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Sociological phenomological of gangs in america
Gang violence the impacts
Three sociological theories relating to gangs
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Kinston, North Carolina, a small southern city, with approximately 21,000 residents, was once very bright and prosperous. Recently, named one of North Carolina's top 10 most dangerous cities, Kinston has become a hub for constant violence throughout schools and neighborhoods. Kinston’s violence primarily stems from the lack of opportunities the youth have been granted. Gun and gang violence, prevalent throughout Kinston's low income and impoverished neighborhoods, have created a fearful environment in which the youth cannot prosper nor improve their circumstantial backgrounds. Losing several friends and classmates to violence it has widely affected the youth in my community making them more susceptive to retaliation. Kinston’s negative persona
Anderson, E. (1998). The social ecology of youth violence. Crime and Justice, 24(Youth Violence), 65-104. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1147583
Over the past 60 years there has been a recent phenomenon in the development and rise of gangs and gang violence. This is exceptionally apparent in South Central Los Angeles where the Bloods and the Crips have taken control of the social structure and created a new type of counter culture. Poverty in this area is an enormous problem caused by a shear lack of jobs; but just because there is a lack of jobs doesn’t mean that there will be a lack of bills to pay, so sometimes selling drugs in order to keep a roof over your head seems like the most logical option. Crime often times flourishes in these regions because the inconvenient truth is; crime pays. Senator Tom Hayden stated “It’s been defined as a crime problem and a gang problem but it’s really an issue of no work and dysfunctional schools.” this statement is in fact true, but with an exception it is a more broad issue than just involving school, and lack of jobs but goes beyond into social structure as a whole and more specifically the judicial system, this can all be supported by three sociologists Chambliss, Anderson, and Durkheim.
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.
Gangs have been around for a long time and have caused many problems in society. When people think of gangs they might think Los Angeles or Chicago, but Oklahoma’s gang violence has been at the same level as most major cities are dealing with. Gangs are a major problem in Oklahoma.
Gang violence is becoming a known threat in our country. Gang violence is defined as a group of people by repetitive socializing individuals or close friends with recognizable influence and inner coordination. These gangs will claim full control over a region in a community, town, or specific area which will lead to the involvement of violent crimes and unlawful behavior as a group or even by oneself. Since these gangs are increasing in size in communities, citizens of certain areas are beginning to move out or avoid going to these locations in order to avoid becoming the next victim to one of the community gangs waiting to engage in their next deviant act. These specific areas are located in communities that are at a poverty level, toxic areas, or environments where immigration is at it's highest. Law enforcement officials figure that these sorts of patterns bring out the characteristics of gang violence. It is known that an individual who wants to become a gang member must commit a violent crime in order to test their level of seriousness and faithfulness to their fellow brothers or, as they are known, "bloods". With the crime being committed by an individual, the physical features of a true gang member start to appear. Members or "brothers" are often easily recognized by their walk, tattoos, clothes, and colors of their clothes. Gangs are usually noted as groups of individuals who wear baggy jeans, long shirts, and bandana's of certain color. Another way to identify a gang member is by certain markings or tattoos on an individuals body. “"The modern street gang serves as an example par excellence of how geography and social networks converge to influence behavior." (Papachristos 2013). “Par excellence” is explained as ho...
Anderson’s theory examined African Americans living in America’s inner cities that are driven to follow the “street code” and work to maintain respect, loyalty, and their own self-image. The “street code” Anderson is referring to is “a cultural adaptation” which is the cause of violent crime in America’s inner cities (Anderson Article PDF, 3). Since these people are living in mainly impoverished neighborhoods with easy access to drugs and guns, as well as high rates of crime and violence, “everyone feels isolated and alienated from the rest of America” (Vold, 187). Anderson continues to distinguish between “decent” people and “street people.” Those who are “decent” families live in accordance with a “civil code” that upholds values in comparison with the rest of society such as maintaining a job, obtaining an education, protecting their children and following the law. Additionally, “street” families tend to fend for themselves, and when young, grow up without adult supervision and are often abused. This alone causes a dangerous environment because children then, “learn that to solve any kind of interpersonal problem one must quickly resort to hitting or other violent behavior” (Anderson Article PDF, 5). When brought up in an inner city “street” family, racism is a leading factor that causes the youth to construct a negative outlook on the rest of society. When these inner city, lo...
The community research I’m doing is street gang violence in Pittsburgh, Pa. In Pittsburgh, its rank top worst gang violence you could possibly ever think of in the world. I choose this topic for my report because lately on news all you been hearing is killing, robbing, and stealing. A lot of people get killed or somehow end up in a cross fire. Pittsburgh is a very most beautiful place to live but don’t let that fool you. Every city has there good parts but in Pittsburgh has a lot of bad parts. For instance, downtown in the city of Pittsburgh is not safe at all. There are so many thefts than in real neighborhoods, including poorer ones. Crimes also tends to be random and opportunistic so just about any citizen can be a victim whether they are
Gangs have had a huge impact in Oklahoma the many years they have been here. Gangs account for most of the drug trade, as well as most of the homicides in the Oklahoma area. Gangs are being fueled by the fear they have given the citizens, therefore most people are too afraid to do anything about the problem. “Every city in the world always has a gang, a street gang, or the so-called outcasts”.- Jimi Hendrix.
Geoffrey Canada gives his readers a rare opportunity to look inside the life of a ghetto kid and what they have to go through just to survive. He also provides answers to the many questions asked of why certain things happen the way they do in the Bronx. He used his childhood experiences and turned them into a unique tool when helping the youth of today. Now that he works as a youth councilor he sees that the problem in the slums has gotten dramatically worse with the emergence of guns. It used to be about pride and status, now any thug with a gun can be feared in the community. This, to Canada is a major problem because guns gives kids a sense of power, a strong feeling that is often abused and results in someone, even an innocent person dead.
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.
he had nothing to do after school. Both he and G-Ball joined a gang by choice.
OSGV was created during a political environment that was focused on reducing gang violence and crimes. The Chicago Police Department (CPD) examined data that identified blocks where gang-related assaults and homicides were high. When examining the data the CPD discovered that 80 to 90 percent of drive-by shootings occurred on residential streets on the edge of communities, which had easy exit routes to major thoroughfares. While it is evident that gang violence was occurring, it is clear that a political agenda to get tough on gang violence was being promoted at the time. This becomes clear when examining homicide data from 2011. OSGV identified blocks were homicides were the highest, but according to the CPD’s report on gang murders in 2011, the murder rates were down. Street gang altercations resulting in a homicide were relatively low compared to recent years. In 2011, there were 118 murders that resulted from a street gang altercation. In 2010, there were 117, while in
You can’t turn on the television, or read the paper without hearing about violence in our cities and world. In a report from “Stand Up for Kids” in Chicago, they analyze the relationship between low wages, income inequality, and the epidemic of violence in Chicago’s low income neighborhoods. This report found that in 2012 there were nearly 7,700 gun-related crimes reported in the city. The city of Chicago has the third highest overall metropolitan poverty rate in the nation. Nearly one quarter of all Chicago residents live below the federal poverty threshold according to this report. ("Chicago Not Only Leads the Nation in Gun Violence Rates, but Also in Measures of Urban Poverty." Stand Up Chicago, 1 Feb. 2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.) Decades of research have demonstrated that there is a statistically significant link between low wages, income inequality and crime. The analysis presented in this report shows that when a city’s economic conditions improve, the violent crime rates go down.( "Chicago Not Only Leads the Nation in Gun Violence Rates, but Also in Measures of Urban Poverty." Stand Up Chicago, 1 Feb. 2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.) Parents and children are turning to violent acts to provide for their family needs. Policy makers and the government need to address the issues of persistent poverty and income inequality such as raising the minimum wage to a living wage and create satisfying jobs for the
Goodman, G.S. (2007). Reducing hate crimes and violence among american teens. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
The scourge of crime and violence reportedly scarred the inner city youths, hence the NCB Foundation sought to avert some of those challenges. It has since helped by contributing to the improvement of the lives of those most vulnerable and at-risk youths.