The Negative Impact of Gangs on Oklahoma

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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 are a group of people involved in illegal activity. They were formed over 200 years ago in the United States and have now reached approximately 1.4 million individuals. There are five different types of gangs. The traditional gang, the neo-traditional gang, the collective gang, the compressed gang, and the specialty gang are all different types of gangs. Captain Dexter Nelson, a spokesman for Oklahoma City police who used to work in the department’s gang unit, said “all gangs exploit areas that are less equipped or less willing to confront smaller jurisdiction with limited police resources, a fractured neighborhood or a single residential streets where neighbors do not know each other and rarely communicate” (qtd. in Dean 1). Gang activity and violence is changing Oklahoma. Since the times when gang activity was first forming, it began causing problems in the surrounding communities. Affiliation with gangs open... ... middle of paper ... ... 2009. 196-202. Student Resources in Context. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. Matz, Adam K. "Police-Probation/Parole Partnerships: Responding to Local Street Gang Problems." Police Chief Magazine. N.p., Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. Mihailoff, Laura. "Youth Gangs." Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood: In History and Society. Ed. Paula S. Fass. Vol. 3. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 916-917. Student Resources in Context. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. Minty, Chip. "Street Gangs Spreading Drug Related Violence Comes to Oklahoma." The Oklahoman. Infoweb.newsbank, 1 May 1988. Web. 17 Jan. 2014. Sutton, Charlotte. "The Impact of Gangs in Oklahoma." Personal Interview. 24 Jan. 2014 US Attorney's Office. "Investigation of Northeast Oklahoma City Street Gang Results in 56 Convictions and a Collective Prison Sentence of Over 414 Years." FBI. FBI, 27 Apr. 2012. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.

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