The Little Village Gang Reduction Program: The Implementation Of Youth Gangs And Gang Violence

2603 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Juvenile delinquency a problem for the modern world

1. INTRODUCTION

Youth gangs and gang violence have been always been a problem in society, particularly in large urban cities. These problems have increased and spread in the recent decades. Youth gangs have grown not only in number but also in types of criminal activities ranging from petty thefts to mass murder. This problem of youth gang violence results from lack of family support, school socialization, lack of job-opportunities, and more. The Little Village Gang Violence Reduction Program (LVGVRP) was implemented to reduce gang violence and has had successful results in doing so.
The LVGVRP is based on the idea that gang problems are defined not only by delinquents or criminal behaviors of gangs but also what the community does or does not do to prevent and take control of these problems. There are many aspects of the communities that need to work together in order to take control in preventing youth gang violence. These include family, police, schools, youth agencies, probation officers, churches or neighborhood organizations, as well as social, cultural, and economic factors.
The LVGVRP uses suppression, job opportunities, educational opportunities, social intervention, and more as ways to target youths and give them opportunities to not succumb to gang life. This program forms a structural relationship between all the community groups listed above for the purpose of integrated suppression and intervention as a team. This program focuses on youths who need to be constrained as well as supported in order to be able to function in mainstream society.
Through my research, I will be conducting an outcome evaluation in order to see changes in gang-related activity and a change in violence in youth participants. This program w...

... middle of paper ...

...anonymous.
4. CONCLUSION
The Little Village Gang Violence Reduction Program is in place to target and potentially control violent youth gang offenders in the form of increased supervision by the police or probation department along with help from different members of the community. This program provides a wide range of services for targeted youth to encourage transition into legitimate behavior such as a good education, jobs, family support, counseling, recreational opportunities, and more. Through an outcome evaluation, this program will be able to see the change in gang activity through a three-year period by conducting surveys to the community and the participants and also through data collected by the police department of criminal histories of the participants. The LVGVRP hopes to deter youths from joining in gangs and to become productive members of society.

Show More
Related

  • My Bloody Life: The Making of the Latin King, by Reymundo Sanchez

    2354 Words  | 5 Pages

    Spergel, I., Chance, R., Ehrensaft, K., Regulus, T., Cane, K., Laseter, R., . . . Alexander, A. (1994, October). Gang Suppression and Intervention: Community Models Research Summary. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/gangcorr.pdf

    Read More

  • Thornberry's Enhancement Model

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    Spergel and Curry (1993) discuss suppression and the activities under as, “arrest, special prosecution, incarceration, intensive supervision, gang intelligence, and networking” (p. 374). The implications of Thornberry et al.’s (1993) models illustrate increased criminal behavior during gang membership, thus suppression techniques could potentially reduce crime. These suppression efforts are an approach used against gangs in general, rather than preventing membership, which is the primary goal of community organization programs. Curry et al. (2014) explain the suppression efforts in detail as including, “prosecution, specialized enforcement efforts, specialized probation, targeting of gang members by the California Youth Authority, summer projects, and the use of gang injunctions” (p. 179). While these suppression efforts are extreme, they attempt to answer the issue of gangs and their criminal behavior. This in turn may lower crime and decrease gang expansion. Ultimately, programs that focus on gang membership prevention have the potential to inhibit increased delinquent behavior caused by gangs, while suppression strategies attempt to interrupt criminal behavior in gangs as a

    Read More

  • Why Juvenile Choose a Gang Lifestyle?

    1784 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Gang Intelligence Methods in Law Enforcement

    2252 Words  | 5 Pages

    The American headlines of any large city will site killings on street corners, robberies, assaults, intimidation, and drug interaction. While not all-criminal activity is associated with gangs, the 780,000 strong members do account for a large majority of the problems that are plaguing America. There is no one-way to stop gang activity in one single swipe, but through a combination of cooperation, education, and training techniques law enforcement can minimize the gang’s movements and even stop a crime before it is committed.

    Read More

  • Gang Reduction Program

    1411 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 2003 as a response to communities with a large amount and growing number of youth gangs the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), a branch of the U.S. Department of Justice, initiated the Gang Reduction Program (GRP) (U.S. Department of Justice 2008). The formation of gangs is seen as a response to system failures and community dysfunction. As a result, one of OJJPD’s anti-gang initiatives is to make communities safer and have a pro-social environment (U.S. Department of Justice 2008). Furthermore, OJJDP plans to provide economic and social opportunities that gangs often promise to new recruits which are often obtained in an illegal and dangerous fashion (U.S. Department of Justice 2008). OJJDP believes that the GRP is capable of addressing the underlying issues for the increasing popularity and intensity of gang activity in specific suburban and rural neighborhoods (U.S. Department of Justice 2008). The program takes an integrative approach to dealing with the issue of increasing membership and participation with gangs. The following will discuss the program’s goal, theoretical basis, methods of operation, and overall effectiveness. After reviewing these major aspects of the GRP I will personally assess the value of this program and conclude whether or not the evidence supporting the program’s efficiency is strong enough for me to recommend it for implementation.

    Read More

  • Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2009

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to the National Gang Center, the change is gangs from 2002-2007: +12% in larger cities, +33% in suburban counties, +27% smaller cities and +24% in rural counties (National Youth Gang Center, 2009). The gang problem in the United States of America has been getting worse since the first gang was formed by Irish immigrants in the early 1800s. For low income and areas with high population, gang involvement with youths has also been getting worse. Regarding gang-related homicides, it is for difficult data collection industries to gather correct information because after a murder is committed it must be determined whether the murder is gang-related or not. But despite that, reports of gang-related murders are concentrated mostly in the large cities in the United States of America. Including San Jose, where there are long standing and persistent gang problems, which mean there are a larger number of documented gang members. There are literally thousands of anti-gang advocacy groups because there are so many concerned parents. These groups support politicians who are working to try to create legislation to reduce the gang problem in the United States of America. There are a number of theories on how to combat the gang problem, but a strategy which rarely fails is to take small steps in progress and continue to move forward.. There will never be a perfect solution that solves every aspect of a problem. But one policy that covers a wide range of issues involving gangs is the United States Constitutional bill S.132, “Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2009.” It is the most extensive and sophisticated piece of gang legislation to appear in the last decade, it has many objectives on increasing and enhancing law enforcement resources committed to the investigation and prosecution of violent gangs. It has had more supporters from both parties than any anti-gang bill in the last decade. S.132, “The Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2009” has the potential to deter and punish violent gang crime, to protect law-abiding citizens and communities from violent criminals, to revise and enhance criminal penalties for violent crimes, to expand and improve gang prevention programs; it will give jobs back to police officers such as those in San Jose who lost their jobs and will help law enforcement indentify gang crimes to be able to put murderers behind bars faster.

    Read More

  • Gangs and Injunctions

    1320 Words  | 3 Pages

    Egley, A., Howell, J., & Moore, J. (2010). Highlights of the 2008 National Youth Gang

    Read More

  • Street Gangs: Removing them from the community

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    Street Gangs are becoming popular in many cities across the country. According to the Department of Justice's 2005 National Gang Threat Assessment, there are at least 21,500 gangs and more than 731,000 active gang members (Grabianowski). Gangs bring fear and violence to neighborhoods, drugs, destroy property, involve youth in crimes and drive out businesses. When you have gangs in a community, it affects everyone in the community. An alarming amount of young adults are joining gangs and becoming involved in illegal activity. Most gangs have a rule that when you join the gang you are a member of the gang for life. Gangs can be removed from our communities with more community involvement and education.

    Read More

  • Gang Violence in Philadelphia

    2395 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Gang Violence

    1319 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gang violence is a growing problem in this world. No parent would like to imagine their kids dealing with weapons or being threatened by them. These violence’s affects each child individually and their families as well. These gangs recruit multiple different individuals for many reasons such as bribery, family traditions, or even threatening. Although, many kids feel like they have to be a part of it but there are many resources out in this world to prevent them from believing so. Gang violence has been a problem in society for several of years and is a growing problem each and every day.

    Read More

  • Youth Gangs

    3412 Words  | 7 Pages

    Youth gangs are defined as any group of people who engage in socially disruptive or criminal behaviour, usually within a defined territory, and operate by creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in a community. Federally in Canada “…Bill C-95… says a gang must include five or more people involved in criminal activity.” Over the last ten or so years, youth gangs have become more violent and dangerous than ever before. They have more access to sophisticated knives and guns and use these weapons to gain power and fear. The problem of youth gangs is especially apparent in low-income neighbourhoods in Canadian cities. Low income neighbourhoods in the Greater Toronto Area are a...

    Read More

  • Bandidos Case Study

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    The reason for this program is to use innovative approaches in developing programs, which will teach youth alternatives to violence, substance abuse, anger issues, low self-esteem, and the consequences as a result of making bad choices. During, the program non-violence, team building, leadership development and communication skills is promoted. A neutral and positive setting is provided for young people, so they are able to come together from different gangs throughout the city to work on their issues and programs together. When a youth is referred to the program they have an Intake-Assessment with the family. “Together, a Program Contract/Service Plan will be developed based on the individual needs of the youth/family. If the youth is on probation/parole all requirements of the courts will be incorporated into their contract. Services offered are case management, mediation, innovative focus groups, presentations, collaboration with other youth service organizations, and attendance at court hearings” (Stop ABQ Gangs,

    Read More

  • Gangs and Teenage Violence

    1410 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Can We Stop Gang Violence?

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    Statistics show that school-based programs as well as community-based prevention programs minimize gang involvement. School-based programs address substance abuse and violence, which reduces the risk factors for gang involvement. For example, in the article “What Can Schools Do to Prevent Gang Involvement,” by Gary D. Gottfredson, he states, “universal programs in kindergarten through secondary school, which [is a] rewarding educational environment im...

    Read More

  • The Issue Of Youth Gangs

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    Proper education is a basic factor in equipping the youths with a better life away from gangs and other unlawful operations. Literature Review The meaning of gang is a subject that lacks clearness among researchers. According to Esbensen (2001), there is no clear and agreed definition of gang globally. Youth mobs and gang crimes are beneath the spotlight in the current media by means of both narratives and statistics stressing instances of disruptive actions.

    Read More

More about The Little Village Gang Reduction Program: The Implementation Of Youth Gangs And Gang Violence

Open Document