Gang Violence Essay

How, if at all, did your perception of gangs change after watching the video and completing the reading? The video nor the book really changed my perception of gangs. Since I can remember I have been either watching shows like gangland or taking classes on this exact topic or something very similar. I have always been aware that gangs are in place so that groups of men can control different sections of impoverished neighborhoods as well as sell drugs or commit other illegal acts and make loads…

Gangs are nothing new. At the turn of the century (the early 1900s), many large police departments on the east coast had gang units to monitor the immigrant gangs who got together to protect their neighborhoods and to gather for social reasons. Gangs as most people think of them today were probably first recognized by the public with the inception of the Los Angeles gangs in the early seventies. Why do kids join gangs? The stereotype that comes to many people’s minds is that kids who join…

200 men and even women who I witnessed struggled with the gang mentality of the Arian Brotherhood. Even after their release quite a few made it years without reverting back to the old ways, some re-entered the prison system and others perished from gang violence. I could have easily have been in Derek’s shoes while growing up in the time and place that I did. I enjoyed how…

video through the ways of the gang members. Each and every one of the members believes that their gang is the best and that all those who are not a part of it is scum and all those in other gangs need be eliminated. The members in MS13 take pride in being a part of this gang and boast their choice any chance they get. Each one of the members is taught from the beginning that this gang is their life. That every thing that has to do…

easiest targets to join a gang? The youth. With children and teens in gangs, it affects them the most, their families, and their communities. The youth join gangs because it makes them look cool, they have an older sibling is in a gang, one or both parents are in a gang, they are pressured, unity, and brotherhood. One major reason why children and teens join gangs is the neighborhood they live in and their surroundings (Chaskin 7). The majority of children and teens in gangs are typically from…

Crime and gangs go hand in hand. They’ve existed for hundreds of years and will be here hundreds of years from now. The earliest gangs date back to the 1600s when the Italian mafia were established and in the 1800s for the Chinese Triads. Surprisingly, the two have more in common than one may conceive. Both groups originated because of resistance within their countries. The Italian mafia initiated while Sicily was still under the rule of Spain and the Chinese Triad’s during the anti-Manchu…

the statistics of gang culture and crime within the prison system of the United Kingdom has been almost non-existent, with the Home Office releasing no figures to date of the number of gang crime incidents within prison. However, one study for the Home Office found that up to 6% of 10-19-year-olds belonged to a gang in England and Wales (De Castella and McClatchey, 2011). Although, the definition of a gang found on the streets of your neighbourhood and the definition of a gang within a detention…

death toll in history due to poverty, drugs, and violence. Living in South Central Los Angeles is a hostile environment. Gang violence made the streets of Los Angeles the nation’s most dangerous urban jungle. Urban neighborhoods suffered from violence, drugs, mental and physical health issues and have no recourse to help themselves. Families live in gang territories due to their economic incapacities. They are forced to become involved with gangs due to daily interactions in their daily lives.…

Gang Prevention in America Gang, what is it? Even though, there is no universal definition for what a gang is in the United States, the federal government has defined a gang to be members of a collective group who identify themselves, and create an atmosphere of fear or intimidate by using a common name, and utilizing hand signs or graffiti to identify themselves as a gang (National Institute of Justice, 2015). America has always had different types of gangs that have established themselves…

Teens join gangs for a variety reasons from families, schools, friends, to what city they live in. Gangs are everywhere, even some of the nicest cities. Peer pressure, family, protection, and boredom are the main reasons I noticed that teens join gangs. In reflecting upon my own adolescence and witnessing teens joining gangs, I believe that all these reasons are closely associated. It seems as though gangs have no boundaries it affects the poor and the rich, small towns, suburbia, and some of…