In today’s modern world, not only can you find gangs in inner cities, but in suburban areas, rural communities, and basically anywhere around the world. Starting off, the word gang is defined as a self-formed association of peers, bound together by mutual interests, with identifiable leadership, well-developed lines of authority, and other organizational features, who act in concert to achieve a specific purpose or purposes, which generally include illegal activity and control over a particular territory, facility or type of enterprise. For example, based upon the findings done by the FBI, gangs are morphing, multiplying, migrating and entrenching themselves in order to sell drugs to kids, shooting up neighborhoods, invading homes, robbing banks and stores, stealing identities, money, and instilling fear and violence everywhere they go. From that statement alone, gangs are known worldwide because they are all interconnected, for some it becomes a mechanism for surviving deprivation and trauma. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of youths who join a gang over the years, making gangs recognized as a world issue. According to FBI, gangs are going to be a …show more content…
Common motives include profiting from organized crime, a means to obtain food and shelter, or access to luxury goods and services. Joining a gang can also give protection from rival gangs or violent crime in general, especially when the police are distrusted or ineffective. It can also be for personal status and “coolness” because it can give members a sense of family, identity, or belonging. Sometimes joining a gang is just a family tradition or because of the excitement of risk-taking. Risk factors include lack of adult or parental supervision, family instability, family members with violent attitudes, being part of a socially marginalized group (ethnic minority), poverty, low academic performance, drug use, low self-esteem and lack of role
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.
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...
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.
A gang is a group of reoccurring individuals or close partners with a high potential leadership in a certain organization, taking control over territory in a specific area by either identifying themselves as to whom they are or claiming control, engaging individually or collectively in violence or other forms of illegal action. To become a part of gang in today’s world you show your loyalty by committing such crimes as murder, robbery and/or theft in order to be accepted as a member of its group [1].
Throughout the centuries, gangs have been rapidly growing. As early as the 1730s different groups of people in Europe began forming gangs. At first they were composed of people upset with the government who started riots to rebel against the government. Decades later, gangs began to spread worldwide very quickly. Gangs made their way all the way to the United States, or the 13 colonies at the time. They were largely created by people upset with the government. There were gangs for federalists supporters, and gangs for people who supported the Anti-federalists (“Gangs” 2015). As centuries passed, people formed gangs for different reasons. Beginning in the 1940s in cities like New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and Detroit, gangs of white
Currently in the United States of America, there are 33,000 or more active gangs, that operate on a regular basis. Many gangs in America are violent and radical. Yet there are also gangs that start with good intentions but soon turn to multi-million drug enterprises. Common gang members are embossed in a community that already possesses ties to the local economy.
As a kid I could remember walking to school every day. While on the way to school there was always a group of kids sanding outside of the school walking away. These kids dressed differently and they all whore the same type of clothes. It wasn’t until years later that I was told to stay away from them because they were gangsters. They were gangsters that caused problems to the community. These gangsters would go up to kids and try and jump them into their gang. For them the more members they had the more “territory they had.” One problem that major cities around the world have is gangs. Most of these gangs are made up of many juvenile delinquents looking for trouble. These gangs tend to hang out in certain places and claim it as their territory. Many of the gang members are drawn together by similar interests, and are brought up in similar neighborhoods.
Everywhere in society their are people committing various crimes. Some crimes are petty, small acts, while other acts are serious felonies. Crime occurs everywhere for various reasons. One such form of crime is organized crime, where criminals rationally runs an enterprise to gain profit from their illegal activities (Walsh & Hemmens, 2014). This time of crime or crime mentality is found in gangs. Gangs are a group of individuals who can either have the same ideals and a loyalty to the specified gang or are together only for the profit and benefits of having an association with a specified gang, among other reasons. A gang usually have a hierarchal system from which there is one leader who hands out tasks to those below him and commands the group. It could be seen as a bureaucracy. These groups of individuals can be very different in values and beliefs, but the structure or idea of the group are very similar.
Gangs and gang activity are extremely detrimental to our social order. “Gangs are groups of people—mostly young males—who band together for protection and a sense of belonging. Gangs are often associated with violence and crime. In fact, the United States Department of Justice officially defines a youth gang as a group of young people involved in criminal activity.” (Gangs, 2003). According to www.fbi.gov, some 33,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs with about 1.4 million members are criminally active in the U.S. today (FBI, 2010). This should be the motive for greater action from our society to halt the rise of gang related offenses in America
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.
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.
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).
Although gang members insist that gangs are the only way to ensure success today, others maintain that the only way to survive is to eliminate them. Many gangs threaten the safety of everyone in their 'hood (territory or neighborhood). Innocent people living in gang war-torn towns live in constant fear of death. However, for children who have no one to look up to and no future to look forward to, gangs can become their surrogate family. Gangs are not only a set of friends or a nights activity. Gangs are a way of life. There is no way to eliminate them, but changing the violent nature of many gangs is possible. Admittedly, gangs cause many serious problems, but they could end up helping more people than they hurt.