What is most striking in the presentation by the National Gang Center, is how all throughout the presentation, the heavy usage of the word community is present. Community is a very strong word, its essence the backbone of every city, every town and country. Communities have certain characteristics in common, in the book My Bloody Life, Sanchez speaks about how the community he lives in is divided and has racial tensions between each section in the neighborhood he lives in. (Sanchez, R. 2000). Additionally, the writings of Sanchez reflected the lack of social control, suppression, fear and the corruption of police officers.…
David Kennedy, professor in the anthropology department of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York City, is the author of the book, Don’t Shoot, One Man, A Street Fellowship, and The End of Violence in Inner-City America. In his lecture to students at Millersville University Kennedy explains how he found what he saw on the streets of America to be “unconscionable” or very wrong. Over the course of many years, he observed the behavior of drug addicts and street gang members in Los Angeles, New York City, Rochester, Washington D.C. and other large cities around the country within the most dangerous neighborhoods. Kennedy has devoted his career to reducing gang violence and drug-related violence through his simple message of “this is wrong, this has to stop, and put your guns down.” He claims that his successful programs have resulted in greater than a 35 percent positive outcome of reduced crime rates.…
Strengths for Change Gang involvement is on the rise in most if not in every community, affecting socioeconomic status, ethnic composition, and population (GREAT). Despite a continuous increase with youth gang affiliations in underserved communities, there is still a scarcity of promising or effectual gang prevention and intervention programs offered by schools. One reason for the lack of programs has to do with the time and resource constraints that school administrators face. With limitations on resources school superintendents need to consider the “cost and benefits” of each possible intervention plan (GREAT). As a consequence to low intervention program, risk factors such as social disorganization, and poverty, low educational commitment…
The author explains that state policies have been ineffective in solving gang violence and organized crime by neglecting focus on structural issues that lead to gang involvement (243). People have left their homes to protest gang power and find safety; however, US courts have refused to grant…
On a regular basis violence fills the news stations and social media; drive-by-shootings, theft, graffiti, assaults, home invasions, car jacking’s, fights, stabbings, even murders. Majority of these violent crimes are acts driven by gangs. Just over a year ago a young gang affiliate was shot and killed in a public park near Ward and San Luis (abc30 action news). Shortly after, another incident directly across the street on Ward was another gang related murder of a young teen boy. Gun shots and sirens are heard quite often.…
It is not only social factors or political factors that lead gang violence. Personal factors play an important part in gangs choosing violence and it is the most frequent cause of violence by gang members. Especially when it comes to seek revenge for perceived slights or previous disputes gangs use their utmost power and resources (Buchanan, 2014). A member can be attacked for belonging to a rival gang, living in the same neighborhood of a different gang, or to settle an old score between gang members or their families. Sometimes revenge leads to a series of crimes.…
The city has the highest crime rate in America due to the city’s numerous gangs. They wreak havoc by initiating new members into their clan and by retaliating to other gangs. Initiation usually includes committing a crime anywhere from stealing to homicide. To some, being in a gang is a way to get protection from other nearby gangs. To others, gangs are seen as family.…
Colin Holy 2/8/16 Mr. Hadden Freshman English A Dave Reichert stated in a speech to the U.S. Congress, “These groups are a funnel to criminal activities, allowing a central point to encourage violence and a family that preaches drug trafficking, murder, prostitution and rape. In fact, street gangs are the primary distributor of illegal drugs in the United States”. According to an FBI finding, gangs are responsible for 48% of violent crimes and up to 90% of all crimes. If gangs were taken off the street violent crimes would be lowered by half. Out of the 486 murders in Chicago there would be 243 more people alive.…
The most recent estimate of more than 30,000 gangs represents a 15 percent increase from 2006 and is the highest annual estimate since 1996. Gang violence in America has been a major problem in this country which affects several communities and several major cities all throughout America. If gang violence awareness can be more available to areas where it is most popular and holding seminars and informational classes about what the gang life can cause, then there will be a decrease in gang related activity. In America, there has been a rapid increase in gang violence and gang related activity which affects the countries major cities. While larger cities and suburban counties expectedly report higher numbers of gangs, there is also considerable variation within each area type.…
In every state and city there is always those type of neighborhoods that we consider or label as bad and dangerous. But what makes these cities so dangerous? Is it the people that settle in the neighborhood that makes them dangerous or the way media portrays them with the violence and segregations of organizations such as gangs and the crime rates? We see this occurring all around the world marking gangs as the number one problem to the situation. As a result we see many laws emerging across the country that focus on the gang “social problem”.…
Introduction Gangs are a major concern in many cities and in the criminal justice field. Although some can be very dangerous, it is often a means of survival for many juveniles. What is a gang? The growth has been known to cause crime, violence and drug problems in places highly populated with gang members.…
From the data collected many gang members live in communities for an average of 88 months (Walker, 2009), and have a residence that is a house regardless of the size, the number of rooms, and bathrooms. From looking at the data gathered many do not live below the poverty line and stay within whatever means is available to them. While it is known that many gangs and its members live a life of crime and violence the statistical data does not show any signs that these members of society live any differently than many of the surrounding community. Walker (2009) also shows an interesting fact that according to the collected information on arrest show that many of them from an ordinal level have only been arrested once and possibly do not want the violence within their neighborhoods. While this is merely speculation, from a lively hood standpoint, I would not want the violence around my house with my other family members in immediate danger.…
The FBI’s Safe Streets program designed to combat youth street gang involvement, for instance, was suspended in Baltimore after police found guns and drugs in its office and arrested two employees (Fighting Gangs). Although implemented in the 1990s, gang membership has increased since the mid-2000s (Fighting Gangs). Efforts have been made, but federal anti-gang programs are ineffective and the public lacks resources to contain problem, allowing community detriment to…
First and foremost, as the new police chief of Nashville, I would ensure the G.R.E.A.T. program remained in use. This program has gone through extensive evaluations and produced favorable results for preventing juveniles from becoming affiliated with gang membership. Evidence shows that both law enforcement and prosecutors share related views to the issues associated with gangs and how gangs are expanding in size (Johnson, Webster, Connors, & Saenz, n.d.). Both also agree that this causes an increase in violent crimes (Johnson, Webster, Connors, & Saenz, n.d.). Studies show that drugs and violent behavior are the primary issues associated with gangs (Johnson, Webster, Connors, & Saenz, n.d.).…
The Prevention of Gang Violence In Chicago In the last 20 years Chicago has been ridden with gangs, crimes, homicide, fatal shootings, and devastation due to the loss of innocent lives. Our streets are no longer safe to walk in, children can not experience the comfort of playing in their own back yards, or walking to school. Police enforcement are turning their back to certain areas of the city because ¨they are far too dangerous.¨ The Wall Street Journal, an international newspaper based in New York City quotes “so far this year someone was shot in Chicago every 150 minutes during the first five months of 2016.…