Argumentative Essay On Youth Gang Violence

Gangs should be handled with extreme caution, because they are known for their violent tendencies. Being a member of a gang is not illegal, but I do believe they cannot be compare to juvenile delinquents or status offenders. I will discuss this matter in depth and support my argument with logical evidence. “A gang is an ongoing group of people that have a common name or common identifying sign or symbol, form an allegiance for a common purpose and engage in unlawful or criminal activity” (Hess, 2013, Pg 202). According to this information that defines a gang, we as individuals know the youths that are part of this group may commit dangerous crimes. “Youth gang activity ranges from property crimes to violent crimes against persons and includes graffiti, painting, vandalism, arson, student extortion, teacher intimidation, drug dealing, rape, stabbings and shooting” (Hess, 2013, Pg …show more content…
I did not join any anti-gang programs at the time, because I felt generally safe cause I did not understand the full scope of the situation. Operation Ceasefire or known as Boston Gun Project, focused precisely on fighting youth gun violence and gang violence. There strategies “are to carry out a comprehensive strategy to apprehend and prosecute offenders who carry firearms, to put others on notice that offenders face certain and serious punishment for carrying illegal firearms, and to prevent youths from following the same criminal path” (Operation Ceasefire, Para 2). In addition, they target high risk youths, serious offenders who are violent. In my opinion, these strategies of Boston Gun Project are very effective. They focused primary on targeting youths who pose a threat to society and they combat it by removing them from streets to prevented future crime. These actions might include removing guns, and actually trying to help youths to reform into function citizens one