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Gang violence in society
Psychological theory of youth gangs
Psychological theory of youth gangs
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Introduction
The Bloods, the Crips, the Latin Kings, the snakeheads, MS-13, are only a few examples of the many gangs that exist in the United States. A gang is characterized as a group of at least three individuals who share common interests such as a specific territory, and frequently participate in criminal behavior. The term gang is broad because it groups together street gangs, motorcycle gangs, prison gangs, and other large organized groups that commit crimes.
Violence is a very common characteristic of street gangs, and gangs make up 45-90 percent of violent crimes in most areas (FBI, 2010). Respect, Reputation, and retaliation are the three R’s that lead to violence among street gangs (Pacheco, 2010, pg.33). Recently initiated gang
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One Criminological theory that tries to explain youth’s participation in gang activity is the Strain Theory. The Strain theory is a theory that argues that most people are law abiding unless under pressure of a strain (Riedel, 2011, pg.226). A strain could be anything that may stop an individual from being successful by legitimate means only. With that being said, when an individual cannot meet certain expectations through legitimate means they instead turn to illegitimate means or in this case criminal activity (Riedel, 2011, pg. 228). But how does this relate to youth and their involvement in gang activity? Although there isn’t a large amount of pressure on youth to gain monetary success there are other pressures that may lead them to gang activity. One example of a source of pressure that youth’s experience is acceptance among their peers. As a member of the youth community a major goal is to make friends, fit in and be accepted by other members of the youth community. If this is particularly hard for an individual of the youth community it could cause strain. A way for youth to deal with this strain is to join a gang where they will make friends, fit in and be accepted by the gang’s community. Another source of pressure youth may experience can come from the need for protection. If a youth is experiencing bullying or a …show more content…
The social bonding theory stated by Hirschi suggests that, weak social bonds to parents, schools, and other institutions of socialization lead to crime (Riedel, 2011, pg. 94). First, when it comes to the institution of family, youth are more likely to become involved with gang activity if they do not have a strong bond with their family. For example youth growing up with only one parent, grandparents, or foster parents as opposed to a two parent home are more likely to become offenders (Riedel, 2011, pg.94). When applying this to youth’s involvement in gang activity, if the social bond to a youth’s family is weak this may result in looking for that family type bond from a street gang and its members. Secondly, looking at the institution of school and education, if the bond to the institution of family is weak then most likely the bond to the institution of education is going to be weak as well. If the social bond to education is weak the youth does not take school seriously, and instead will turn to activities that could end up getting them in trouble with the
Schmidt, L. M., & O'Reilly, J. T. (2007). Gangs and Law Enforcement: A Guide for Dealing with Gang-Related Violence. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher, LTD.
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...
Gangs are a group of boys and believe it or not girls too, that frequently get together to make all types of vandalism and actions that are not admitted by the law. Gangs have been part of the world for a very long time; they have also evolved through time. For example gangs in the 1960’s are not the same as the gangs we see today in our days. Many gangs were made before and after the 1960’s but the major gangs in this time were: The Crips, The Latin Kings, KKK, The Bloods which were enemies of The Crips, and the 18th Street Gang.
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...
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...
for an increase in gang membership to an extent. Gang membership and in a broader sense, crime and deviance, are social problems which have plagued every society and do not appear to be eradicated anytime in the foreseeable future. However, sociologists and other academics have conjured up explanations like the strain theory, born criminal theory, phrenology and craniometry which have aided law enforcers in their deterrence efforts. According to the structural strain theory, gang membership increase with the presence of a discrepancy between means and goals. The government could open up more avenues for youths to develop their talents.
Large street gangs rapidly employ violence to control and expand drug distribution activities, targeting rival gangs and dealers who neglect or refuse to pay extortion ...
Across the nation, social scientists and criminologists have researched and hypothesized the main contributing factors that promote juvenile delinquency. The Strain/ Anomie theory introduced by Robert Merton and later revised by several other theorists, attempts to explain why juvenile subculture tend to behave certain ways when confronted with pressures from everyday life. Revised by other theorists, the Strain theory attempts to provide the framework of juvenile delinquency and its sources in order to analyze the effectiveness of this assumption, as well as to implement certain crime prevention policies and programs to curb this problem. This paper is going to analyze how the Strain theory contributes it’s principles of delinquency factors in order to explain and understand juvenile delinquency.
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.
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.
There are various reasons behind young people joining street gangs. One of the reasons young people join street gangs is because of neighborhood disadvantages. A theory that can contribute to why young people might join street gangs is Social Disorganization Theory. Social Disorganization theory assumes that “delinquency emerges in neighborhoods where neighborhood relation and social institutions have broken down and can no longer maintain effective social controls (Bell, 2007).” Social Disorganization contributes to residential instability and poverty, which affects interpersonal relationships within the community and opens opportunities for crimes to be committed.
Additionally, the need for the young people to have a sense of protection mainly drives them to join gangs. Many societies with high reported cases of mob activities frequently see youths linked with a bunch of criminals just for endurance. For many, it is better to connect with the mob than to stay vulnerable and defenseless in their localities (Klein & Maxson, 2006). For many, being connected to a mob guarantees sustenance in case of assault and retaliation for wrongdoings.
Strain theories of criminal behaviour have been amongst the most important and influential in the field of criminology. Taking a societal approach, strain theories have sought to explain deficiencies in social structure that lead individuals to commit crime (Williams and McShane 2010). Strain theories operate under the premise that there is a societal consensus of values, beliefs, and goals with legitimate methods for achieving success. When individuals are denied access to legitimate methods for achieving success, the result is anomie or social strain. This often leads an individual to resort to deviant or criminal means to obtain the level of success that they are socialized to pursue. This is the basic premise of strain theory. This paper will explore the evolution of strain theories by first examining their intellectual foundations which laid the foundation for Robert Merton’s theories of anomie and strain. Merton’s strain theory will be discussed in detail including the modes of adaptation that people use when faced with societal strain. Finally, the paper will conclude with the strengths and weaknesses of Merton’s strain theory and an examination of the criminological theories and social policies it has influenced.
Hallswort, S. And Young, T. (2004) Getting Real About Gang. Criminal Justice Matters [online]. 55. (1), pp 12-13 [Accessed 10 December 2013]
Otero, Juan. “Curbing street gang violence,” National League of Cities. 21 Dec 1998. General Reference Center Gold. Jan 2007