Gang violence research paper
These gangs recruit multiple different individuals for many reasons such as bribery, family traditions, or even threatening. 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).... 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.... Gang violence has been a problem for many years, and it shows no signs of subsiding any time soon. One of the biggest challenges faced by those attempting to stem the tide of gangs in the united states is the cultural and societal factors that contribute to the continued survival and growth of gangs within communities. A lot of gangs will begin inside a prison and then expanded to the streets. All gangs have different initiations to get into a gang and different initiations to get out of a gang. Most gang initiation involve the gangs member beating you senseless or having you kill someone. There was a case around 15 years ago where two boys that went to putnam city north high school that had to do an initiation to get into a gang.... Gang violence in youths is a prominent problem around numerous portions of the world today. Youths are forced to go along with the engagements taken place in the gang which can be cataclysmic to society and themselves.... As an individual living in a community where gang violence is an issue, i am grateful that you are able to take part in a movement to lower the amount of gang violence today. 2] these numbers prove that gang-related violence are a constant battle in many communities every year.... Does anyone ever say, when i grow up i want to be in a gang. According to the national gang threat assessment there are over one million gang members in california and over forty percent are under the age of eighteen. Just in fresno alone there are over twelve thousand gang members and over 500 gangs (overend). Gang violence is a growing problem and if we don’t try to control it now it will be a bigger problem in the future.... Theories on gangs and gang violence the emergence of gangs in the united states was first fueled by immigration and poverty stricken families who settled in urban areas. With few having the money-making skills to accomplish the goals set by society such as money or a better way of life or able to adjust to their new urban life, these lower class citizens began to band together forming what many viewed as "gangs" in certain areas. Although there was no definite meaning of the term "gang" back then, one recent definition that has been agreed upon by more than 100 american and european researches attempted to define it; "a street gang is any durable, street-oriented youth group whose involveme... Engaging youth in community programs may take away from the violence, focusing on the missing factor within delinquents. Delinquency and gangs begin to pull in the similarities and focus more on the meaning connected to youth violence from the past to the present.... The methods/avenues of research i would employ include the internet, review of professional and academic journals and interviewing a psychologist to gain firsthand perception of the field.... Children as young as seven or nine years old have been recruited in the gang. They live in the gang area and are in danger to violence by rival gangs so they feel they need to be protected. When they have lack of communication or a bad home environment they look towards the gang because it shows them love and protection like if they were family.... The north carolina governor’s crime commission states that there are 1,446 gangs across the state with a total of 19,000 members. In the 1980’s national gangs began to shift from just the bad street type local criminals to taking on public arrangements involved with drug trafficking and other illegal activities. As there power and membership increased gangs were being recognized in locations outside of their regular neighborhood (skep).... Everyday an other report on the evening news relays the tragedy of a child accidently caught in gang crossfire. Gang violence is defined as a group of people by repetitive socializing individuals or close friends with recognizable influence and inner coordination. These gangs will claim full control over a region in a community, town, or specific area which will lead to the involvement of violent crimes and unlawful behavior as a group or even by oneself. Since these gangs are increasing in size in communities, citizens of certain areas are beginning to move out or avoid going to these locations in order to avoid becoming the next victim to one of the community gangs waiting to engage in their next deviant act.... Gang violence could take place in our neighborhoods and corrupt the young children easily influenced by the violent behavior as well. Webster, the two poets write about gang related issues discussing the ill-mannered bikers who cause these problems to other around them. These poems discuss the violence, death and illegal activity in which a number of people participated in, which like reality is the problematic truth.... In today's societies gang activity is an everyday occurrence whether it includes violence, drugs, death or any illegal activity in which they participate. The research that i have conducted will focus on how the selling of drugs by gangs members can lead to violence/death and how turf wars between rival gang can also lead to death. In recent years the selling of drugs has increased in the world of gang members.... Gangs destroy teenager lives and destroy their chances for a good education and happy life. People who are in gang feel like they belong some where and people care about them. There are various reasons people join gangs, and almost all age group between ages 12-40 are involved in gangs. One of the big reasons people join gangs is because of their needs, protection, and also they want attention from people around them. Gang’s should be taken seriously because today’s gangs are more violent and brutal then they were in 60’s.... Some ways that police and probation officers can help lower gang violence is by implementing laws more accordingly, establishing a relationship with troubled youth, and creating programs that benefit their well-being. In low income areas and large cities, gang violence is a major problem many parents hope their children will avoid. Over the past 60 years there has been a recent phenomenon in the development and rise of gangs and gang violence. Of those one million violent crimes, an average of forty eight percent of them have been associated with gangs or individual gang members. Fbi) the gangs that are producing these high violent crime rates are not concentrated in one area but rather spread throughout the hearts of cities all across the country. In addition these gangs are not stagnant, but rather are growing in numbers every year by enticing young minority men time and time again to join their ranks....
Research paper on gang violence
In the story the boys try to retain their youthfulness while they see constant gang violence, death of people close to them and their brother is in jail and their dad is struggling with drug addiction. In horner, there are two gangs that claim it as their area, and the rivers family is always hiding from all the shooting.... Gangs have been around for a long time and have caused many problems in society. When people think of gangs they might think los angeles or chicago, but oklahoma’s gang violence has been at the same level as most major cities are dealing with. Kids without enough attention or not having a father figure in their life tend to join gangs.... 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. In a report in the year 2010, studies showed that all seventy seven oklahoma counties had some form of gang activity.... The intention teenagers are given a curfew of a certain time limit in different states is to limit gang violence and use curfew as a key tool to do so. The crips, originating in los angeles, california, are one of the oldest, largest, and most notorious gangs in the united states. What was once a single gang is now a loose network of "franchises" around the united states. The crips have an intense rivalry with the bloods and are also known to feud with chicano gangs.... Introduction gang violence in schools has always been evident, however in past decades it was slightly more controllable, as school authorities were able to immediately identify the persons involved and deal with them before any ideas of further gang involvement could be spread. Whereas in present time gang violence within schools has but become a growing pandemic, infecting not only poorly resourced schools but a few private schools as well. Within this essay the growing phenomenon of gang violence will be discussed, with reference to the group dynamic concepts that exist in the field of sociology.... In my community i know kids that are committing in teenage violence and i would like for them to stop before they end up in prison and that could mess up their life. The most infamous and severe form of teen violence are the school shootings seen on the news.... Gangs and violence in california this paper was done in response to an article that i came across in which a child was convicted as an adult for homicide. The homicide was supposedly gang-related; the young child that was only 14 years of age was painted as an entrenched gang member. The solutions provided in this document are a response to the growing need for schools, school districts, county offices of education, and state legislatures to address youth gangs. The underlying cause of this violent nature can be analyzed from three perspectives, the first being where the occurrence of violence takes place, the second man’s need to be led and the way their leader leads them, and lastly whether violence is truly an innate and inherent characteristic in man. The allure of the respect and “glory” that “bangers” got, along with the unity of the “set”(name for the specific gang) is what drew him into the gang.... Subculture of violence theory in today’s society introduction gang activity and gang violence is a growing concern in the united states today. It is estimated that there are approximately 760,000 gang members and over 24,000 active gangs in various jurisdictions within the united states (world vision, 2011). It is also estimated that 155 children are arrested for his or her participation in violent crimes every year and that most of this violence is directly related to gangs and gang activity (world vision, 2011).... Leading contributing factors of youth violence include the media, the influence of family life, widespread abuse of drugs and alcohol, the ease of access to weapons and a lack of strong punishment that exists for juvenile offenders.... These men were not any average men, they were gangsters who despised al capone, gangsters who desired power over the city, gangsters known as north side gang led by the vicious george moran. There is only one person to point fingers to and that is al capone, the famous all time american gangster, or also known as scarface.... These days, gangs are not only made up of adults on the streets, but teens who are in school as well. Various experts say that “gang membership is particularly widespread among urban youths under the age of 18” (teen gangs). As a result, gangs are now seen in many schools, and as a result may lead to increased violence among students.... To argue against it, the link between media violence and teen violence is like arguing against gravity," said jeffrey mcintyre, legislative and federal affairs officer for the american psychological association. As children are exposed to acts of violence in the media through television, video games, music, movies, etc. Gang injunctions arrive in the uk in november 2009, new provisions for tackling gangs under the policing and crime act were passed: the gang injunction. Inevitably, these have already been dubbed the ‘gangbo’ – an asbo (anti-social behaviour order) for gang members. In comparison to other first world countries, america proves to be the leading nation in terms of violence. Instead of channeling grievances through civil society organizations that act as a “safety valve” for discontent in a more peaceful way, most south africans who want to get their voices heard end up using violence as a tool in order to bring political gain. The use of violence as a component of south africa's political culture was originated during the 1980s anti-apartheid struggle, where the anc and other underground anti-apartheid groups would use violent and militaristic actions, language, and ideas to get their voices heard as part of social mobilization.... Gangs are groups of people (mostly young males) who band together for protection and a sense of belonging. Department of justice officially defines a youth gang as a group of young people involved in criminal activity” (gangs 1). About one million gang members are in more than 20,000 criminally active gangs in the united states. While it does help remove gang members from the streets, these members are known as “soldiers,” which is the bottom of the food chain when it comes to gangs. Life on the streets for a gang member consists of sticking with their gang, representing it, promoting it, and fighting the rival gangs. These multimillion-dollar corporations know violence is a major profit boost and use it indiscriminately to increase their income. Unfortunately, among the consumers of this unwarranted violence are young children and teenagers who observe and absorb its content.... Media violence can have a lasting impression on children, teenagers and adults not only through television, but also through video games. Unfortunately, they often face life-threatening, gender-based violence and disproportionately experience violent crimes because of hatred and racism (fact sheet: violence against aboriginal women , 2013). According to statistics canada, aboriginal woman are three to five times more likely to experience violence than non-aboriginal women (fact sheet: violence against aboriginal women , 2013). However, violence has been an ongoing problem in the penitentiary in both men and women’s prison. 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.... It has been calculated that american kids see about 200,000 acts of violence and 25,000 murders on television by the time they reach age eighteen.
Miller 176) does this kind of overexposure to violence have a significant effect on children and teenagers.... A month prior to this day, kody was suspended from school for flashing a gang sign during the school’s panorama picture; from here it was evident where kody was heading in life. Growing up in south central los angeles, kody was always surrounded by gangs and constantly witnessed the warfare created by rival gangs. Upon his return home from his sixth grade graduation kody dashed out of the window in his room and ran to meet up with tray ball, a gang member of the eight tray gangster crips who had agreed to sponsor kody into the gang.... 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. 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. 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).... A gang is an organized group of criminals who form together for a common goal or identity. Gangs can be formed based upon race, ethnicity, territory, or money making activities, and are generally made up of members varying anywhere between the age of 12 to 24. There are a variety of reasons behind the formation of gangs, whether it be for protection, profit, or because a group of people share a common trait. A gang rivalry is formed when two or more gangs grow to despise each other for their differences.... The book tells the story of how and why kody scott got involved in gang life, what happened during his time as a gang member, and how his life changed after his incarceration. It gives great insight into the inner workings of gangs in america, and shows how tough life is for the people who choose to be a part of it. In the context of deviant behaviour and its control, or lack thereof, exist numerous theories and data that try to interpret the reason youth enrol in gangs. This paper will primarily address the practical data in conjunction with merton's strain theory to elaborate on youth motivation for joining gangs. The findings pose a connection among living in a deviant environment and lifestyle prior to membership, a sense of belonging, and economic strain as the fundamental reasons to explain why youth join gangs.... Violence and crime in our schools are problems, that many of our schools are facing today. According to federal activities addressing violence in schools, "there are more possibilities of violent acts and crimes taking place in public schools, than in private schools. Crime and violence in our school can disrup the learning process and have a negative effect on students, the school staff and the community as a whole. School violence and crime are problems that comes from homes, media, neighborhoods, and even from some roles in schools and colleges is therefore one of the most troublesome social problems in our... Abstract in recent times, the news media has cried out against violent media, painting it as the leading cause for youth violence. This analysis provides firm research on the subject from the opposing and supporting sources, giving a thorough definition to the term “violent media” and brings forth evidence that other psychological effects and environmental factors are more significant causes of increased youth aggression than violent media.... Increase in school violence over the past several years, incidents of school violence have intensified. Today’s transgressions include physical and verbal violence, incivility, and in some schools, drug abuse, robbery, assault, and murder” (1995).... Causes of youth gang membership gangs are a violent reality that people have to deal with in today's cities. Kids are the main targets because they feel that being in a gang is both an acceptable and prestigious way to live, because of the bad miscommunication of society. As a young child growing up in the 80’s on the north side of fort worth, texas i saw my fair share of gang activity and the violence associated with it. Little was i aware of a notorious and deadly gang that was transforming known as mara salvatrucha, also referred to as ms-13. What began as a street gang, ms-13 now has activity in much of the united states and according to u. Immigration and customs enforcement is, “one of the most violent and rapidly growing transnational street gangs. In the 1980’s crack cocaine became a major source of income for many african – american gang members in los angeles. Gangs were faced with intra-conflict old codes of conducts versus laissez-faire attitudes of the younger gang members. Gang violence increased as many capitalized on this new market the distribution of crack cocaine.... The increase in violence, drugs, and weapons in schools has directed our attention to the need to talk all reasonable steps to ensure a safe learning environment for students and teachers.... The results of my research revealed that there are many victims that do not know the type of help that is available and there needs to be major improvement in the way domestic violence cases are handled. A lot of research does show that higher violence is related to city schools, though there is still a significant amount in schools outside of the city. Violence and crime in schools is related to the home life experience of the children committing these terrible deeds. Children that are allowed to watch tv shows that have violence or play the popular style of video games with violence have a higher chance of becoming actively violent at school.... Gangs - gang members need love 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. However, for children who have no one to look up to and no future to look forward to, gangs can become their surrogate family. President obama vowed to use his power to curb gun violence after the slaying of 26 people in newtown connecticut. Gangs can be classified as a group of adolescents who are perceived to be a threat to society, are mostly recognized by their name and territorial power, and have been involved in numerous acts that violate criminal law procedures in north america. An article titled “youth gangs and definitional issues: ‘when is a gang a gang, and why does it matter? The earliest signs of active gang activity were reported to be in the western civilization. The trinidad and tobago anti-gang act 2011, strives toward making provision for the maintenance of public safety and order through discouraging membership of criminal gangs and the suppression of criminal gang activity and for other related matters. It seeks to reduce criminal gang activity by making membership of gangs and related activities unlawful; these comprises involvement in a range of offences including murder, robbery, larceny, arson, firearms and ammunition offences, drug trafficking, rape, kidnapping and attempts to commit any of those offences (act no.... Million gang members, and they account for 48% of all violent crimes and an increase of non-violent crimes nationwide (wong, tohn, hung & ang, 2013). Participation within a gang increases the likelihood of delinquent behavior and could produce negative effects on future life trajectories. How many times have you or your children been victims of violence or intimidation and how many times have you been left feeling abandoned, demoralized and full of despair because no-one will lift a finger to help. Our free enter the title keyword:This paper gives in-depth information on gang activity in the u. And explores the causes of gang membership and examines several studies that have found correlations between gang membership and various life circumstances. It also looks at the question of whether economic incentive is a factor in gang membership, and whether or not peer pressure increases violent crimes among gang members. The paper concludes by exploring various experts' proposals for reducing the amount of youth joining gangs in ds: at-risk youth; bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, & explosives (atf); gangs; immigration & customs enforcement agency (ice); juvenile delinquency; national longitudinal survey of youth (nlsy97); office of juvenile justice delinquency prevention (jjdp); special weapons & tactics (swat); violent crime index (vci).
The first documented youth gang was in the late 1700s in new york, so gangs have been part of american culture for well over two centuries (arinde, 2006, p. Most of the youth who get involved with gangs come from poor neighborhoods in large cities such as new york, chicago, los angeles, etc. Seals (2009) expresses the general consensus on gangs thus:For the past 80 years, ethnographic research has linked the behavioral patterns of the urban under-privileged to street gang formation and proliferation. This literature shows that gang activity is most common among impoverished young males and concludes that gang participation is the manifestation of greater societal pressures on these individuals (p. 2008) also notes that "gangs are perpetuated by a cycle of despair that is nearly impossible to break," and gives us a revealing statistic. Since the 1980s, gang-related homicide has been the main cause of death for young black men between the ages of 15 and 34 (p. There are of course historical reasons that many african americans ended up in impoverished big-city ghettos where gangs proliferate, but gangs are by no means only a phenomenon among african americans. Gangs arise from every ethnicity in america, and we should examine some studies and reliable statistics in order to get a clearer picture of the problem of gangs in ing a clear picture can be difficult, however. Kingsbury (2008) points out that "gauging the true scope of the gang problem is difficult, chiefly because law enforcement lacks a common definition of a gangster or what makes a particular crime gang-related" (p. Captain eric adams, who has worked for years in new york city law enforcement, points out an additional problem in gathering accurate information on gangs. He asserts that, in new york, "the police department won't properly classify certain crimes as gang-related, and so you don't know if there is an increase or decrease in the crime rate … it's a public relations exercise. An important study that attempts to gather accurate information on gang activity in america is known as the national longitudinal survey of youth (nlsy97), which began collecting data annually from 1997. That study gives the following definition for the concept of gang-involvement:By gangs, we mean a group that hangs out together, wears gang colors or clothes, has set clear boundaries of its territory or turf, protects its members and turf against other rival gangs through fighting or threats (cited in seals, 2009, p. And these gang members belong to around 26,500 different gangs in about 3,400 communities across the country. However, the fbi also estimates that more than 30% of those 3,400 communities claim they do not have a problem with gangs when in reality they do. And argues that street gangs have grown to become "an epidemic problem in the united states". Citing other researchers, seals (2009) observes that gangs are probably the main distributors of all illegal drugs, and most adolescents who commit murders in american cities are members of gangs (p. 2008) gathered a lot of data on gang activity in america, and their findings make it quite clear that there has been a significant rise in young women joining gangs. Voisin writes, "male adolescents were equally as likely as female adolescents to belong to a gang" (p. As for the cause of this significant increase in both female gang membership and female violent crimes, voisin et al. Cite that more girls are committing violent crimes from "negative peer influences, sexual abuse, dysfunctional families, and living in neighborhoods characterized by few or no viable educational opportunities, violence, and poverty" (p. In this original study, voisin finds that "female adolescents were more likely to witness family violence, suggesting that for some of these girls, being raised in a dysfunctional family, coupled with community violence, may play some role in their gang involvement" (p. Is also a relationship between youth being arrested and youth being part of gangs, though the number of arrested youth who belong to gangs is difficult to estimate. The rate of fatherless homes is also much higher among gang members than for non-gang members" (2009, p. Rafferty and raimondi (2009) point out that a high number of runaway youths become members of street gangs. They cite a 2003 study in which 602 homeless and runaway youths were interviewed, and which revealed that "almost half of the youths were involved in gangs or were actual gang members. The study also showed that, "the younger they were when they ran away increased the chances that the youths became associated with a street gang" (p. Important question that some researchers have asked is, to what extent do economic incentives encourage gang membership? This is the question seals examined, but he points out that there is not much data to research when trying to answer it (2009, p. Seals used annual county unemployment rates to see if there is a correlation between higher unemployment rates and increased gang activity. After analyzing the data, seals asserts that "the local unemployment rate is positively related to male gang participation, as the availability of legitimate jobs is a key indicator of economic prospects for low-skilled workers" (p. Seals' study shows that gang participation peaks when members are sixteen years old, which is the minimum legal age for working in any non-hazardous occupation. Thus, "the rise in gang participation until age sixteen could be the result of economic opportunity provided by gangs to those unable to find legitimate employment," and that the decrease in gang participation after youth have reached sixteen years of age may be from youth having more opportunities for legitimate employment (p. Are other positive and negative correlations that create a clearer profile for those youth whom are likely to join gangs:(the entire section is 4430 words. Log in ity college ment opportunities in nmental should all be anda ngozi anda ngozi paper gives in-depth information on gang activity in the u. 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Back to what's going to a great futurejoin the clubcontact /gang violence term paper 5348issues term imer: free essays on issues posted on this site were donated by anonymous users and are provided for informational use only. The free issues research paper (gang violence essay) presented on this page should not be viewed as a sample of our on-line writing service. If you need fresh and competent research / writing on issues, use the professional writing service offered by our are a violent reality that people have to deal with in today's cities. Why do kids feel that being in a gang is both an acceptable and prestigious way to live? On the surface, gangs are a direct result of human beings' personal wants and peer pressure. To determine how to effectively end gang violence we must find the way that these morals are given to the individual. In old english, gang simply referred to a "number of people who went around together-a group. Today a gang can be defined in four basic ways: "žh an organized group with a leader "žh a unified group that usually remains together during peaceful times as well as times of conflict "žh a group whose members show unity through clothing, language "žh a group whose activities are criminal or threatening to the larger society. Some experts believe that young people, undereducated and without access to good jobs, become frustrated with their lives and join gangs as an alternative to boredom, hopelessness and devastating poverty. Studies have attempted to determine why gangs plague some communities but there has been no definitive answer. No groups completely fitting the above description of gangs existed in america until the early 1800s, but from the beginning of the european settlement in america there was gang-like activity, especially when class distinctions came into being. Gang members tended to be from the poorer classes and tended to be from the same race or ethnic background. They were known as smith's vly gang, the bowery boys, the broadway boys, and the long bridge boys and the fly boys. As the result of a worsening economy and growing population that increased competition for jobs, gangs began to specialize in crime and became a part of america's cities. The first irish gang to have a recognized leader was the forty thieves, organized by edward coleman in 1826.
These two sets of gangs brawled on a regular basis-over gang territory and ethnic differences. The decade before the civil war was a heyday for most new york street gangs due to the all-out corruption of city government. Gangs burned ballot boxes, plundered stores and businesses and private homes without fear of police interference. After the civil war in 1865 new york records indicate a presence of jewish, italian, african-american and irish gangs. Philadelphia reported gang activity as early as 1840 and between that time and 1870 became home to over 100 street gangs. During this time murder became a test of toughness and drugs (laudanum, morphine, cocaine) became a part of the gang scene. Gang warfare in chicago was widespread and fighting took place along ethnic, cultural and racial lines. Some gangs had no noticeable cultural, ethnic or national ties and consisted mostly of whites. By the 1940s chicano gangs established their place in los angeles-their zoot suits (a style of dress incorporating tapered pants, long wide-shoulder coats and broad-brimmed hats) had become a familiar sight. And society at large became concerned with gangs as a social problem and worked toward rehabilitation. Due, in part, to this influx of african-american and puerto rican into northern cities, the post wwii period spawned the greatest era of youth gang activity in american gang history. During the 1950s gang fighting rose to an all time high in cities like new york, philadelphia, boston, chicago, detroit, los angeles and cleveland. When a gang decided to become a fighting, or "bopping" gang, its members immediately took on a different way of walking. And in the late 1950, girl gangs, with strong ties to boy gangs, began to form. It was from such incidents that gangs drew their sense of pride, of "being somebody. In order to combat the rise of violence, organizations like the new york city youth board sent social workers into the slums to form relationships with the gangs. A new racial consciousness had its effect on local street gang, creating organizations that were more involved in communities. The black panthers arose in oakland in 1968, the black muslims gained national prominence in the '60s and a puerto rican gang, the young lords, formed in the early '70s. Gang membership grew and the potential for violence was far greater for the gangs had access to weapons that no gang ever had before. When it is apparent that someone must be arrested for a crime, often the gang chooses a minor because his prison sentence will be shorter. Many teens in gangs will pressure peers into becoming part of a gang by making it all sound glamorous. A kid (a 6-10 year old, who is not yet a member) is shown that s/he could make $200 to $400 for small part time gang jobs. One of the ways that kids morals are bent so that gang violence becomes more acceptable is the influence of television and movies. Many shows on television today are extremely violent and are often shown this from a gang's perspective. A normal adult can see that this is showing how foully that gangs are living. The ends justifies the means' mentality is also taught through many shows where the "good guy" captures the "bad guy" through violence and is then being commended. Unfortunately kids raised with this sort of television end up growing up with a stronger propensity to becoming a violent gang member or 'violent-acceptant' person. So, as you can see if tv leads a child to believe that violence is the norm this will manifest itself in the actions of the child quite often in a gang situation. Once this mentality is installed in youngsters they become increasingly prone to being easily pushed into a gang situation by any problem at home or elsewhere. Children of these families may often go to the gang firstly out of boredom and to belong somewhere. As time goes on, a form of love or kinship develops between the gang members and the child. It is then that the bond between the kid and the gang is completed because the gang has effectively taken the place of the family. The new anti social structure of cities also effects the ease in which a boy/girl can join a gang. The formation of gangs in cities, and most recently in suburbs, is facilitated by the same lack of community among parents. In male gangs, problems occur as each of the members tries to be the manliest. With all members participating in this sort of activity it makes for a never-ending unorganized violence spree (a sort of clockwork orange mentality). In gangs with more intelligent members these feelings end up making each member want to be the star when the groups commit a crime. This makes the gang much more organized and improves the morale of members which in turn makes them more dangerous and very hard for the police to deal with and catch (there is nothing harder to find and deal with than organized teens that are dedicated to the group). This sort of gang is usually common of middle or upper class people although it can happen in gangs in the projects and other low rent districts too. To do this they try to establish themselves as the only gang in a certain neighborhood. After a few gang fights hatred forms and gang murders and drive-by's begin to take place. When two gangs are at war it makes life very dangerous for citizens in the area. This gang application is one of the many reasons that sexual stereotypes and pressure to conform to the same must be stopped. Although from an objective point of view, we can see joining a gang brings more danger than it saves you from, this is not always the way it is seen by kids. In slums such as the bronx or the very worst case, compton, children will no doubt be beaten and robbed if they do not join a gang. Of course they can probably get the same treatment from rivals when in a gang. The gang also provides some money for these children who quite often need to feed their families. The reason kids think that the gang will keep them safe is from propaganda from the gangs. Gang members will say that no one will get hurt and make a public show of revenge if a member is hurt or killed. So, as you have seen gangs are a product of the environment we have created for ourselves. There seems to be no way to end the problem of gangs without totally restructuring the modern economy and value system. Since the chance of this happening is minimal, we must learn to cope with gangs and try to keep their following to a minimum. What we need are more people to form organizations like the "guardian angels" a gang-like group that makes life very tough for street gangs that are breaking laws. Los angeles sentinel 25 november 1998: , term papers, research papers (related):funerary rites essay term paperfreshmen 15 essay term paperfreedom of speech & censorship on the internet essay term support is now available round-the-clock 24/7. You enter your details and deadline and get a personal writer who works with you on a one-to-one personal level until you are happy with the finished paper is written from scratch based on your instructions and there is no plagiarism of any kind.
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