In the 18th Century, gang problem became worse as the new generation of immigrants continue to enter the United States. During this time, Irish gangs like Whyos, Dead Rabbits and Plug Uglies and Jewish gangs like the Monk Eastman Gang brought terror in New York City streets (Lou Savelli, 2001). In the 19th Century, the most notorious gang was formed – the Five Points Gang. One of the most notorious members of the Five Points Gang was a young boy of Italian descent in the name of Alphonse Capone also known as Scarface. His whole life was an illustration of the power and influence of organized crime in the United States during the 19th Century (“Al Capone”).
The violent and often degrading lyrics of gangster rap have now become main-stream and is highly romanticized by young black and white youths, alike. To be able to analyze the death of Tupac Shakur, it is also important to address rap music and its influence on America’s culture. Hip Hop has become a multi-billion dollar industry that has come to dominate television, film and fashion, as well as radio. Many inner-city and urban residents are drawn to hip hop and are distrustful of many institutions, therefore, they look elsewhere for guidance and knowledge. This all too often comes in the form of rap idols and gangs.
Gangs function with the methodology of creating strategic allies that will help them further their own destructive agendas. Prison gangs have been around since the late 50’s and 60’s mainly for the reason of inmate security. Security became an increasing concern as the violence escalated in the prison systems. In reaction, groups became to form largely on the basis of race and creed. You have the Aryan Brotherhood or “AB” which consists almost
The extent of gangs/drugs A proliferation in gangs will also mean a growth in drug and violence in our community’s and threatening society in general. There are more than 731,000 active gang members in the United States, most of which are active with drug distribution. Gangs will and have shown themselves notorious and without regard to society and family. Street gangs employ violence to control drug activities and even targeting local businesses with extortion. Violence ensures that members adhere to the gang’s code of conduct.
(2005 NYGC, Bulletin No 1, p.1) New and emergent trends in criminal activity will surface as gang migration occurs at an increasing level crossed the country. Communities will feel the impact of gangs in their neighborhoods as it becomes unsafe for their children to live there. (2005 National Gang Threat Assessment, p 36). Gangs will move into jurisdictions where law enforcement may have less knowledge of their activities and culture and may not have the support to combat them (2005 National Gang Threat Assessment, p 7). Asian and Latino gangs are associated with organized crime entities, such as Mexican drug organizations, and Asian criminal groups (2005 National Gang Threat Assessment, p VI).
Social Nightmares in Today´s World In Central America, there is a major problem in society known as Gangs and in some countries the circumstances are worse than others. According to John Hagedorn, researcher of the Criminal Justice Department, "A street gang is a cohesive group, with most members between ages of 11 and 21, that has a recognizable geographical territory, leadership, a purpose, and various levels of organized continuous course of criminal activities" (2). Most of the time, each of the groups is recognized by graffiti’s symbols and hand sighs that are unique and different from each other. Gangs are involved in simple criminal activities such as vandalism and robbery. Also, they might do severe criminal activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and murders.
Dismantling Gangs Throughout time, gangs and gang culture have been a distinct force within communities and social ladders worldwide. The government has implemented many ideas and put them forth to work against the gangs, but gangs continue to add to their numbers due to traditional recruiting processes. Gangs make up a significant portion of the United States subcultures in the inner cities and suburbs alike. The only way to combat them is to stick to some sort of effective deterrent against these men and women, which has unfortunately, yet to be found. The politicians and law enforcement agencies need to remember that the gangs must be targeted and attacked as a whole, and not to single out a certain individual within the group.
How do you identify gangs and gang members? Where do we find street gangs? Webster's Dictionary defines a gang as: ; A group of persons working to unlawful or antisocial ends; for example, a band of antisocial adolescents or, ; A group of persons having informal and close relations. This definition obviously does not fit the definition needed to describe a street gang. Odds are that most of you have criminal street gangs in your urban or rural community, your schools, and your work places.
Alex Jackson Mrs. Aspers English 3-4 H, BK.4 29 March 2008 Gang Violence Thesis: Gang Violence has been threatening the progression of our society due to the fear that has been put in everyone’s eyes. I. Background on gangs and the controversy they cause. A. Gang violence is a major issue in the world today B.
This led Miller (1974) to create a definition of gang that listed the following as defining at tributes: (a) structured organization, (b) identifiable leadership, (c) territorial identification, (d) continuous association, (e) specific purpose, and (f) illegal behavior. (Goldstein, 1994) Early gang membership relied on loyalty. Modern gang membership is based more of profits from illegal drug sales than any form of gang loyalty. In modern America, many gangs have replaced traditional organized crime families as the ready source for drugs and automatic weapons. (Welsh, 2011) • Today’s gangs are based on a new social structure: * Social gang.