In nearly every case of gang allegiance, the individual seeks gang membership because he is unable to find these rewards elsewhere. Additionally, there are a variety of cultural factors contributing to gang membership, both within individual communities and society in general. The failure of the police force and judicial system to adequately deter drug trafficking is a primary reason that gangs exist. Poverty, unemployment, fatherless households, and the insidious breakdown of the family structure are all contributing factors to the proliferation of gangs. It is argued in this paper that gang membership is a logical response by young individuals to socio-economic factors beyond their control.
The Effect of the Family Membership in a street gang has an extremely detrimental effect on the lives of the young males who join them. Gang members “engage in more violent crimes and have more police contact than non-gang members” (Craig et al. 54) and are also more likely to engage in binge drinking and the use and sale of other drugs (Hawkins, Hill and Lui 1). Gang members also have a negative impact on their communities because of their proclivity towards crime. There are a lot of factors that can push someone towards gang membership, but the extremely young age of many gang members asks us what role does the young boy’s family play in his path to gang membership?
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.
Gang involvement is becoming a big issue today. It has been associated negatively with criminal acts and deviance. One of their major targets for recruitment are young teens to run their errands. In this essay I will talk about what it means to be in a gang and the different theories that could explain as to how and why young people are being involved into gang memberships and gang related crimes. I will be exploring Edwin Sutherlands Differential association and will talk about how gang and criminal behaviour is learned just like anything else.
Most adults that commit crimes began their life of crime when they were young. In order to combat this trend and assist the juvenile population in obeying the law and making the right choices in life, it is important to understand why they break the law, the effectiveness of the probation office, and the success of rehabilitation into society as law abiding citizens. The life of crime that a juvenile engages in often begins when they are young. Observing criminal acts as children and seeing their role models continue these illegal acts with no consequences or little regard to the results of breaking the law encourages this young population to pursue the lifestyle as well. Along with the lifestyle up bring that a juvenile is surrounded by, the neighborhood and the company they keep can lead them down the path of destruction.
Gangs are one of the results of poverty, discrimination and urban deterioration. Some experts believe that undereducated young people, without access to good jobs, become frustrated with their lives and join gangs as an alternative to boredom, hopelessness and devastating poverty. Studies have attempted to determine why gangs plague some communities but there has been no definitive answer. Consequently, people working to solve gang problems have great difficulty. They find the situation overwhelming, and the violence continues.
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. Gangs have chapters or cells all over the U.S. and abroad. Gangs tend to center themselves under a strict “street code”, that if you break, or interrupt, usually leads to some sort of attack or even taking someone’s life. The main objectives of gangs is to set out to earn money, or to maintain some means of financial gain, to help aid the gang and its members for whatever they desire. The other most important goal of a gang is to gain turf.
A sociologist by the name of Walter Miller did a study where he interviewed law enforcement personnel and social service professionals who dealt with youth gangs. He found that many of the officers’s agreed that most youth gang members came from broken homes and joined gangs in order to be accepted and be a part of a family. Many youth are fascinated with gang life because it allows them to make their own decisions and make their own rules. They no longer have any regard for authority and develop into “deviant” criminals. Gangs use objects, symbols, or tattoos to signify the importance of their association.
The amount of youths involved in crime and who show disregard for law and order is on the rise. What is more disturbing is the rise of violent crimes committed by the same youths. Certain questions must be answered to comprehend the reasons behind this.Why are our youths behaving this way? Why are they putting their future in jeopardy? How can we make these wrongs right?
The family is the foundation of the society. The Pope Pío XII said once “The society is for the family, not the family for the society” (5). The most important reasons why adolescents join gangs are that they are looking for protection, attention, support, and because they do not feel themselves as part of their families. The Article “Why teens join gangs” states “Most of the times when a children’s family is messed up, they end up spending more time on the streets and the gang becomes like their second family” (3). For this reason, the government has to create programs where the juveniles can find support instead of becoming a gang member.