Essay On Gangs

Gangs would like nothing more than to have no involvement with outside authority, however, because many gang members come from that neighborhood they have a connection within it. Many gang members are children of residents to the surrounding community and provide protection for residents. The residents of the community also identify with gangs because of their own family member’s prior involvement within gangs. Even though gangs would like to exclude themselves from the community a relationship must still be maintained within their neighborhood. Gang members are more often male and of minority ethnicity such as Latino/ Hispanic, or African American. When a person joins a gang, they are completely engulphed within the culture of the …show more content…
It gives them somewhere to belong and gives them the attention they are missing. The gang is there to give them that attention and provide them with friendship. Youth also believe that no matter what happens, the gang will have their back and always be there for them. The gang life may entice youth into joining by showing them how easy it is for them to make money. All they have to do is sell some drugs for them. Another reason youth may feel drawn to that lifestyle is the community they live in is very violent and dangerous, but being in a gang will offer them protection. It can be a very comforting feeling and provide a place to belong. Youth being exposed to gang violence does have an impact on the themselves and the community. This impact shows most gang violence is committed against African American or Hispanic males, aged between 12 and 19 years of age (Kelly, 2016). In addition, youth who are involved in gangs are more likely than their peers to engage in violence and aggression (Lenzi, Sharkey, Vieno, Mayworm, Dougherty, Nylund, 2015). Because they were more likely to be involved in violence and aggression, youth between that ages of 12 and 17 are more likely to be victims of a violent crime than adults (Kelly.