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The impact of crime on a community
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Gangs have been and continue to be a major problem across the United States. Growing up in the coal region of Pennsylvania, I have seen little to no gang activity in my lifetime. This being said, however, I noticed some gang related graffiti and possible gang members roaming the streets of my hometown of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. Shenandoah has always been a place immigrants called home. At first it was, people from European countries emigrated there from places like Ireland, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and many other places like the latter to mine for coal. As the coal industry started to decline, many of the people started to move away from Shenandoah, leaving empty and cheap apartments and houses available. This led to the immigration …show more content…
MS-13 originated in the streets of El Salvador in Central America in the 1980’s. When immigrants from El Salvador immigrated to the United States (originally Los Angeles), the gang members followed. They are considered by many to be one of the most dangerous gangs in the United States. Currently, MS-13 and its affiliated groups can be found in 42 out of 50 states, wreaking havoc wherever they go (MS-13 Threat). They also can still be found in El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, and from other Central American countries (MS-13 Threat).MS-13 flies colors blue and white, which they have taken from the El Salvadorian flag (Most Violent and Dangerous Gang). These gang members have many tattoos, and from the pictures I have seen, they usually have the letters “M” and “S” somewhere on their body. According to insightcrime.org, “there are 70,000 MS-13 members in the northern triangle”. This is primarily due to the influx of Central American immigrants we see in cities like Washington …show more content…
These include “robbery, murder, vandalism, home invasions, drug distribution, and carjacking’s” (MS-13 Threat). MS-13 has one main rival, the Barrio 18, and at least one very dangerous ally, the Mexican Cartel known as the Zetas (MS-13). In my opinion, I would say that MS-13 is finically driven. They try to recruit members by showing off the gang member lifestyle, so, to me, if they were all broke and looked like bums, the attraction would fall, and without members, the gang would die out. This is obviously not the case, as MS-13 can be found all over the United States. From the list of crimes I have just stated, one could assume that the MS-13 are violent, and that assumption is correct. Wherever the gang is found, the murder rates spike (MS-13). However, we see crimes like graffiti as well. This is actually the way MS-13 came into my radar, as I saw “MS-13” spray-painted onto an old
In the documentary of “The World’s Most Dangerous Gang” it reveals how it’s group gets followers. Children can be as young as eight and be recruited into MS 13. The name MS 13 is Mara Salvatrucha 13. Mara is the Spanish word for “group” or “clique”. Salvatrucha stands for “street smart”. The number 13 was chosen out of respect and because “M” is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet. When children or adults are adopted to this group they have to first go through the initiation process. This ritual consists of being beat up by members of MS 13 for thirty seconds.
The MS13 is a perfect example of a counterculture. They are a world within themselves. The gang is very organized and structured; there is hierarchy with the gang. There is a significant amount of money flow within the gang. A few ways the gang obtains money is by drug dealing, illegal weapons, vendors pay the gang to work in their territories and for their protection, and drug dealers also pay the gang to earn the right to sell drugs in their territories. There are laws and rules that a gang member must abide by. One very strict rule for a gang member is silence. If a gang member becomes informant and it is found out that they are, it will more than likely result in death for the informant. The breaking of laws and rules are punishable, even by death. They have a law system and law enforcement of their own. Check courting is a punishment served by the gang to gang members who break the laws of the gang. There are initiations one must endure to become a member of the gang. Jumping in is one of the initiations, a brutal thirteen second beating by multiple people at the same time. (World’s Most Dangerous Gang) There is a communication system within the gang. They use stacking to communicate, tattoos, graffiti, and an overall dialect that is unique to the gang. This counterculture exists internationally inside and outside of prison walls. Within the gang there are individual cliques, but when threatened they will come together and fight alongside one another. It is instilled in a gang member to kill to maintain territory and to acquire new territories. T...
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 sheer 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
Franco, C., (2007, May). The MS-13 and 18th street gangs:Emerging transnational gang threats, Retrieved from http://opencrs.com/document/RL34233/2007-11-02/download/1006/.
Gangs have been in existence since the beginning of the Roman Empire. There were speeches made by Roman orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero, which references groups of men who constantly fought and disrupted Roman politics (Curry, 2013). The history of street gangs in the United States begins with their emergence on the East Coast around 1783, as the American Revolution ended. Though many believe the best available evidence suggests that the more serious street gangs likely did not emerge until the early part of the nineteenth century (Sante, 1991). Although our country has had their share of feared gangs like in the 1980’s with the turf war between the Bloods and Crips, back in the 17th and 18th century the Mohocks of Georgian, England were one of the most feared gangs. What draws juveniles to the gang lifestyle? Many people will say that most gang members are children from impoverished communities, single family homes where there was no father present, or maybe there is a more psychological/sociological answer? By appearance and presence most gangs cause fear, crime, and disillusionment in the communities they occupy. Throughout history joining a gang has been perceived as a life without any reward, yet by joining this lifestyle many juveniles are able to gain the needed stability and security in their lives.
Our team presentation focused on three Latino gangs, MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha), the Mexican Mafia and the Los Surenos gang. My part of the presentation was to provide information on the type of crime these three gangs are known to commit. The crimes committed by the MS-13 gang are varied, violent, and take place all over the country. The FBI even put together a task force called the MS-13 National Gang Task Force in December of 2004 to try to put a stop to this gang’s activities. (www.fbi.gov). Los Surenos or Sur-13, originally based in Los Angeles, has also branched out from turf wars with rival gangs to “for profit”, violent crimes across the country. The Mexican Mafia has a similar story to tell as well in regards to gang crimes, which again range from respect crimes, and retaliatory violence to crimes for profit.
The first gang that caught my attention was the 18th Street Gang which was formed in the late 1960’s. The name of the gang was originated from a street in the Rampart section of East Los Angeles. They were also known as “Children’s army” because they recruited elementary and middle school kids as a part of their gang. They show no clemency for their own members, you might be a really good friend of the leader but if you say the word “I’m out” they will menace you and your family. Also if you disrespect a leader or the big boss or another member of the gang you have a very sure beating of 18 seconds or you can even get killed depending on the circumstances. Some people say gang activities in the 1960’s were less dangerous, but this gang is a serious exception. Their criminal activities included auto theft, carjacking, drive-by shootings, they sold drugs, arm trafficking, extortion, rape and murder for hire. The 18th Street Gang extended across North America having more than 30,000 members. First it began with an ethnicity of Hispanic members, but throughout the years they included African Americans, Asians, Caucasians, and Native Americans.
People think most gang members are crips or bloods who came from Los Angeles, but today there are a lot of neighborhood sects that cause a lot of mischief (Million). "Gangs are no longer just an urban problem. Ten counties account for 59.2 percent of juveniles handled by the state between 1999 and 2006. These counties account for 74 percent of the identified gang members"(Million). "Many gang members have similar background factors: low educational achievement...
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.
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...
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.
According to the 2015 National Gang Report (NGR) from the National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC) almost half of law enforcement juristictions across the United States reported a rise in street gang membership and street gang activitiy. My communitty is no exception.
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...
...y and their faces. They also use their own sign language on their bodies. The MS-13 is well known for their violent Behaviors. There are 30,000 to 50,000 MS-13 members and associate members that is worldwide. 8,000 to 10,000 that lives in the United States of America.
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).