Youth Gangs

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Youth gang related crime crime has been growing for years, but little data exists about the extent and precise nature of crimes committed by gang members. Gangs have been said to have committed many crimes such as drug smuggling, murder, and theft. Although many gang members have been known to do some of these things, there is no real evidence that they are gang related. Researchers found that the median age at which youths begin to hang out with gangs is approximately 13 years old (Roland 26). Are gangs responsible for the crimes that are committed, or is it just coincidence that gang members are committing the crimes? The research shows that gang members in each of the survey sites are much more likely to sell drugs than nongang at risk youths (Decker 6). Of the gang members who sell drugs, they reported doing so more frequently, having fewer customers, making more money from the sales, and relying more on out-of-state suppliers. The nongang youths that sold drugs didn't have such an operation going for them. They were just petty drug dealers(Thornberry 7). There have been numerous instances when there has been a murder and they say that it must have been gang related. That's not entirely true or false. In many instances the murders were not gang related just girlfriend related (Johnson 28). There are many times when someone is killed over a girlfriend or an argument. That doesn't mean that it was gang related at all, it just means th...

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