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Understanding gang violence and its effects on society
Juvenile Courts in Crime Prevention
Impact of gangs in schools
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Gangs have the greatest influence on our youth. Truth of the matter is that gangs appear to be an attractive choice where legitimate means of survival is lacking. In addition, youth gang violence continues to be a widespread problem to parents and society. What I learned was when looking at why youth’s chose to join a gang it is crucial to look at both personal and social factors. I learned that youth’s motivation for joining a gang are different but usually fall within one of the following: protection, respect, identity or recognition, a sense of family or family history, peer pressure and lastly lack of school achievement. Many youth’s join gangs because they may be trying to escape a negative home life, and they are yearning for a father figure. In addition, families can have gang involvement spanning over multiple generations. Which makes it hard for youth’s to escape because the gang lifestyle is deeply rooted in the family …show more content…
There is school-based supervision, which consist of programs that serve youth and families within the five Supervisorial Districts. The programs are funded through Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA) designed to provide full spectrum of community-based services to both probation and at risk youth. These services are adequate because the DPO’s receive specialized training to provide individualized assessments, strength-based/family-centered case planning and management, and effective supervision. They also work closely with parents and guardians in enforcing regular school attendance, and behavior and school performance. The primary objective of these services is to increase the opportunity for the probationers and or at risk youth to achieve academic success, and to empower and support parents to become the primary charge agent for their
The kids became gang members for many reasons. Some needed to find what their place was in the world, and they needed to know who they were as human beings. Joining the gang gave them a feeling of being involved in something and made them feel better about themselves. They felt that as a gang member they received the attention, emotional support, and understanding that they couldn’t get from their actual family members at home.
1. (A) Discuss some of the reasons why minority youth may join gangs. (B) What are some of the reasons for female juveniles, in particular, to join gangs? (C) Lastly, provide some examples of how juvenile gangs have loyalties along racial lines.
Morch, S., & Andersen, H. (2012). Becoming a Gang Member: Youth Life and Gang Youth. Online Submission
Issue: “The number of youths joining gangs in the inner city has doubled, while the number of gang leaders serving time in prison and being released after good conduct has increased. The crime rate for gang violence has risen 20% from last year” (American Intercontinental University, 2015).
The root of gang violence all begins at home and then spreads. A troubled teen may be lacking the love and attention from their parent whether it is because they work too much, or simply do not care. Then, the teen will result attending school and will begin to find that comfort in places that they can feel stability. According to Ramsey, Rust, and Sobel “girls tend to become involved in gangs for prosocial reasons […] [such as] robbery, […] shoplifting, and prostitution [while] male gang members tend to be involved in activities such as drug dealing and fighting.” Most people involved in gang activities can feed off a person’s vulnerability and use that to convince a person that it is ok to commit crimes. Finally, that teen will remain in that life style and probably involve others or can get out, but surely be affected by the past for the rest of their lives.
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.
In the past they have been responsible for crime after crime, but in today’s day and time some gangs are trying to be better and make a difference. The fact is, not all gangs are bad, like the media would like you to think they are. I think the media should start covering both the good and bad aspects of gangs and what they truly do for the community. If children and our youth see the positive aspects that gangs have to offer, they may be less likely to only follow the negative path gangs can take them down. I hope that the media will one day realize what a positive impact they can have on society, and they will one day quit being so biased in their reporting.
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 link with a bunch of criminals just for endurance. For many, it is better to connect with the mob that to stay vulnerable and defenseless in their localities (Klein & Maxson, 2006). For many being connected to mob guarantees sustenance in case of assault and retaliation for wrongdoings. While the young people with a good family unit often feel protected hence they desire not to link with
One reason why youth join a gang is because a gang can be a sense of family. Some teenagers might not receive enough attention; some are just trying to escape their negative
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).
Most youths have enrolled themselves in these gangs for a couple of reasons such as the need for affiliation and peer pressure, weak social; control structures among others. The thirst of power for these youngsters can also be seen as a driving factor to the enrollment to this criminal gang. The gangs have structures
A gang can be defined as a group of people who unite to serve a common purpose and engage in violent or otherwise criminal behavior. (http://www.ci.torrance.ca.us) The types of crimes committed by gang members differ between gangs, but the crimes generally associated with gangs include vandalism, robbery, drug-trafficking, assault, arson, and murder. There are many reasons why teenagers may join gangs. The root causes of violent gang formation are poverty, stressed families, unemployment, under-employment, under-education, racism, and the breakdown of sociocultural institutions. (http://www.instanet.com) Many people join gangs for protection from violent people in other gangs. (http://www.public.iastate.edu) Other people join gangs for the sense of family that comes along with it. The youth gang satisfies a void - the child's desire to feel secure. It provides the child with a sense of identity, belonging, power, and protection. The gang provides a protective barrier against the outside world. (http://www.highways.com)
Careful selection and ensuring control of youths is a key factor for gangs if they are to be successful in criminal exploitation. Gang recruitment is complex as potential recruits are exposed to information that may result in potential incrimination of gang members, and therefore selection must be thought about carefully (Shapiro 2005). Fagan (1990), states that most adolescences tend to evade gang involvement, which also further supports the notion that participation in gangs is more selective than meets the eye. Despite county lines gangs being accused of recruiting vulnerable youths, there is a significant amount of literature to support that some members join willingly. Decker and Van Winkle (1996) associate joining gangs as a system of both push and pull factors.