Consequently, the survey revealed consistent rate of gang activity from 2009 to 2010, but in metropolitan cities the gang-related homicide increased by thirteen percent from 2009 to 2010 (Egley & Howell, 2012). Subsequently, from my experience as a police officer, I can reaffirm juvenile gang members are prevalent in Nashville. In fact, majority of the gang members we encounter are typically sixteen to twenty years old. Due to the rising number of gang-related incidents, our Gangs Unit has developed a checklist for patrol officers to identify gang members. Also, when performing a local criminal records check, their criminal profile will reveal if the person is a confirmed gang member.
Gang violence and activity has arisen in the past decades, with exceeding concerns and amongst youth being the primary target. Law enforcement try to gain a better understanding to why people are falling into criminal activity. Throughout the following essay we will be summarizing the background of one of the most notorious gang known internationally, MS-13. In addition, we will also be explaining ways different criminology theorist and theories apply to these particular group of people.
There has been a misconception towards gangs in America. When one thinks of a gang, possible characteristics that would come to mind are that they root in poor neighborhoods, that their members are all ethnic minorities, and possibly that they are composed of all males. But in this case we have a gang that is not composed of ethnic minorities and was not born in a poor neighborhood. According to Brian William Ludeke This gang is known as the “Malibu Locals Only” or the “MLO” gang, which is a group that resides within the lovely neighborhood of Malibu, California and it is composed of Caucasian males (Ludeke). According to Ludeke writer of the article Malibu Locals Only: "Boys Will Be Boys", Or Dangerous Street Gang?
In Northern California Hispanic gangs graffiti is distinct in the fact they are known to tag the number “14” which in the alphabet is the letter “N” for norteno or northerner. These gangs fall under the geographic area opposite of that of Surrenos which is the area just north of Bakersfield up to the state border of Oregon. The nortenos also pledge allegiance to a prison gang but not the Mexican Mafia. The nortenos pledge allegiance to their own prison gang called “Nuestra Familia” or in English “Our Family”. Similar to southern gangs they pledge allegiance by following order from within the prison by the Nuestra Familia shot callers and paying “taxes” from their drug sales.
Why do gangs like the greasers, Socs, playboy and Ventures fight with each other? Some kids join gangs for protection and family and sometimes just for a fight. In the article called “ Rest in peace Doc” it’s about a boy named Doc also known as Desi. This boy had lost his family in an accident and him and his brother have the gang as a second family because the real family had left.
A gang is an interstitial group, originally formed spontaneously, and then integrated through conflict. Crips are a famous street gang founded in Los Angeles California in 1969. They are known to be one of the most violent and unlawful gangs within Los Angeles. Crips main activities included theft and assault. The founders of the Crips gang are Raymond Washington and Stanley Tookie Williams III.
Utilizing research findings and realistic experiences, Shakur, Howell, and Griffiths disprove myths about gangs, justify the reasons for young people being recruited because of their desire to be understood by others similar to them, and girls integrating themselves into the groups from their relationships with members. Howell and Griffiths managed to explain the principles behind gangs and their members' lifestyles, while Shakur provided real gangster experiences as supporting evidence for the research findings. Theories to gangs may be existent, but without proper research leading to the findings, or experiences from subjects who lived the lifestyle, beliefs about the organizations merely become empty
There is a number of reasons that range from simple to complex, on why teenagers join gangs, and we can help by finding solutions to their specific problem before they choose to join one. To help someone get out of a gang, we as a society need to show there’s more out there in the world that they could do that will make a positive impact. Teenagers have different reasons to join gangs depending on their life situation. Everyone in the “Greasers” in The Outsiders had different reasons to be part of the gang. “We were used to seeing Johnny banged up-
Gang violence is a problem in every major United States city including Chicago, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD) has implicated many programs to fight the increasing gang issue across the valley, from bringing back the gang unit to having more police officers patrol the known gang spots. These programs were implicated to stop the criminal gangs that are looking to build their territory in Nevada. The three criminal gangs that are mainly affiliated with Nevada are the Gersons’, the Crips, and the Playboys.
Also ”gangs offer protection and governance in places where established institutions fail, and that it makes sense for prisoners to join them,” (Skarbek). This is the main reason people join gangs they are forced to in order to insure their safety. The reason the leaders of the gang allow people to join and keep the safe is explained here ”Gangs can trade far more effectively than lone inmates. Prisoners listen when they threaten violence; members can ease trade from the outside after their release. Consumers, in this case buyers of drugs, benefit too.
Some teens become gang members because they feel a sense of belonging and protection. Therefore, the community should focus on building strong relationship and positive role-models. Other critics claim adult prison is not appropriate for juvenile offenders and should find better alternatives. Mooney, C. (2013). Teen Violence: Teenage Problems.
Gang Definition and Classification Classifying gangs is no simple task and to begin you must thoroughly understand the definition and requirements of being classified as a such. There are multiple definitions of a gang, according to The Modern Gang Reader but the one I will focus on is “A street gang is any durable street-oriented youth group whose involvement in illegal activity is part of its group identity.” Now that the definition has been identified it needs to be broken down further to clearly differentiate why this definition is essential.
In California Hispanic gangs began forming in 1920. This started with groups of people looking to be unified with each other. The gang member were “usually the age of 14 to 20” (Rodriguez 5). The crimes that they usually did was burglary, robbery, and vandalism. Hispanic gangs were created to protect wherever the people in the gang came from.
Gang violence is a growing problem in this world. No parent would like to imagine their kids dealing with weapons or being threatened by them. These violence’s affects each child individually and their families as well. These gangs recruit multiple different individuals for many reasons such as bribery, family traditions, or even threatening. Although, many kids feel like they have to be a part of it but there are many resources out in this world to prevent them from believing so.
Most gangs are made up of young males that are of a similar background and have a desire of acquiring
