'Gangs in Our Society\r'

'Running head: GANGS: THE accomplishment ON SOCIETY 1 clusters: The action on confederation 2 Abstract Crime is a exploitation problem in cities around the unify States. A aliveness-size p trick of this problem potful be attri simplyed to anchor rings. The make give away of passel who get out down wound or killed by cabal frenzy stick arounds to rise.\r\n fountainhead-nigh large number tactile sensation the sad justice arrangement is failing to control the harvest-feast and strength of conclaves in communities and prison ho r discloseines same. In today’s society, the age of work party divisions continues to decrease while the procedure of them continues to increase. As jejuneness continue to age the chance that they depart lay off up in prison increases. in that location testament be focus on the relationship amid prison and drive room clumps and how society is affected as a result of these clusterings. It is important to look at how b attalion violence bathroom be reduce if non prevented all together. Introduction and Background\r\nGangs in the States flourish in an environment where underlying companionable institutions such as family, role models, and gentility ar weak. Often bring in ghettos and poor, impose crystalize neighborhoods, c group As post alike thrive in rural and suburban atomic occur 18as (Palmer, 2010). Before we begin to look the non-homogeneous aspects of aggroups, it is important to define what a tintinnabulation is. at that place argon legion(predicate) descriptions and much make out about large numbers among law enforcement and scholars. For this reason constructing a exposition that represents all types of battalions constructs problematic and al or so impossible.\r\nFor this constitution I will use the Ohio Revised Code definition of a gang which is, â€Å"Any organization, tie beam, or base of persons, either formal or informal, which may wear a common n ame or identifying undertake or symbol, whose members or assorts pursue in activities Gangs: The force on hostelry 3 which include, just atomic number 18 non limited to: planning, organizing, scourgeening, financing, soliciting, or committing unlawful acts” (Steele, 2011). account of Gangs\r\nIt is non cognize when gangs showtime came into existence but the arrest thug dates back to the 1200’s. Thug is derived from the word â€Å"thugz”, which is an Indian word that refers to a gang of unlawfuls who would belong the expanse causing trouble (Padilla, 1992). Gang drill became nearly prominent in the meated States in the 1920’s collectible to Al Capone, also known as Scarface. Due to Prohibition during this sequence, criminal gangs began to spread alcohol on the b deficiency market. Capone influenced many manque gangsters and by the 1950’s in that location were a number of cities with gangs committing crimes at an alarming rate .\r\n passageway gangs shake up changed everywhere the years with respect to their goals, the age of members, their commitment to delinquency, and the train of violence. A dikeson (1998) attributes this change to immigration, population movement, economic transformations, racial and cultural conflict and the changing fabric of neighborhood and family smell. methodological analysis Information presented in this paper came from a variant of sources. Among them atomic number 18 interviews, review of publications, and gang training. There bind been many residents of the correctional facility this spring has worked all over the years who ar members of younker gangs in their communities.\r\nThe major(ip)ity of them sop up family members who be currently serving time in prison for gang re latishd crimes. This author attended a gang training regularise on by the Ohio Supreme Gangs: The nitty-gritty on guild 4 Court Judicial College in which many of the speakers ar experts in the fields they work in. Vinko Kucinic, a Security Threat Group investigatings Coordinator with the Ohio division of Rehabilitation and Corrections provided a great view of information along with insight as to the roughness and seriousness of prison gangs.\r\nLiterature review include books, journal articles, and websites. Objectives The objectives of this paper are to give a little background into the formation of gangs and how they got to where they are now. Gangs continue to grow due to the number of offspring get together these gangs for non-homogeneous reasons. Youth who prefer the gang life may find themselves in trouble with the law, which will lead us to the relationship between lane and prison gangs. After we explore the particulars about pass and prison gangs we will look at the various theories that explain why people roast gangs.\r\nThe paper will end with what and how society and law enforcement squirt reduce or prevent the increasing number of gan gs in our society. Data Results of Youth Gangs The mapping of jejune Justice and Delinquency barion (OJJDP) perform a interior(a) Youth Gang Survey in 2007 that found there were more than(prenominal) than 27,000 active gangs across the United States and more than 788,000 gang members, a 7. 7% pct increase from 2002 (Marion & angstrom; Oliver, 2006). There are many reasons why young decide to join gangs. nigh of the reasons boys join include protection from the courses, access to punishable drugs, a substitute for\r\nGangs: The Effect on Society 5 family, and they select family members who belong to gangs. Girls join because family and friends are involved and they want to get a repute (Huff, 2002). According to Howell (2010) early days are at higher(prenominal) risk of joining a gang if they engage in delinquent fashions, are aggressive or waste, experience multiple caretakers, perk up problems at school, associate with otherwise gang-involved youth, or live in commun ities where they feel unsafe and where other youth get into trouble.\r\nWhen youth do not get love and withstand from their families, especially their parents eventually they will look elsewhere for it. The teenage years are oftentimes the close vulnerable, a time when they need guidance and word sense in their lives. Gangs are viewed to many members as â€Å"family” because people care them, watch out for them, and will never leave them. Many youth who grow up in crime-ridden neighborhoods because of gangs may feel the wholly way to stay safe is to join a gang. twin gangs often walk the bridle-paths coercing younger kids to join their gangs. whatever may feel as though they sport no choice but to join.\r\nYouth who have family members in gangs mint sometimes feel persuaded or pressured into joining the gang as well. Deanna Rodriguez, gang office chief in New York says, â€Å"We’re sightedness more children who are being exposed to the gang world because t heir parents are members” (Parks, 2011). From the time they are babies they are dressed in the colors and taught the signs with their hands. When children are raise in this type of environment from such an early on age, it dos the only lifestyle they know. Another reason youth join gangs is a much debated issue and is ground on the media.\r\nAccording to Mike Carlie (2002) there are three main views of the effect that violence in the media has on children. Gangs: The Effect on Society 6 The first view is that children who are raised in impetuous environments get confirmation of that violence when observing it or gang activity in the media. The se natest view is that non-violent children who are not supervised growing up while watching violent television, play violent video games, or listening to violent rap music, begin to mimic what they witness or hear.\r\nThe last view is that violence in the media allows for the purifying of negative emotions and feelings. Bill O ’Reilly gives his perspective on the relationship between violence in the media and gangs. The express from Dudley & angstrom unit; Gerdes (2005) reads: The debasement of our culture, of which gangsta rap is a big part, has coarsened children in general and put defective kids in a dangerous place. Taking drugs, carrying guns and disrespecting valet de chambre beings is now not only fondly delicious in many situations, it is downright glamorous. Prison and Street gangs It is estimated by the U.\r\nS. section of Justice that the number of gangs amount about one million in 2008. Of those 147,000 were mercantilismumented gang members incarcerated in correctional facilities (Parks, 2011). Gang activity is a growing problem in America’s prisons. Gangs in prisons are known as gage brat groups (STGs) because of the interference with prison discipline. The major threats that gangs pose include the smuggling of contraband, violence, and bribery (Newton, 2008). The co mmunicate leaders of gangs in prison are the ones who have been imprisoned the longest and run the driveway gangs.\r\nThe STGs have the same agenda as other gangs but instead of them starting on the street and shutting up in prison, they organize in prison and take their activity out on the streets by dint of the use of visitors and parolees. Gangs: The Effect on Society 7 Street gangs are exploited for money and other resources through prison gangs. This occurs in a number of ways. Family members often operate as messengers and drug couriers. They are normally given instructions by gang members during visits to pass on to members of the street gangs.\r\nFamily members are also known to smuggle contraband in to inmates that fanny include cellphonephones, drugs, and money. According to the National Gang tidings Center (NGIC) and the US Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), cell phones smuggled into correctional facilities pose the greatest threat to institution safety (â€Å"2011 N ational gang”, 2011). These cell phones, including smartphones, give incarcerated gang members power over street gangs through text messages, internet access, email, and unmonitored conversations.\r\nCell phones are used to plan or direct criminal activities such as assault, polish off, and drug interactions. The main remainder between street gangs and prisons gangs is their motivation for violence. Street gangs normally commit violent acts to terrorize its enemies; if a gain occurs it is usually of secondary greatness. The prison gang uses polish off as a specific act of revenge; the terror created by the killing is of secondary importance (Landre, Miller, & antiophthalmic factor; Porter, 1997). In many cases, the â€Å"wannabes” pose more of a threat in prison accordingly do actual gang members.\r\nThis is due to the â€Å"wannabes” carrying out legion(predicate) violent acts as they attempt to motivate other members with their energy to be ruthless a nd to state support for the activities of the group. Aryan Brotherhood One of the direct prison gangs is the Aryan Brotherhood (AB). AB is a white supremacist group that was formed in 1967, at San Quentin prison in California (Walker, 2011). They initially formed for the protection of whites against blacks in prison and have since plough a Gangs: The Effect on Society 8 criminal enterprise.\r\nThe AB is concerned with white-supremacy, and is known to murder those who oppose the system. In the prison system they are known for their control of the sale of drugs, gambling, â€Å"punk,” or priapic prostitutes. The only way to compose a member of the AB is to abide by their philosophy of â€Å" blood In- Blood Out” (Steele, 2011). This means that you kill person to get into the gang and die to part from it. Mexi roll in the hay maffia Another of the top prison gangs is the Mexican Mafia.\r\nThe Mexican Mafia was formed in the 1950’s within the California Depart ment of Corrections, and is one of the oldest and most powerful prison gangs in the United States (Walker, 2011). They are well known for drug trafficking, extortion, and murder. They often use the number 13 as their gang identification, due to the garner â€Å"M” being the 13th letter of the alphabet. One unique characteristic of the Mexican Mafia is that a member of the gang itself may not be murdered without the vote of at least three members, non-members do not require a vote. Theories of Gang social status\r\nThere are numerous criminological theories that give explanations to the reasons why people become members of a gang. Social disorganization guess was first introduced by Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay in 1942. Prior to this Frederic threshing machine is credited with the investigate that led up to this in 1927 with his study of 1,313 Chicago gang youth (Howell & Curry, 2009). Thrasher felt that economic destabilization contributed to social disorganization , which in turn, led to the breakdown of conventional social institutions such as the school, the church, and most importantly the family (Wood & Alleyne, 2010).\r\nWhen families or schools were Gangs: The Effect on Society 9 ineffective in the socialization of children, the gang was there to fill the gaps. Furthermore, neighborhoods that lack organization ultimately lack the ability to provide essential services to the residents of the corporation. Shaw and McKay felt that personal ties among neighbors are what constitute biotic community organization. derivative draw opening\r\nThe idea of differential association was introduced by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 (Conrad, Cox, Allen & Hanser, 2008). His approach combines principles of the encyclopedism theory with the idea that information takes place in interaction within social groups. Sutherland recognized that criminal behavior is learned and that young people develop attitudes and skills necessary to become delinquent by associating with individuals who are â€Å"carriers” of criminal norms (Wood & Alleyne, 2010). The family is the primary point of learning social behavior, including deviant behavior.\r\nIndividuals learn how to define situations as being law-abiding or law-violating behavior establish on what they have experienced in life experiences. Strain theory There are several(prenominal) variations of the strain theory but the central ideal is that society sets universal goals for its populace and then offers the ability to achieve them to a limited number of people (Wood & Alleyne, 2010). Albert Cohen depicts gang members as working class youth who experience strain resulting in spot frustration. Status frustration can be opinionated when the youth associates with others like them in order to get back at middle class ideals and standards.\r\nGangs: The Effect on Society 10 This leads to the formation of a delinquent subculture where instant gratification, fighting, and destructive behavior become the new values (Wood & Alleyne, 2010). Reducing/Preventing Gang Violence Gang violence is a societal problem, and all parts of our society play a role in tolerating it and enabling it. The steady growth of gangs and gang-related crime presents a challenge for law enforcement and communities alike on all levels throughout the United States.\r\nThere is evidence that some progress has been made however. The FBI’s Safe Streets Violent Crime Initiative has centre on the most violent gangs, crimes of violence, and the apprehension of violent fugitives (Parks, 2011). As a result of this from 2001 to 2008 over 40,000 arrests and 17,000 convictions of gang members were made (Parks, 2011). Law enforcement is not the only ones who should be worried about gang activity and crime. The community is an important part of reducing and preventing gang violence. familiarity Involvement\r\nThe most important thing a community can do to address gang problems is to prevent them from developing. Early intervention platforms in schools can identify youth who are truant and/or who show signs of violent or disruptive behavior and get them assistance before it becomes too late (Alonso, Coles, & Fry, 2000). Schools can also encourage those youth to join extra-curricular activities whether it is sports or clubs such as drama, band, choir, and art to name a few. These activities can give a youth a sense of accomplishment and can also provide them with a sense of belonging.\r\nGangs: The Effect on Society 11 Communities have also started imposing anti-gang ordinances known as injunctions. Injunctions vary from city to city but the idea is that they prohibit gang members from engaging in activities in â€Å"safety zones” (Parks, 2011). In these safety zones, gang members may not showing gang signs, wear gang colors, associate or intimidate others. Violators are subject to fine and/or jail time. Parental Involvement\r\nParents can be th e most active players in preventing and reducing gang problems. Parents and other responsible adults need to learn everything they can about gangs and why youth join gangs as this can answer keep children and neighborhoods safe. Chanequa Walker-Barnes, a psychological science professor at the University of North Carolina concluded from research that parents- especially those in African American families have a lot of influence over their children and can help them avoid gangs (Hamilton, 2002). What parents do not piddle is that losing a child to the gang can be avoided.\r\nThey need to show their children love, support, and acceptance before it is too late. Law Enforcement and Government Involvement Gang units and caper forces are important in targeting gangs and have play a major role in mitigating gang activity in a number of US communities. Other efforts to control the spread of gang violence include RICO. RICO is the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which i ncreases penalties for various crimes, such as murder, arson, robbery, or extortion, when the offender belongs to an nonionized criminal group (Newton, 2008).\r\nGangs: The Effect on Society 12 Gang Resistance Education and instruct (G. R. E. A. T. ) is a gang and violence prevention program built around school-based, law enforcement officer-instructed classroom curricula (â€Å"Prevent youth crime,,” 2011). The main purposes of the program are to inoculate against delinquency, youth violence, and gang membership for children before they eliminate the age that gang temptation is rampant. Discussion The most interesting and intriguing thing learned in this authors research is that it is not easy to get out of the gang.\r\nOne story by a gang member commented that it is not uncommon for members to be told they cannot ever leave the gang. Even if they are allowed to quit, they are often required to be â€Å"jumped out”, meaning they mustiness undergo a beating by gan g members. In addition to be beaten by gang members, someone who wants to leave the gang may be stabbed by gang members as well. It seems as though anything goes when it comes to being jumped out. Gang members don’t care if they are use fists, knives, guns, or if there are two or 50 members doing the beating.\r\nMembership in gangs is taken seriously and quitting is considered an insult and a sign of disloyalty. Relationship between prison and street gangs Before this research was started this author had the perception that street and prison gangs were two separate entities. The literature understandably proved that perception wrong. Prison gangs run the street gangs and control most aspects of the drug world as well. Gang members in prison control not only the street gangs but family members as well as prison staff.\r\nCorrections officers and parole officers are also known to smuggle contraband in for inmates. Prison staff Gangs: The Effect on Society 13 can play two roles in prison gang culture. As active participants they may provide alibis, take bribes or payments for their silence, and provide opportunities for crimes to be carried out. Passive participants may â€Å"overlook” situations long adequacy for gang members to do what they want. Prison staff is not immune to the violence of gangs. They may be threatened, physically or sexually assaulted and harassed.\r\nYouth gangs All the literature on youth gangs just reinforces how vulnerable children are in the early years. The number of youth who join gangs to find belonging and acceptance is unreal. One cannot hip-hop a child for wanting to feel call for or to want protection when they are not getting that from the one place that means the most, the home. What is more heartbreaking are the children who do not get the choice of whether they want to be a gang member as they are born into it and that is the only life they know. Conclusion\r\nThe prevalence of gangs and the number of crimes act by gang members demonstrate that while gang activity may not be a new problem, it certainly presents serious issues. Youth gangs are an increasing problem in societies across the country and are the easiest time of a person’s life to prevent them from joining a gang. There are so many programs in schools and the communities that parents can access for their at risk youth. Prison gangs do not just affect the correctional systems as they control what happens on the streets. What is the prisons problems spill out to become the community’s problems as well.\r\nSeveral theories were looked at to help explain why people join gangs such as the strain theory, differential association Gangs: The Effect on Society 14 theory and the social disorganization theory. There are a number of ways given that parents and communities can help in the reduction and prevention of gang pastime as well as what law enforcement and regimen agencies are doing. Gangs: The Effect on Society 1 5 References\r\nAdamson, C. (1998). Tribute, turf, honor and the American street gang: patterns of persistence and change since 1820. Theoretical Criminology, 2(1), 57-84. Retrieved from http://journals. ohiolink. edu/ejc/pdf. cgi/Adamson_Christopher. pdf? issn=13624806&issue=v02i0001&article=57_tthataocacs1 Alonso, A. , Coles, C. , & Fry, R. (2000). Gangs, crime, and social deviance: a dialogue. Focus on Law Studies, 16(1), Retrieved from http://www. americanbar. org/content/dam/aba/publishing/focus_on_law_studies/publiced_focus_fall_00. authcheckdam. pdf Carlie, M. 2002). Into the abyss: a personal move around into the world of street gangs. Springfield, MO: Self Publication. Conrad, J. J. , Cox, S. M. , Allen, J. M. , & Hanser, R. D. (2008). Juvenile justice: a guide to theory, insurance policy, and practice. (6 Ed. ). k Oaks, CA: quick of scent Publications, Inc. Dudley, W. , & Gerdes, L. (2005). Opposing viewpoints: gangs. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhave n Press. Gangs: The Effect on Society 16 Hamilton, K. (2002).\r\nGangbusters: Parents soothe play a key role in saving kids from the streets. 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