Gangs and gang behaviour has become a general debate. However, when asked to describe a “gang” and its characteristic, most people would struggle to give an agreed definition on what constitutes a gang. In spite of this, the beginning of this book gave us a history of the “new” gangs of London. This book refers to them as the “New” gangs because as we have seen gangs are not a new phenomenon, but are deep rooted in our history. In establishing a definition, of who should be referred to as a gang, it can be asked, Should a group of young men, standing under a street light on a dark winter 's night, wearing hoodie’s pulled far down over their heads, displaying boisterous behaviour be classed as, or referred to as a gang? In order to…
The Gang Life Most gangs in the society are violent, some more than others. Gangs do not tend to be very appealing to others in the world that is today. Gangs have been an issue in the world from then and even now, it has become more dangerous in the streets and society throughout the world. Gangs do not obey the law or authorities; they simply do what they please. Gangs are a major issue in the way people live their lives. A large majority of the inmates at Pelican Bay belong to one of these…
Gang violence in America has been a problem for over eight decades. Since as early as the 1900s people of the African American race organized small gangs in the streets to protect their neighborhoods when segregation in America was still a big social and ethical problem. Originally gangs where not organized to be violent and to commit crimes. These smalls crews where founded and established to provide peace and protection to the African American community during the civil rights movement. Even…
Teenage gang violence is one of the most dangerous acts that society often faces. People who are in gangs share similar goals and interests. However, gang violence plays a huge role in society, because teenagers all over the United States are being influenced to join a gang. So why would society change now? People do not realize the numbers are increasing for teenage gang violence. Teenage gang violence should be stopped. If gang violence were stopped, imagine how many people would live a better…
Researchers are still debating the best possible technique in which to measure gang membership. However, a growing consensus of the self-nominated technique seems to provide a justifiable measurement of gang involvement. In an article by Esbensen, Peterson, Taylor and Freng (2009) provides a methodological research into the similarities and differences between violent offending and gang membership. This article expands upon three prior publications that of (Howell & Egley, 2005; Klein & Maxson,…
Gang violence in America is a huge problem but Canada’s gang population has become a strong issue with the tremendous amount of groups they have reached. A youth gang is an association including various amounts of people who are a part of criminal activity and who have created a group identity. These groups usually are formed in places that have people facing disadvantages and inequality within their community. Gangs deal with a high usage of drugs, weapons and violence. Youth gangs have…
Gangs are very prevalent in the United States and all around the world. There are many misconceptions regarding gangs due to the media, television shows, and stereotypes. These misconceptions have blurred the definition of a gang and when a gang is officially a gang. It is also important to discuss why a gang matters. Gangs have specific characteristics such as; claiming territory, honor based on conflict, and aggressive tendencies. The characteristics are important in identifying a gang to…
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…
For sometime, the reasons for gang creation have been studied in an effort to reduce overall gang violence. “At recent count, there are an estimated 850,000 gang members in the United States in more than 30,000 gangs. With so many of today's youth adhering to the life in a gang, what is pushing them to pursue an early life of criminality. In reference to the Rational Choice view on youths joining a gang, “Members of the underclass turn to gangs as a way of obtaining desired goods and services,…
Gang Activity and Drug Operations There are very many kinds of gangs that are located in rural, suburban and urban areas. They are also described as locally, nationally and transnationally occupied. These categories are based on their degree of organization, whether loosely or highly organized groups, their longevity and location (Weisel, D et el…2002). One of the gang organizations are the troublesome youth gangs that comprise of the adolescents who involve themselves in some forms of criminal…