Gang Structure

385 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: The structure of youth gangs

Gang Structure Each gang has their own structure. Members are usually males from 13 to 28 years old, but police are also seeing female subsets of existing gangs. Gangs are not restricted to only youths from disadvantaged and low income areas: many middle and upper class youths are also involved in gang activity (http://www.gangfreekids.org/gangs.html). In addition, gangs are not just comprised of African-American youths; gang members represent all racial and ethnic groups. Some gang members may also have relatives that belong to the gang. The head of a gang is called the leader. The leader is responsible for running the gang. The leader of a gang determines the day to day activities and what goes on. Beneath the leader are the “hardcore gang members”. The hardcore gang members are usually older members. They are responsible for recruiting new members and keeping the other members in line using fearful tactics (http://www.gangfreekids.org/gangs.html). The hardcore gang members are at high risk of being involved for life. These members basically care about nothing besides the gang. About 10 percent of the gang is composed of these criminals. Following the hardcore gang members are the associate gang members. Associate gang members generally make a personal commitment to the gang culture. They work really hard in the gang so they could achieve the hardcore gang member status (http://www.nbc17.com/news/3301426/detail.html). Next in procession is the fringe gang member. The fringe gang member is a part of the gang but they have not made a commitment to a life in the criminal gang culture (http://www.gangfreekids.org/gangs.html). They may either leave the gang or end up becoming a hard core member. This type of member drifts in and out of the gang and seems to lack direction in life. Wanna-be gang members are not actual gang members.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Jumped In By Jorja Leap

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book emphasizes the idea of how difficult it is to leave the gang lifestyle. There are frequent cases of relapse by individuals in the book, who were once out to again return to gangs. This case is brought by what gangs represent to this in the book and what leaving entails them to give up. The definition of gangs presented to the class was, three or more members, share name, color, or affiliation, or must exist in a geopolitical context. To members associated with gangs, this definition can include your family members, neighborhood, everyone that they associate with. Take for example Ronnie from Jumped in by Jorja Leap it states,” Ronny’s role models are gangbangers. His family is a hood. His mentors are older homies in county jail.”(102). Ronnie and other gang members like him do not

    Read More

  • Gang Intelligence Methods in Law Enforcement

    2252 Words  | 5 Pages

    Membership in a gang does not necessarily mean that the person is uneducated. Some gang members may have positions within the law enforcement communities (Sulc, 65) and some gang members earn college degrees in business, law enforcement, finance, etc. This type of education whether formal or on-the-job will make the gang even stronger. If an individual cannot afford to go to college, this type of scholarship program could be an incentive to stay or join up with ...

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Asian Gangs

    1705 Words  | 4 Pages

    Let's say you're by yourself on the subway in New York City. You get on and it's not that crowded, there's a bunch of open seats. As you look around, you notice that the car is filled with mainly high school aged kids, mostly boys. On one side there is a spot next to a bunch of African Americans, on the other side it's a posse of Asians. Okay, so where are you going to sit? Next to the Asian's I bet. What if it was Latino's instead of Blacks, chances are you would still say you'd go towards the Asian's and shy away from the more typical gang looking kids. When most people think of gangs, they don't really think Asian, it's a Black or Hispanic thing right? Well, Asian gangs have been becoming more and more prevalent. Especially among our nation's largest cities. The majority of them are in China Town, in San Francisco. New York's Asian population is continuously growing though, and with that comes the urban gangs. Where do they originate, and just how pervasive are they in our society? It's a new area of study that seemed more interesting to me than the usual American gangs.

    Read More

  • Gangs in America

    2717 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Gangs in Prison

    1456 Words  | 3 Pages

    Prison gangs are originally formed by inmates as a way of protecting themselves from the other inmates. These gangs have turned out to be violent and thus posing a threat to security. This paper will have a look at the different gangs in prisons, their history, beliefs and missions, and the differences and similarities in these gangs.

    Read More

  • National Gang Report

    686 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Gangs and Injunctions

    1320 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Youth Gangs

    3412 Words  | 7 Pages

    Youth gangs in North American society are nothing new. When we turn on the news we often hear stories of misguided youth contributing to yet another gang related crime. Even though it is known that youth crimes are overrepresented in the media today, the subject of youth gang activity is quite a predicament to our society. Over the last few years, there has been a moral panic created by constant exposure to the media which portrays a great amount of youth crimes and violence. In Canada there are large urban cities with high proportions of young people, many of which live in poverty, that now have the issue of dealing with youth gangs and youth crimes. Toronto, British Columbia, and Ottawa are examples of Canadian cities that have youth gang problems. The implementation of the new Youth Criminal Justice Act (2002) has changed the way youth crimes are dealt with legally in Canada. It is one step in the right direction for dealing with the issue of youth offending. Although the new act is not perfect, it will provide a better sense of justice to society because it calls for greater punishment for youths who re-offend. Youth Gangs in Canada are a potentially serious problem that needs to be addressed and tactically prevented. If preventative measures are not taken, these large populated urban areas in Canada will have problems similar to those of some major American cities. This essay will analyze the youth gang problem in Canada. It will cover topics such as types of youth gangs, the seriousness of the problem, and the cause for the creation of youth gangs from a Social Disorganization theory perspective. It will also examine the effect of the Youth Criminal Justice Act on gang crime.

    Read More

  • Gangs: Power, Conflict, And Trust

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gangs have become a harsh reality in today's society. But despite what one might think, gangs illustrate many communication theories. This is done through the power gangs possesses, "gang warfare", and the trust between gang members.

    Read More

  • Why Female Youths Join Gangs

    2007 Words  | 5 Pages

    do not necessarily influence members once in the gang. Such as many researchers have found;

    Read More

  • Essay On Suburban Gangs

    623 Words  | 2 Pages

    the top and into a gang is a "missing protector," someone the youth can count on in emergencies,

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Gang Leader For A Day

    2143 Words  | 5 Pages

    The story, Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh, is a ethnographic study of a Black King Gang in the Robert Taylor community. Venkatesh accidentally stumbles upon the gang lead by J.T. and decided to study them. Throughout his journey he learns from the violence and illegal activity he witnesses that “in the projects it’s more important that you take care of the problem first. Then you worry about how you took care of it”’ (Venkatesh. 2008:164). He witnesses beatings, selling of illegal drugs, and exploitation of residents; but he also gained a lot of knowledge about the community. He works with J.T. and Ms. Bailey, the community leader, closely through his study. J.T. has taken a sociology class and he allows Venkatesh to shadow the gang

    Read More

  • Gangs Around the World

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Sociology Gang Girls

    1493 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, for some the opportunity to leave the gang life may not always be easy. Some gang girls become a custom to the way of gang

    Read More

  • Solutions to Gang Violence in Society

    2296 Words  | 5 Pages

    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...

    Read More

More about Gang Structure

Open Document