The life of most in gangs follow a path that is riddles with violence, crime, mistakes and regrets, but rarely redemption. It is not often they will get a chance to reevaluate their perspective on life and make a change for the better. Incarceration is the normal path for many gang members; in fact prison is a sort of rite of…
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…
Los Angeles is known to be the “gang capital” of America with over 450 gangs, including the increase of gangs throughout the years. With the increase of gangs, the age of recruitment has reduced to under 18 years of age. To recruit minors who live in low income environments, have a learning disabilities, and emotional disorders. These minors do not seek out for help but are finding help in the streets. Gang membership and delinquency is destroying the lives of youth, but with the help of a mentorship program with activities, it can lead youth to the right path of their lives.…
Unlike suppression and intervention programs, which are directed at youths who already are gang members, G.R.E.A.T. is intended for all students (National Evaluation of G.R.E.A.T, 2002). They did an excellent job in including those at greatest risk, but also intervening early. The program targets youth from ages 12-14, who according to the National Institute of Justice, is the prime age group most vulnerable to youth gang involvement (NIJ, 2011). In addition, the program is intervening early before the youth has a chance to become involved in gang activities. One of the benefits of the program is that they have law enforcement personnel teaching the classes, which could be the main reason to why they had positive results when it came to the prosocial attitudes towards the police.…
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.…
Importantly, it is imperative to understand that youth involvement in gangs can introduce a form of adolescent adaptation. For example, it may create peer bonds; provide safety and a remedy for boredom. Adolescence with anti-social behavior are prone to engaging in juvenile delinquency, they are influenced by their peers, and at times engage for a higher social status. Juveniles may feel the pressure to join certain gangs because their friends are already involved in…
In today’s society it is hard to stay away from the gang culture because it is everywhere. There are many gangs that are family based in the United States, as well as in different countries. Some gangs have parents that lead children into following in their footsteps. Gang life can guide an individual to commit crimes and even kill another person. According to Why American Boys Join Street Gangs, “a total of 1,017 gang homicides were reported” (Taylor, 2013).…
Gang-related studies conducted in America strongly suggest that how youth gangs are defined will have a major practical impact on…
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.…
Even when children come from a stable family, they still may affiliate with gangs. In high school, countless students in Saint Louis are exposed to gangs. Whether they are exposed to them in high school or in the streets of the city, gang members fill the city and the youth is not…
Illicit Use A fleeting rush of adrenaline is worth cold sweats in the middle of the night. We inhale them and feel relief, so we kill and maim for them. Despite all the awful things drugs make us do, people keep coming back for more. Addicts rob gas stations, gang bangers push coke across the border and force children to deal.…
Trying to address the question of why youth join gangs requires the examination of multiple factors, and preferably, multiple theories. Social disorganization theory explains that the place where an individual grows up matters – disordered neighborhoods lead youth to join gangs. Due to its overemphasis on disorganization within neighbourhoods, however, social disorganization theory is not able to assess every factor that causes youth to join gangs. In this paper, I argue that youth join gangs because of neighborhood influence, poverty, and peer influence. Social disorganization theory is able to explain neighborhoods that lack resources and poverty as reasons for youth gang involvement, but it is unable to account for why gang-affiliated peers cause youth to join gangs.…
In the past, gangs have been viewed as a group of adolescents who have been excluded from a certain groups of individuals due to their behavior, actions or beliefs. As shown before, gangs tend to being an outlet for a family. However, there is a unnumbered account of different attractions that play a role in influencing someone to join a gang, besides providing a family. Jeff Slowikowski a Acting Administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, wrote an article strictly focusing on community outreach, and government policies which lists out key features or attractions gangs pose on certain individuals. As gangs are establish, Slowikowski and researchers have observed that “the gang-joining process is similar to the manner in which most people would go about joining an organization.…
Although treatment with medication has shown positive feedback, there are other forms of…
The learned behaviors through gangs are more in favor of the individual because of the respects and values pertained in the gang. Rather than outside of the gang prospect of an unsupportive society, peers, and environment for the individual, the individual strives towards the supportive side of…