...The effects of Gang Violence Gangs have been around since the beginning of time. Humans have always banded together for mutual protection and support - and to better dominate others. Gangs have always provided a way for people to more effectively get what they want, especially if it comes to force. And weaker members of society gravitate toward gangs that they feel can offer a sense of community and protection from others. But today were going to reflect on the effects of the most modern gangs. I watched the movie “Boys In The Hood” Directed by John Singleton in 1991. And it was an onscreen representation of what takes place in the urban areas of our country. Street gangs in the U.S. arose with Italian immigrants related to the Sicilian Mafia and others. These street gangs in New York City stole and killed to get what they wanted. One of the most famous street gang members was Al Capone, who later moved to Chicago in 1919 to help keep the other gangsters in order. Street gangs of this type were quite popular in the 1920s and 1930s.Gang Violence as we know goes beyond racial barriers, but it more vividly affects black and Latinos in America. I have chosen this topic because I have witnessed the effects of gang violence culturally, socially, and personally. It’s no secret that even St.Louis, MO is well known for gang violence. I don’t condone gangs but there are key factors that give reason for its existence. Gangs today have similar practices of creating their own sub-language...
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...Gang violence has always been a real issue, and in the late 1990s, it was at its peak with gang related war; in especially in Southern California particularly Los Angeles. Los Angeles has been a major problem with gangs since the early part of the 20th century. Los Angeles is informally known as the "Gang Capital of the Nation". In Los Angeles, law enforcement officials are aware of more than 1300 street gangs with over 150,000 members. In the City of Los Angeles alone, there are over 400 separate gangs and an estimated 39,000-gang member. The most common gangs that are in the Los Angeles area are the Bloods and the Crips. Both are recognized but the “colors” that they wear. Bloods wear bandanas, or other articles of the clothes that have a red color, Crips wear blue. Though they are known by their distinct colors, these two gangs are rival enemies. Also, they can be recognized by the different tattoos an individual has, there are certain marking each gang member will have. Every year young children are joining these gangs in hopes to fit or belong somewhere. But, getting into these gangs isn’t easy there are initiations. The most common initiation would be "Blood in - Blood out.” This is particularly initiation the “Blood-in” refers to assaulting or murdering someone. “Blood-out” refers to the death of the member whether by his/her own death or at the hands of a gang member. Violence is not the only thing that is gangs are known graffiti, or "tagging." is one way the gangs...
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...01/13/2011 Juvenile Gangs My bias opinion on youth gangs is the same as I view planting a seed. If you plant a seed in bad soil most likely you’ll grow a defected or bad plant. I say that to say this “if a child is raised in an unstructured household most of the time that child will take his home training outside the home. Then we also have our young kids joining gangs that come from good homes, but can’t escape their negative environments once they walk outside their front door. Also some of the youths get involved in gangs looking for something to call a family; these are mostly our kids coming from foster homes, adoption agencies and so forth. Personally I feel the majority of the kids involved in gangs are lost and out trying to find themselves. Then we have younger kids who are labeled gang members, but are far from it. These kids usually grow up together and have strong bonds with one another; they occasionally dress alike, hang together, and claim to belong to a certain neighborhood only by personal childhood reasons. But the local authorities see things different, they feel as if you wear certain colors, hang in certain areas with 3 or more kids claiming to belong to anything other than a sports team are considered gang related. To the rise of drug use amongst teens is also a major contribution to the growing number of youth kids joining gangs. Being that drugs from marijuana, to heroin has become so easy to get a hold of the kids are experimenting more freely now...
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...as "mainly gangsterism that had become society itself and acquired respectability".[6] A wide variety of gangs, such as the Order of Assassins, the Damned Crew, Adam the Leper's gang, Penny Mobs, Indian Thugs, Chinese Triads, Snakehead, Japanese Yakuza, Irish mob, Pancho Villa's Villistas, Dead Rabbits, American Old West outlaw gangs, Bowery Boys, Chasers, the Italian mafia, Jewish mafia, and Russian Mafia crime families have existed for centuries. According to some estimates the Thuggee gangs in India murdered 1 million people between 1740 and 1840.[7] The 17th century saw London "terrorized by a series of organized gangs",[8] some of them known as the Mims, Hectors, Bugles, and Dead Boys. These gangs often came into conflict with each other. The members dressed "with colored ribbons to distinguish the different factions."[9] Many poor orphans in Victorian London survived by joining pick-pocketing gangs controlled by adult criminals.[citation needed] At the beginning of the 19th century, child criminals in Britain were punished in the same way as adults. They were sent to adult prisons, transported to the various Australian penal colonies, flogged, and sentenced to death for crimes such as petty theft.[10][11][12] All the major cities of Victorian England in the late 19th century had gangs.[13][14] Chicago had over 1,000 gangs in the 1920s.[15] These early gangs had reputations for many criminal activities, but in most countries could not profit from drug trafficking...
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...The Boys & Girls Clubs of America Targeted Outreach Strategic Approaches primary approach to gang prevention is to identify and recruit at-risk youth and place them into ongoing Club programs and activities (Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 2008). The Boys & Girls Clubs of America offer health and life skills, sports fitness and recreation and tutoring (Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 2008). The programs and activities of the Club help to develop at-risk youth’s character, creativity, and health and mental skills. In addition, the Targeted Outreach program’s receives referrals from schools, courts, law enforcement, and community youth agencies (Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 2008). These referrals immediately identify at-risk youth for joining gangs. A comprehensive strategy to today’s gang problems incorporates both prevention programs and treatment strategies. Guiding principles are the objectives that the builder of a treatment strategy seeks to achieve (Hess & Drowns, 2004). The guiding principles of a treatment strategy for gang members will develop the framework for structuring the foundation of the core values and philosophies necessary for correcting gang member delinquency. Four guiding principles to be used during the development of an effective treatment strategy for gang members are: 1) encourage compliance with the conditions of probation and drug and alcohol programs; 2) identify and address risk factors for delinquent behaviors and actions in individual, group, and...
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...low self esteem, the individual may tend to develop aggression and violence towards his self and to everyone. Violence is defined as a use of physical force to threat or harm someone or himself. For the youth, violence is introduced to them as a form of bullying, gang violence, self harm, etc. Aggression is one of the factors why adolescence resorts to violence. The definition of aggression is somehow similar to violence, the only difference is that aggression is a behavior but which also results to harming others or his self. One way of an adolescent turn to violence is a non – suicidal self injury (NSSI). It is a type of violence where the individual intentionally or purposely done the action of hurting of the body...
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...Humans are social organisms with an instinctual need to belong to a group and to be accepted as successful contributor to their group. The urban poor are often raised in areas where there is no clear path to achieve success and to belong to the mainstream society. The only adult social influences are of those who failed to achieve success and are resigned to a life within the poor area they are in. This creates a sense of hopelessness that makes joining a criminal gang seem like the only positive opportunity available. These gangs have their own moral code and a social structure that is founded on the ideals of aggressive violence, using crime to earn money, and earning and maintaining respect. The members of these gangs see violence as wholly...
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...The city of Los Angeles is the gang capital of the world. As of today, there are more than 450 active gangs in the city of Los Angeles with a combined membership of over 45,000 individuals. Also, throughout the last three years there were over 16,398 confirmed gang offenses in SoCal. More than half of the homicides reported in Los Angeles, are elated to gang violence (LAPD). In the article, “Stop Gangs” it implies gangs are transforming, increasing, and settling themselves in our inner cities, or suburbs communities. They are selling drugs to our kids, shooting up our neighborhoods, invading our homes, robbing our stores, stealing our money, and generating fear and violence everywhere they go. They are violent and are responsible for committing crimes from assaults to murder using firearms,...
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...What is a Gang? Gangs are a group of individuals who claim territory and create profit through illegal activity such as drug trafficking (DoSomething.org, n.d). Gang members identify themselves by wear specific clothing such as hats, bandanas, or scarves with a specific color. For example, one well-known gang named The Bloods wear the color red to represent the color of blood. The members of a gang have a specific symbol or sign to represent their gang. These symbols are shown through graffiti or tattoos. For example, the Bloods graffiti a 5-pointed star to represent their gang (University of Maryland, n.d.). Gang are gathered based on race, ethnicity, territory, or money-making activities (i.e. selling drugs). Gang Initiations Joining a gang can be very dangerous and life threating. Gang initiations are required before being recruited into a gang. There different gang initiations, which included “initiation by cop, beat in, sexed in, jacked in, lined in, drive-by-shooting, Russian roulette, blood in, blood out, or catching a flag”...
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...Gang violence can be prevented and put down; people should be aware on what is happening in their communities and tell and or educate people on how to prevent these kinds of things from happening. Every where in the world local and ton of local communities suffer from crimes that aren’t even related to them due to gangs being a major problem in their area this needs to be brought to the spot light so we can put a end to gangs/gang related crimes and by doing this and educating the younger generation and youth we can aspire and hope to create a future where kids and people can be safe from poverty, drugs, violence and shootings and the killing of people due to gang related crimes kids and teens often join gangs because a friend is in a gang,...
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...All through the US there are gangs. The problem being, that these gangs often become violent, but what causes this violence? The list is seemingly endless, though some of the most prominent include, gun availability, drugs, addition of youth gang members, past experiences, and underprivileged communities. The availability of firearms may very well provoke violence among gangs. Though many believe that the leniency of gun laws in the South are making it easier for gun trafficking, closer inspection shows that a large part of firearms are purchased much closer to home. Studies in Chicago have shown that there is one particular supplier that many favor, Chuck's Gun Store, located in southern Riverdale. "From 2008 to March 2012, the police successfully traced the ownership of 1,375 guns recovered in crimes in Chicago within a year of their purchase. Of those guns, 268 were bought at Chuck's - nearly one in five"...
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...RUNNING HEAD: Gang Violence in our Schools Gang Violence in our Schools Tonya Upton ENGL 103-1403A-29 Professor Lisa Reason CTU Online August 5, 2014 Gang violence in our schools has become a national epidemic. Every day we send our children to school expecting for them to have a safe learning environment. Sadly in this day and age that is not so. “Today’s gangs are more violent, their activities are more widespread and they are more entrenched within communities” (Cahill, 2010). Gang violence in our schools not only affects our children but also our community. With gang violence on the rise more extreme measures must be taken to combat this important issue. Gang violence has become so common in our schools that by some standards it has become socially acceptable by our youth. Peer pressure has been an influence on our society since the beginning of time. In today’s world it’s more present than ever. Our children see violence in the world around them on a daily basis, so why should it be strange for them to see it in their schools environment? It’s what all the cool and popular kids are doing. It makes them part of a group and they are not alone anymore. They now have friends who like them and make them feel accepted. Getting good grades and following the rules are not as important to them as their new friends are. By succumbing to their peer’s pressure of joining a gang or group they may feel that they are a part of extended family. This would be...
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...The Effects of Gang Violence on Society Gang violence is a very serious problem that has become extremely prevalent in many neighborhoods around the United States, and impacts each and every American in one way or another. Many Americans feel that gangs and the associated violence does not affect them because they live in an upscale neighborhood, however this couldn’t be further from the truth. Understanding and developing methods to curb this trend and offer positive alternatives to our youth, will go a long way in strengthening society, both socially and economically. By decreasing the active gang presence in this country, society can also drastically improve morally and culturally, while instilling hope and cohesiveness among the youth of America. Gang violence affects Americans in many ways, both directly, and indirectly. The direct effects include becoming the victims of crime, such as robbery victims, extortion victims, or even being murdered by gang members. Some of the indirect consequences include increased costs for healthcare, increased costs of consumer goods, and higher taxes to pay for law enforcement who deal with gangs. According to the National Gang Center “A single adolescent criminal career of about ten years can cost taxpayers between $1.7 and $2.3 million.” (James C. Howell, August 2006, page 6). Gang violence also greatly contributes to many other social problems within society, such as lack of trust, lack of safety, and an overall decrease...
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...connection for young men and gangs Gangs have brought fear in the eyes of Americans for centuries, however what people fail to understand is that these rebel groups may just be a connection to a person finding acceptance, guidance, and love and protection. Terry Frieden, CNN Justice Producer states that CNN FBI report claims that over 1.4 million people are active in gang memberships in America. The FBI also reports that over the past 3 years gangs have increased 40%. Some people believe that gangs are as dangerous as war, yet they fail to understand is that gangs are no different than any functional family. Conversely the birth of gangs started with discrimination, young men, mostly men of color started to feel unexpected by society...
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...Trenton Gang Violence on the Decline Myth or Fact In conducting my research on gangs in Trenton, New Jersey and whether or not their presence and the perception that violence is on the decline; either myth or fact appeared contradicted at best, similar to how our researchers in the context of our reading toggled with the definition of gangs. The scope and methodology of my research consisted of the following approach: Interviews: I spoke with a detective and long time friend B. Mathis on the phone of the Trenton police department on approximately December 17, 2009 regarding his take on how his law enforcement teams were dealing with combating the war on gangs in Trenton. I spoke with Z. Chester, Trenton Central High School classmate on December 17, 2009 who is now running for City Council from whom I wanted to obtain a political view point on the gang progress or decline in Trenton. I conducted a similar interview with a distant friend T. Mack, who is now running for Mayor in Trenton on the same political views on gang violence and potential decline within the city. I had arranged, but was unable to speak with a former security guard of Trenton Central High and Junior High School #1 by the name of B. White about his perception of gang activity in comparison from middle school to high school and some of his experiences as he attempted to uphold discipline in the capacity of his role as a security guard. Lastly, I gathered some small, but factual information from...
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