Many have attempted to explain gang involvement in today's society. However, there is an underlying activity of youth joining gangs that does not seem to have enough media coverage or thorough explanations. As the name suggests, youth gang membership is about the juvenile population creating and joining gangs. Research indicates that youth gang membership exists in contemporary north America (Bernburg et al. 2006; aLilly et al. 2011; Maclure and Sotelo 2004; Sims 1997; Wiley et al. 2013; Yoder et al. 2003). This paper will examine the factors associated with youth gang membership using Karl Marx's conflict theory and labeling theory in comparison. Although conflict theory helps explain why a troublesome economy and coming from a low-socioeconomic status contributes to gang involvement, the theory has its limitations. On the other hand, labeling theory is unable to fully explain youth gang involvement based on the aforementioned factors. That being said, it can give a better explanation based on the factor of government intervention in the lives of citizens such as the context of stop-and-frisk which lead to unwarranted searches. As mentioned in lecture, labeling theory asks two critical questions: what is crime, and who is criminal? This is the central tenet of labeling theory because the focus is on what activities constitute criminal behaviour within the context. This means that over time, the general perspective changes in regards to what can be labeled 'crime.' For instance, society is known to react negatively towards prostitution in the past; whereas the contemporary reaction is primarily to legalize it. That being said, labeling is more than a reaction to an activity. To elaborate, labeling is also about the government i... ... middle of paper ... ...heory." Pp 166-199 in Criminological Theory: Context and Consequences (5th Edition) Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications. 3. Maclure, Richard, and Melvin Sotelo. 2004. "Youth Gangs in Nicaragua: Gang Membership as Structured Individualization." Journal of Youth Studies 7:417-432. 4 Sims, A. Barbara. 1997. "Crime, Punishment, and the American Dream: Toward a Marxist Integration." Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 34:5-24. 5. Wiley, Ann Stephanie, Lee Ann Slocum, and Finn-Aage Esbensen. 2013. "The Unintended Consequences of Being Stopped or Arrested: An Exploration of the Labeling Mechanisms Through Which Police Contact Leads to Subsequent Delinquency." American Society of Criminology 51:927-966. 6. Yoder, Kevin A., Les B. Whitbeck, and Dan R. Hoyt. 2003. "Gang Involvement and Membership Among Homeless and Runaway Youth." Youth & Society 34:441-467.
This book review covers Policing Gangs in America by Charles Katz and Vincent Webb. Charles Katz has a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice, while Vincent Webb has a Ph.D. in Sociology, making both qualified to conduct and discuss research on gangs. Research for Policing Gangs in America was gathered in four cities across the American Southwest; Inglewood, California, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Phoenix, Arizona. This review will summarize and discuss the main points of each chapter, then cover the relationship between the literature and class discussions in Introduction to Policing and finally it will note the strengths and weaknesses of book.
Morch, S., & Andersen, H. (2012). Becoming a Gang Member: Youth Life and Gang Youth. Online Submission
Lilly, Robert J., Francis T. Cullen, and Richard A. Ball. 2011. Criminological Theory: Context And Consequences. 5th ed. California: SAGE.
Hickey, T. J. (2010). Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Crime and Criminology, 9th Edition. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
White, R., Haines, F., & Eisler, L. (2008). Crime & criminology: An introduction. Don Mills, Ontario, Canada: Oxford University Press.
Bernburg, J., Krohn, M. D., & Rivera, C. J. (2006). Official Labeling, Criminal Embeddedness, and Subsequent Delinquency: A Longitudinal Test of Labeling Theory. Journal Of Research In Crime & Delinquency, 43(1), 67-88. doi:10.1177/0022427805280068
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...
Shute, J. (2013). Family Support as a Gang Reduction Measure. Children & Society, 27(1), 48-59. doi:10.1111/j.1099-0860.2011.00368.x
Chapt6 [2] Haralambos and Holborn 2002 [3] Merton. R 1968 [4] Hagedorn 1996 new perspective in criminology, chapter 13
Members in youth gangs come from a variety of backgrounds. They come from different geographic, ethnic, demographic, and socio-economic contexts (class notes). The majority of youth who are already part of a gang or at risk for being a part of a gang, usually come from groups that struggle with a high level of inequality and lack a lot of things socially. Youth who are of aboriginal descent are more likely to be recruited into a gang and involved in organized crime than youth who are non-aboriginal. 21 percent of all youth gang members in Canada are First Nations and the majority of them come from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Youth who become involved in gangs are likely to be using drugs and already taking part of serious or violent crimes.
Christiansen, K.O. (1977). A review of Studies in Criminality. In bases of criminal behavior, (Eds)., S.A. Mednick and K.O. Christiansen, (pp.641, 654-669). New York: Gardner.
Adler, P.,Ovando, C. & Hocevar, D. (1984). Familiar correlates of gang membership: An exploratory study of Mexican-American youth. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 6, 65-76.
Lopes, G., Krohn, M. D., Lizotte, A. J., Schmidt, N. M., V'Asquez, B. E. and Bernburg, J. G. 2012. Labelling and cumulative disadvantage the impact of formal police intervention on life chances and crime during emerging adulthood. Crime & Delinquency, 58 (3), pp. 457 - 478
Hallswort, S. And Young, T. (2004) Getting Real About Gang. Criminal Justice Matters [online]. 55. (1), pp 12-13 [Accessed 10 December 2013]
Gang violence is a major problem in our society today. If nothing is done soon, gang violence could take place in our neighborhoods. MW Klein, a gang researcher, says that gangs are an aggregation of youths who perceive themselves as distinct, and that are viewed as distinct by the community. Klein also states that the gangs call forth a consistently negative image of themselves through their actions (Klein). To those involved in gangs however, gang membership provided a youth means of attempting to consolidate their gender identities (Douglas). Most of the early American street gangs have historically been ethnically based. Early gangs were mainly Irish, Polish, or Italian (Klein).