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Street gangs in this country can probably be traced back to the first wave of Europeans who migrated to the colonies for a better life for themselves and their families. Many of the first gangs were formed as a means of self protection, with the thinking that there is simply strength in numbers. The missions of gangs in today’s society have grown and emerged to include many violent criminal avenues, including drug trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, and extortion but the original thinking that there is strength in numbers remains true. Criminology experts believe that the number of teens involved in gangs or gang activity may be as high as 1 in every 5 people in most urban areas. Those number jump to 1 in every 3 people in large cities like Los Angeles and Chicago.
New York State Law defines a gang as –
“…any ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, having as one of its primary activities the commission of one or more criminal acts, which has an identifiable name or with the identifying sign or symbol, and whose members individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in a pattern of gang activity.”
The prison sentences in New York States for being involved in a crime while being part of a gang are much harsher than committing an offense on your own. Yet, gang members most times will freely admit their own role in the street gang, while never
giving up any of his brothers or their crimes. Every arrest, every conviction, earns these young people more respect within the gang. It is absurd to think a prison system can help rehabilitate criminals who are rewarded and valued for committing crimes and for keeping their loyalty to the gang. Pr...
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...iors of at least 40 other gangs existing in the prison systems and on the streets throughout the United States.
Unfortunately, with no real suppression or prevention plans in place, prisons are really nothing more than a place to keep violent gang members until they return to the streets. Alternatives to gangs and gang activities need to be established. Education and training programs are needed in correctional facilities, but there also need to be prevention measures in schools and neighborhoods. The only way our society is going to control the illegal and dangerous activities of gangs in prison, is to keep people from becoming caught up and trapped within gangs. Parents, teachers, and community leaders need to learn to have honest conversations with children about the evils of gangs, and help them find alternative and productive ways to spend their time.
Morch, S., & Andersen, H. (2012). Becoming a Gang Member: Youth Life and Gang Youth. Online Submission
The large negative impact on Oklahoma that gangs have caused resulted in a change in our state. In all fifty of the United States, more types and groups of gangs are committing more crimes and illegal activity. Gangs have significantly impacted Oklahoma by increasing violence, homicides, and drug trafficking, and something must be done. The amount of people affiliated with gangs is rapidly increasing. Oklahoma authorities say that gangs are an urban problem. In a report in the year 2010, studies showed that all seventy seven Oklahoma counties had some form of gang activity. They first started forming in the state in the 1980s. Some gangs were started from locals, and others were formed from the west coast. There are approximately 120 different sets of gangs in Oklahoma City including many different ethnicities.
In order to better understand the rise of these groups, I went into the original neighborhoods to document the history which led to these groups. There are 88 incorporated cities and dozens of other unincorporated places in Los Angeles County (LAC). In the process of conducting this research, I visited all of these places in an attempt to not just identify gangs active in Los Angeles, but to determine their territories. Through several weeks of field work and research conducted in 1996, I identified 274 black gangs in 17 cities and four unincorporated areas in LAC.
First let's focus on the fact that gang related crime is one of the most dangerous challenges facing society and law enforcement today. They are younger, more brutal, unafraid of consequences and becoming increasingly more vicious. Gang members work together as cliques, they commit all sorts of violent crimes including murders, rapes, robberies and kidnappings. "They live in aimless and violent presents; have no sense of the past and no hope for the future; they commit unspeakably brutal crimes against other people often to gratify whatever urges of desires drive them at the moment and their utter lack of remorse is...
This paper will cover issues that young minorities encounter in the movies; Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2008), Gran Torino (2008), A Better Life (2011). Movies will be summarize, and compare and contrast youths experienced. Criminological theories shall be utilized to further elaborate issues. Finally steps and theories will be utilized towards solving issues, also possible methods to correct the issues will be addressed in the end.
According to the 2015 National Gang Report (NGR) from the National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC) almost half of law enforcement juristictions across the United States reported a rise in street gang membership and street gang activitiy. My communitty is no exception.
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...
States such as California and New York have a big problem with gangs. Gang-related homicides in Los Angeles County has increased dramatically in the last 16 years, reaching epidemic proportions especially for young male African Americans and Hispanics, according to a study by co-authored by Deirdre Anglin, assistant professor of emergency medicine at LAC+USC (Maceo para.1). When someone decides to join a gang they have to let current members of the gang know that they are going to be a member for life and they are dedicated to the gang, this can be proven in a gang affiliation. Boys are usually forced to fight several gang members at the same time. This is called being "rolled-in" or "walking the line." Girls may be forced to have sex with several gang members or fight other female members. For some gangs you have to beat someone up, rob a store or commit a drive-by shooting. This puts innocent citizens in danger. In Chicago, the year 2012, more than 40 people were shot over Memorial Day weekend alone (Childress para.2).
Through evidence, it has been shown that there is little to no distinction between prison gangs and street gangs. Street gangs like the Blood and the Crips members are being imprisoned, and they become active in prison. While, prison gang members are being released and are being active on the streets. 46 of the U.S. states have stated that some prisoners become gang members. M. L. Sullivan stated that prisons act as a school for gang memberships. It is a place where one can sharpen their skills.
It is surprisingly difficult to pinpoint the origin of street gangs. This may be because of the inherent nature of gangs: a group of individuals who come together for the same purpose and in the case of str...
The presence of gang violence has been a long lasting problem in Philadelphia. Since the American Revolution, gangs have been overpopulating the streets of Philadelphia (Johnson, Muhlhausen, 2005). Most gangs in history have been of lower class members of society, and they often are immigrants into the U.S (Teen Gangs, 1996). Gangs provided lower class teens to have an opportunity to bond with other lower class teens. However over time, the original motive of being in a gang has changed. In the past, gangs used to provide an escape for teens to express themselves, let out aggression, and to socialize with their peers. It was also an opportunity for teens to control their territory and fit in (Johnson, Muhlhausen, 2005). In the past, authorities would only focus on symptoms of gang violence and not the root. They would focus on arresting crime members instead of preventing gang violence. Gangs are beginning to expand from inner-city blo...
middle of paper ... ... A law that’s just recently passed over the past couple of years is called the Gang Sentencing Enhancement Law. The law basically is a two-part law, the first part being illegal to “commit a crime to participate in a street gang and assist in any felony criminal conduct by the gang members”.
A gang is a group of people who interact among themselves. Teen violence is contributed to these gangs. Most gangs claim neighborhoods as their territory and try to control everything inside that territory. This kind of antisocial behavior is a major problem in American Society.
Hallswort, S. And Young, T. (2004) Getting Real About Gang. Criminal Justice Matters [online]. 55. (1), pp 12-13 [Accessed 10 December 2013]
Many stereotypes of gangs have been fabricated. The problem is that a majority of gang members do not fit these stereotypes, which, in turn, makes it hard for the to be caught (Klein). Traditionally they organize their group around a specific neighborhood, school or housing projec...