Documented reports of gang activity in Western civilization (primarily in England) can be traced back to the seventeenth century, though, it is speculated that they might well have existed as early as the fourteenth or even the twelfth century. Although similar in character these earlier street gangs did not have the same organized structure that we see in much of the later gangs (Howell and Moore, 2010). It wasn’t until the late eighteenth century (as the American Revolution was ending) that gangs began to emerge in America along the east coast and not until the late nineteenth century did they appear along the west coast (Howell and Moore, 2010). While the gangs of today are much more organized and better equipped, their threat to public …show more content…
In 2010, the National Gang Center reported that gang violence is still a growing problem with approximately 7,184 gang-related arrests made in that year alone followed by approximately 3,176 convictions (National Gang Center, 2014). As a result, throughout the media gang activity is seen every night across the country and there is a growing concern amidst American’s and especially law enforcement. As an active part of the “comprehensive anti-gang initiative”, Federal and State legislature have responded with punitive criminal and juvenile justice policies such as aggressive gang suppression programs by the police, and sentence enhancements by the courts for crimes committed by alleged gang members (Petersen, 2000). However, there is still a lot of room for improvement particularly in the continuity amongst federal, state and local law enforcement policy. Accordingly, this paper will discuss the current issues in this area and the effects it has on information …show more content…
Code characterizes “criminal street gangs” as an ongoing group, club, organization, or association of five or more persons which has: as one of its primary purposes the commission of one or more of the criminal offenses; the members of which engage, or have engaged within the past five years, in a continuing series of offenses; and the activities of which affect interstate or foreign commerce. Despite a clear federal definition there is still significant disparity between the various state’s legislation on what constitutes a gang, gang member, or gang crime (O’Deane, 2010). All 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC) have enacted some form of legislation relating to gangs or gang-related activity; however, only 43 states and DC have legislation that defines “gang” and only 14 states have legislation that defines “gang member” (National Gang Center, 2014). This lack of continuity between states creates several legal issues when prosecuting or tracking the movement or criminal actions of gang members. Adoption of a uniform definition would service the entire law enforcement community through better communication in standardized training, legal proceedings, and cross-agency information sharing, and uniformity throughout police reports and databases. However, a unified definition doesn’t bring closure to the issue. Once federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies have agreed on a suitable definition policy
References Egley, A., & Howell, J. C. (2012). Highlights of the 2010 National Youth Gang Survey. Retrieved from: https://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/237542.pdf Sanders, R., & Moore, S. (n.d.). Mandatory Waiver for Juvenile Gang Members in Tennessee. Retrieved from: http://www.belmont.edu/burs/pdf/Social%20Work-%20Sanders%20and%20Moore.pdf Searles, K. (2017).
Gangs are responsible for an average of 48 percent of violent crime in most jurisdictions, and up to 90 percent in others, according to the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment. Perhaps one of the most notorious street gangs in the western hemisphere is The Mara Salvatrucha also known as MS 13. “Mara” is Salvadorian for “Group”, although there is debate over the origin and meaning, it is commonly known to mean “street smart. MS 13 was formed on the streets of Los Angeles in the 1980’s by immigrants. “Mara Salvatrucha Stoners” is what MS 13 was originally called, they emphasized on partying, friendship and protecting one another from other gangs in L.A.
History of Latino gangs Gangs are defined as 'any ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, having as one of its primary activities the commission of one ore more of the criminal acts […], which has a common name or common identifying sign or symbol, whose members individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity. ' whereas a gang member is defined as 'any person who actively participates in any gang with knowledge that its members engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity, and who willfully promotes, furthers, or assists in any felonious criminal conduct by members of that gang. ' (Hoover n.p.) Latino gangs began forming in California during the early 1920s and started as loose-knit groups1 for unity and socializing in the barrios2 where everybody had the same culture, customs and language.
When one considers the issue of gangs receiving stiffer penalties, one must understand
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.
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.
Most of the gangs in the United States started from the urban regions. Despite the belief that the gang has been existing from a very long time, the gang in the United States started at around 19th century specifically at major cities such as New York, other cities like Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, as well as Miami and other major cities. The poor sections of the cities provided a more room for the vice in the United States. The gangs were based on ethnicities such as the Irish, Italians, and polish among many other ethnicities in the USA. The gangs were organized in groups that included; the shirt tails, who could wear their shirts outside their pants as a sign of group affiliation.
When we think of organized crime the conventions involved give way to power and wealth. There is also the possibility of rivalry, betrayal and illegal or violent activity. Over the decades there has been a slight change from the beginning of the gangster era, which began in the 1930 's during the Great Depression. The illegal sale of alchol had occurred and the stock market crashed in 1929. The characteristics of crime became mysterious, and heroic in poverty- stricken communities, and punishable crimes committed.
They examine current gang management strategies and see what works and does not. They completed their research by survey. “First, according to the respondents, inmate containment and sanctions were perceived to be very effective at managing gangs…. The second strategy is based on investigations, which if successful, also increases the costs of being affiliated with a STG through internal and external sanctions… Last, respondents placed great value on using the products of these investigations through intelligence sharing within their prison system, other correctional systems, and with law enforcement (Winterdyk & Ruddell,p. 734.
Why do you think that gang problems are somewhat stubborn in large cities but not in small cities, towns, villages, or rural counties? Why may gang activity vanish in smaller jurisdictions? Why may gang troubles become progressively serious in some cities but not in others? Gang problems in larger cities are tenacious because of the economic conditions of the residents in larger cities. Very few small cities or and rural areas have the necessary population base and extremely deprived community circumstances to support gangs.
This study is the primary purpose of the book, and it consist of what towns were deliberated, how the gang unit controlled their gangs in each of their cities, and how this material was brought to their attention. This certain data was collected through field examination, conversations with members, and reading through documents. Chapter three goes on to talk about the “Historical Analysis of Gangs and Gang Control.” This part is essential to understanding each town’s past gang complications and how the police force responded to them around 1960 to 2000. The chapter is put into different subdivisions by city.
Gang violence is an increasing problem in Urban Minority Communities. Young people are dropping out of schools in record numbers, and higher percentages of the population are withdrawing from the labor force. The more people that drop out can turn their heads to joining a gang. Those that don’t find work can find themselves joining a gang and doing crime to fill their time. The number of young people joining gangs are increasing and more crime will happen as a result.
This paper draws on existing sociological research in identifying a number of theories used in explaining the formation of gangs. The theories discussed are social structure theories, social conflict theory, and social process theories all of which highlight elements of strain in different forms as they relates to gang formation. According to Merton, (as cited in Schneider & Tilly, 2004) structural theories significantly emphasize the role of social and economic structures as the causes of delinquent behavior and tend to treat criminal behavior as the result of the undesirable and dysfunctional structures (P. 3.).
This paper investigates the relationship between gang-related violence in schools and street gangs. The author came across the conception that gang-related violence that takes place in schools is triggered by the street gang activities and lifestyle that come to pass in the community, which can be formulated in two fashion, in term of gang learners being part of the street gang and conducting part of their activities in the school grounds. While on the other side, the gang learners are forming their own gang groups that are not related to the street gangs but are share the same culture. In other words, the author is trying to disentangle the question of whether the existence of street gang in societies contributes to the incidences if violence
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.