Growing up in the modern world is a difficult process with many temptations. Kids learn that they need to fit in and be accepted. Sadly, since not all youth get those needs met at home, they look to gang activity to fulfill desire for acceptance. Since these children learn behavior from an early age, the police and community realized the importance of teaching them about the dangers of joining gangs. There are many theories that could explain this behavior among juveniles, and the creators of the program use these theories to support G.R.E.A.T.. Keeping these influences and theories in mind, law enforcement developed Gang Resistance Education and Training. Referred to as G.R.E.A.T., Gang Resistance Education and Training is a gang and delinquency …show more content…
While most theories tend to ask why a person would practice delinquent behavior, Social Bond Theory asks why some people are not delinquent (Thompson, Bynum 2009). The program asks the same question about why a juvenile would participate in gang activity. According to the developer of the theory, there are four aspects of social bond that explains why a juvenile would, or would not participate in delinquency (Thompson, Bynum 2009). The first aspect is attachment. This focuses on the connection that people feel towards each other, and shows just how much they care about each other. If a juvenile has attachments to good people, and truly care about them, they are more likely not to join a gang (Thompson, Bynum 2009). The next element is commitment, which has to do with the reputation and success of a person. If a juvenile has worked hard to achieve a good social status and is successful, that serves as a buffer against delinquency. The successful juvenile does not want to lose all they have obtained or achieved, so they are more likely to conform to the law (Thompson, Bynum 2009). Involvement is another aspect of the theory. Involvement has to do with how much time and effort a person has put into legitimate activity. A person is less likely to engage in gang activity or another type of delinquency if they have put a lot of effort into a conventional activity (Thompson, Bynum 2009) The G.R.E.A.T. program acknowledges this and highly encourages juveniles to participate in sports, extracurricular activities, and after school programs to keep the student’s involvement at a high level. This also keep juveniles busy, with less chances to roam the streets looking for trouble (Personal Interview Conducted on March 27, 2014). The last element Hirschi argued was belief, which asks whether a person has a proper view of good morals and societal norms. These can range anywhere from a
The reason for this program is to use innovative approaches in developing programs, which will teach youth alternatives to violence, substance abuse, anger issues, low self-esteem, and the consequences as a result of making bad choices. During, the program non-violence, team building, leadership development and communication skills is promoted. A neutral and positive setting is provided for young people, so they are able to come together from different gangs throughout the city to work on their issues and programs together. When a youth is referred to the program they have an Intake-Assessment with the family. “Together, a Program Contract/Service Plan will be developed based on the individual needs of the youth/family. If the youth is on probation/parole all requirements of the courts will be incorporated into their contract. Services offered are case management, mediation, innovative focus groups, presentations, collaboration with other youth service organizations, and attendance at court hearings” (Stop ABQ Gangs,
Schmidt, L. M., & O'Reilly, J. T. (2007). Gangs and Law Enforcement: A Guide for Dealing with Gang-Related Violence. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher, LTD.
There are few known active members of street gangs attending district schools. The gang activity that is seen is that of ‘want-to-be’ gang members who are influenced by family members who are involved in street gang activity. Other ‘want-to-be’ members are often swayed by popular culture. Primarily, school administrators and district officials encounter smaller groups of students, anywhere from 3 to 10 students,from elementary to senior high, who band together and give the group a name. The group serves as a support system for members. These groups tend to be fluid and can disband as quickly as they formed. Most of these groups are benign and caused few difficulties. On occasion there have been groups that have caused greater disruption including violence, intimidation, and drug use. This has led to suspension and student transfer. When a student is identified as a street gang member or has shown signs of street gang influence the first intervention the district takes is to inform the parents of the individual, awareness is
Egley, A., Howell, J., & Moore, J. (2010). Highlights of the 2008 National Youth Gang
Spergel and Curry (1993) discuss suppression and the activities under as, “arrest, special prosecution, incarceration, intensive supervision, gang intelligence, and networking” (p. 374). The implications of Thornberry et al.’s (1993) models illustrate increased criminal behavior during gang membership, thus suppression techniques could potentially reduce crime. These suppression efforts are an approach used against gangs in general, rather than preventing membership, which is the primary goal of community organization programs. Curry et al. (2014) explain the suppression efforts in detail as including, “prosecution, specialized enforcement efforts, specialized probation, targeting of gang members by the California Youth Authority, summer projects, and the use of gang injunctions” (p. 179). While these suppression efforts are extreme, they attempt to answer the issue of gangs and their criminal behavior. This in turn may lower crime and decrease gang expansion. Ultimately, programs that focus on gang membership prevention have the potential to inhibit increased delinquent behavior caused by gangs, while suppression strategies attempt to interrupt criminal behavior in gangs as a
Give the kids and teens after-school programs such as sports and mentoring programs. The government should not waste money funding useless laws, instead it should build more boys and girls clubs in the neighborhoods where gangs are likely appearing to organize. Most people who join a gang are just looking for a sense of belonging. These programs will show them they are smart and talented. It is that sense of belonging when they’re in an after-school group.
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.
... crime and should adopt policies that compliment better socialization of youths. The seriousness of youth crime trends must be addressed with punishments that pay retribution to society. It is equally important that youths are not excluded from society by a legal system that does not recognize their special needs. Rehabilitation measures must address the socialization problems that children are facing with their families, schools, and media pressures. Children will be given alternatives to their delinquent behaviours that may not have been obvious or initially appealing. These changes will result in the prevention and decline of youth gang related crime. Youth gangs are not inevitable. Some social reorganization backed by government policies will eliminate the youth perception that youth gangs are socially acceptable. The Youth Criminal Justice Act (2002) adopts socially focused policies that will better address the social disorientation of youth that lead them into youth gangs. Its implementation is a positive step towards effectively dealing with the changed social forces affecting Canadian youths. Better socialization of youths is paramount to eliminating youth gangs in Canada.
Spergel, I., Chance, R., Ehrensaft, K., Regulus, T., Cane, K., Laseter, R., . . . Alexander, A. (1994, October). Gang Suppression and Intervention: Community Models Research Summary. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/gangcorr.pdf
Gangs are very unsafe to every person in society. “Gangs are groups of people (mostly young males) who band together for security and a sense of belonging. The U.S. Department of Justice officially defines a youth gang as a group of young people involved in criminal activity”. There are about one million gang members in more than 20,000 criminally active gangs in the United States. Also, that group of about one million people is accountable for up to eighty percent of our nation’s crimes. Since 2005, gangs have nationally added about 200,000 members. This is why more action from the community needs to be taken to help with the growing gang-related crimes here in America.
The streets of Philadelphia are rapidly becoming a home to violent acts and random homicides. Innocent lives are taken every day due to the strong presence of gangs, and the streets are run by unruly groups of fearless young adults. Gang violence in Philadelphia is a major issue, and the citizens will never be safe until gang prevention occurs. Gang prevention is not a simple task, but with the right resources available, it is possible. Gang violence is a problem that will contribute to the collapse of Philadelphia, and it has yet to be solved throughout many generations. With gang violence on the rise, the best solution to gang violence is to educate the youth and parents about gangs and use family support to prevent the creation of gang members from the problem’s core.
Proper education is a basic factor in equipping the youths with a better life away from gangs and other unlawful operations. Literature Review The meaning of gang is a subject that lacks clearness among researchers. According to Esbensen (2001), there is no clear and agreed definition of gang globally. Youth mobs and gang crimes are beneath the spotlight in the current media by means of both narratives and statistics stressing instances of disruptive actions.
Statistics show that school-based programs as well as community-based prevention programs minimize gang involvement. School-based programs address substance abuse and violence, which reduces the risk factors for gang involvement. For example, in the article “What Can Schools Do to Prevent Gang Involvement,” by Gary D. Gottfredson, he states, “universal programs in kindergarten through secondary school, which [is a] rewarding educational environment im...
According to Krohn (1986) bridged together theoretical propositions from the delinquency-enhancing effects of differential association and the delinquency-constraining effects of social bonds, as these interact with social learning and social control. His network theory maintains that the lower the network density in relationship to population density, the weaker the constraints against nonconformity, and the higher rates of
In conclusion, Social Bond Theory has been around for many years and has stood the test of time. The four bonds, attachment, involvement, commitment and belief are all held by individuals and play a major part in determining criminality. While it does not describe deviance perfectly, it does match what is believed to be the basic human view of why people become criminals. The view of Social Bond Theory is that all humans are basically evil and that deviance is a natural process. It is just a matter of how weak or strong these bonds are that either promotes, or deters deviance.