle many juveniles are able to gain the needed stability and security in their lives.
Mihailoff, Laura. "Youth Gangs." Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood: In History and Society. Ed. Paula S. Fass. Vol. 3. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 916-917. Student Resources in Context. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.
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.
Issue: “The number of youths joining gangs in the inner city has doubled, while the number of gang leaders serving time in prison and being released after good conduct has increased. The crime rate for gang violence has risen 20% from last year” (American Intercontinental University, 2015).
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...
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 members are being recruited at all ages and most join for different reasons. Many youth are drawn to gangs not by the need for protection, but by the supposed glamour of a lifestyle that is celebrated in many areas of modern culture (Burell). Children are influenced by what they see on TV and in movies, and many movies portray gang life as a very fast paced and interesting life drawing kids in to experience this life for themselves. Movies such as Boyz N’da Hood, Juice, Scarface, and Menace II Society portray the good, the bad, and the ugly of gang life, but they do not show it as just bad. They Hollywood gang life up and make children think that gangs are easy and fun with a lot of shooting, instead of dangerous and unhealthy. This could account for why “more than a quarter of public middle and high schools have both gangs and drugs present on their campuses” and why “4% of teens report gangs at public schools, compared with just 29% of teens at private and religious schools”(Geiger). This is why gangs need to be stopped at the source. If stricter laws are placed on the gang leaders, keeping them in jail, then they cannot recruit our youth, which would decrease the spread of gangs. Let the leaders serve as an example to the other members and show what happens when you commit gang crimes. Until members see the seriousness of their offences and the consequences they are not going to change. Also there need to be stricter punishments for children found involved in gang activity. The cause for gang involvement needs to be found within our youth and when gang crimes are committed they need to be punished to the full extent. Youth leaders need to be found and punished as well once you weed out the leaders the others will fall. Most youth commit gang crimes due to the lack
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.
Nowadays gangs are big issues in America. People who are in gang feel like they belong some where and people care about them. There are various reasons people join gangs, and almost all age group between ages 12-40 are involved in gangs. One of the big reasons people join gangs is because of their needs, protection, and also they want attention from people around them. Gang’s should be taken seriously because today’s gangs are more violent and brutal then they were in 60’s. Gangs do more violent act every day and if police don’t do anything about gangs then it will be hard to control the gangs in the future.
Most of the gang members that have been reported come from the lower social economical class. When these kids are out in the streets they have nothing better to do so they begin go commit delinquent behavior. Since these economically challenged kids have no money to go anywhere they tend to hang round their neighbor hood. These kinds of groups encourage each other to commit criminal activity. Since they feel that if one does it all of them can do it too.
One of the reasons young people join street gangs is because of neighborhood disadvantages. A theory that can contribute to why young people might join street gangs is Social Disorganization Theory. Social Disorganization theory assumes that “delinquency emerges in neighborhoods where neighborhood relation and social institutions have broken down and can no longer maintain effective social controls (Bell, 2007).” Social Disorganization contributes to residential instability and poverty, which affects interpersonal relationships within the community and opens opportunities for crimes to be committed. The break down of neighborhood relation and social institutions create a higher likely hood that young people will affiliate with deviant peers and get involved in gangs. When there is lack of social controls within a neighborhood the opportunity to commit deviance increases and the exposure to deviant groups such as street gangs increase. Which causes an increase in the chances of young people joining street gangs. If social controls are strong remain strong within a neighborhood and/or community the chances of young people committing crime and joining gangs decreases.
Additionally, the need for the young people to have a sense of protection mainly drives them to join gangs. Many societies with high reported cases of mob activities frequently see youths link with a bunch of criminals just for endurance. For many, it is better to connect with the mob that to stay vulnerable and defenseless in their localities (Klein & Maxson, 2006). For many being connected to mob guarantees sustenance in case of assault and retaliation for wrongdoings. While the young people with a good family unit often feel protected hence they desire not to link with
A gang can be defined as a group of people who unite to serve a common purpose and engage in violent or otherwise criminal behavior. (http://www.ci.torrance.ca.us) The types of crimes committed by gang members differ between gangs, but the crimes generally associated with gangs include vandalism, robbery, drug-trafficking, assault, arson, and murder. There are many reasons why teenagers may join gangs. The root causes of violent gang formation are poverty, stressed families, unemployment, under-employment, under-education, racism, and the breakdown of sociocultural institutions. (http://www.instanet.com) Many people join gangs for protection from violent people in other gangs. (http://www.public.iastate.edu) Other people join gangs for the sense of family that comes along with it. The youth gang satisfies a void - the child's desire to feel secure. It provides the child with a sense of identity, belonging, power, and protection. The gang provides a protective barrier against the outside world. (http://www.highways.com)