Sudhir Venkatesh's Gang Leader For A Day

Past research indicates that there has been racial and income inequality in Los Angeles for decades. More specifically, there has been racial and income disparities in quality of life and access to resources. Blacks and Latinos have a lower quality of life and access to fewer resources than Whites. The income level of Blacks and Latinos is also lower than that of Whites. The purpose of this research was to investigate how race and income impact such factors as quality of life, access to resources, education, and personal beliefs. Specifically, we wanted to determine if great disparities exist in the overall quality of life in Los Angeles of residents based on their income and race. Results from The Public Outlook survey, administered by

Throughout the years, communities have been warned and targeted constantly against gangs and their formations. Gangs have expanded in quantity and their influence has expanded in different cities all throughout California. According to the Escondido Police Department, "Gangs can be organized around race or ethnic groups, money-making activities, or territory. Most gang members are male; they range in ages from 8 to 22 years. Young people give various reasons for joining gangs. Among the most common reasons are: to belong to a group, protection, earn money, excitement, to be with friends, and it's even a family tradition"(Escondido Police Department). Amongst the various reasons that lead youth

In the study “Racial and Class Divergence in Public Attitudes and Perception About Poverty in USA: An Empirical Study,” professor Francis O. Adeola analyzes existing data to determine if people themselves or a structural influence causes poverty (Adeola 56). Building upon the idea of structural poverty, Adeola contends “poverty rates tend to persist in the same neighborhood over many years” (61). For the other Wes Moore, this neighborhood was the Murphy Project Homes: one of the most dangerous places in Baltimore (Moore 18). Furthermore, he examines how “[t]he poor form a unique subculture,” reinforcing aspects of poverty (Adeola 61). The subculture that surrounded the other Wes Moore included the normalization of the presence of drugs and

In Chicago, and all over the nation, the effects of gang activity have been displayed, specifically in low income and poverty torn communities. Poverty is measured depending on a family’s annual income and determining if the amount falls below the poverty threshold for the family’s size. If the annual income does fall below the threshold, then the family and every individual in it is considered to be in poverty. Gang activity is more visible in the areas specifically in major cities similar to Chicago where poverty is a commonality in communities. although gangs might add structure in order where the government fails to do so in the projects and and similar low income communities the negative effects such as the distribution of drugs, violence,

How well Wes Moore describes the culture of the streets, and particularly disenfranchised adolescents that resort to violence, is extraordinary considering the unbiased perspective Moore gives. Amid Moore’s book one primary theme is street culture. Particularly Moore describes the street culture in two cities, which are Baltimore and the Bronx. In Baltimore city the climate and atmosphere, of high dropout rates, high unemployment and poor public infrastructure creates a perfect trifecta for gang violence to occur. Due to what was stated above, lower income adolescent residents in Baltimore are forced to resort to crime and drugs as a scapegoat of their missed opportunities.

Los Angeles, California, a beautiful city known for its glamourous celebrities, beautiful palm trees, huge Hollywood sign and luxury homes. California is home to millions of people and has many tourist attractions. Los Angeles is known for its scenic beaches along the Pacific Ocean, but it is not known for having poverty and homeless roaming around. The city that is home to the iconic “Hollywood” is filled with glamour; the glamourous nature of this city does very little to cover the dark side of poverty. Poverty is a great issue in California that people seem to overlook such a great problem. Instead of fixing the problem, the Los Angeles Police Department tries to contain the homeless population to fifty blocks of poverty a neighborhood known

This paper gives will give depth information on gang activity in the U.S. and explore the causes of gang memberships and it will also mention several policies that have been studied to prevent youths from joining them. As of today, gangs continue to be a huge problem in the U.S. gang members are violent and are also responsible for committing crimes from assaults to murder using firearms and other weapons to intimidate rivals, law enforcement, and the general public. The purpose of my paper is to address why many youths join gangs. My paper will also address a few policies and programs that can prevent youths from joining a gang and prevent those who are already part of it from committing crimes. Street gangs in this country can

In the United States, every year there are around 2,000 gang-related homicides and in the realistic fiction novel, The Outsiders, by S.E Hinton, it explores the issues of gang violence, and teenagers in gangs. Around 40% of all members in gangs are teenagers, who are getting involved in some dangerous things very early in life. In the novel The Outsiders, the “Greasers” which is a gang of all teenagers, fight other gangs and commit serious crimes such as murder. We as a society need to pinpoint why teenagers join gangs and stop them beforehand. We also need to help people get out of gangs if they are already in one. 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.

Most gangs include mainly male people who can range up to the ages of 12 to 25 years old. Gangs are commonly found in large cities, which either include a white dominant race or a black dominant race. They follow a consistent pattern of either being truants and come from unsupportive families. They can also be people who are unemployed and struggling to make means and therefore they result to gang activities. They are seen to be associated with criminal activity and violent behavior as well as prostitution and drug laundering including many other criminal offenses. Due to gangs being in transgressing behavior it can be viewed as a social problem. However gang related activities could be based on how you define the term. George W. Knox, the creator of the National Gang Crime Research Center, believes that it depends on who defines the term. Such as a politician, a researcher or a government official. A social scientists definition is said to depict gangs as “denotable adolescent group of youngsters ” (Malcom W. Klien, 1971) who engage in illegal behavior which follow an internal organization by adopting a gang name that claim control and defend their own territory against other rival territory and the rest of the general

What is the #1 thing that you see when you watch the news? If you were thinking racial profiling and oppression, then you are correct. Where did all of this come from though? Now, racial tension has been going on for a very long time, tracking all the way back to slavery. Slavery was abolished, yes, but the beliefs and some people’s mindsets have stayed the same. Some statistics and information don’t help, but the wrong doing of some people shouldn’t be burdened on everyone that shares the same race as them. Moving on to my main point, is that of gangs in the U.S and how they have a huge influence on racial tension in the world today.

Gang violence has been a problem in society for several of years and is a growing problem each and every day. The youth that is involved in gang violence will have numerous effects upon them that will come soon or later when associated with a group of thugs. Children and teenagers if they still go to school when accompanying a gang, they face the heightened risk of dropping out of school; teen parenthood; be victimized by another gang ; abuse drugs and alcohol; commit petty and violent

The research method that Dwight Conquergood used is that of ethnographic fieldwork, which is one of the early qualitative research methodologies, involving the combination of fieldwork and observation, which seeks to understand the cultural phenomena that reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group (Boundless.com). This type of research method, allowed the author to immerse himself in a long-term participation in the day to day life in Chicago’s Albany Park and the Latin Kings Nation that operated within Albany Park. He wanted to have the firsthand experience for himself, in so much that he chose to live in the so-called “Big Red” housing area, which as he described as the microcosm of the community. In

It is very rare for someone who had taken a firsthand experience in gang life to come up in the open and narrate these experiences to the public as well as the dangers which they go through. This is irrespective of the fact that the realism of gang life can be seen in news, movies or in the actual streets, reading about it and visualizing the scenes in one’s mind is like taking a firsthand experience in these

Gang activities have been increasing over the years from crimes ranging from robberies to homicides. In California, estimates were made by the Justice Department that approximately 175000 to 200000 persons were members of gangs. In the county of Los Angeles gang activities for over a period of five years accounted for over 23000 of the crimes that occurred.(Friedrichs. M. 1999). Gangs have become not only a problem for those communities where the gang's ar located but has become a problem for everyone. These gangs have also incurred a significant impact upon the

Throughout the 17th-century gangs have been causing havoc in people's life and destroying the society. The National Institute of Justice (2011) has defined a gang as "A group of collective members which create an atmosphere of intimidation among citizens." Many of these gangs are well organized, using different forms of violence to control neighbourhoods and to conduct their illegal activities. The National Gang Threat Assessment (2011) reports that “Gangs are responsible for an average of 48 percent of violent crime in most jurisdictions.” Street Gangs have caused incidences of violence that is confined in the inner city of many countries. Most gangs are made up of young males that are of a similar background and have a desire of acquiring