Gang Violence Research Papers

This paper deals with gang violence in the city of Chicago since the beginning of time. It takes a deep look into the history of Chicago gangs and how they interact today. Also the past problems the City of Chicago made when dealing with gangs and the problems that gangs today have and how Chicago has the worst gang problem in the country. Also how gangs have turned themselves into big, and lucrative enterprises most known for money. Also stated are possible solutions to stop or reduce violence of the gangs that all start off with teaching the young kids about gangs and gang prevention.

There was a clear need for change in Boston as youth gun violence had risen dramatically in the years leading up to Operation Ceasefire. Between 1984 and 1994, juvenile homicide victimizations committed with handguns increased by 418 percent, and juvenile homicide victimizations committed with other guns increased 125 percent (Braga, Kennedy, Waring, and Piehl 2001). During this time period, young adults (ages 18 to 24) had the largest absolute increase in homicide commission and victimization, while adolescents (ages 14 to 17) had the highest proportional increase in numbers, and with a great deal of crossfire between the two age groups (Braga, Kennedy, Waring, and Piehl 2001).

Chapter Four is entitled, “[The] Scope and Nature of the Current Gang Problem.” It focuses on recent trends in number of gangs, gang members and gang-related crimes in each city. In Inglewood, almost all the neighborhoods were claimed by at least one gang, with gang-unit officers agreeing that the city was facing a major gang problem. In Albuquerque, gangs were involved in drug trafficking and property offenses, with 7 out of 8 gang-unit officers believing the city had a major gang problem. In Las Vegas, migration from other cities was thought to be the primary cause of an increase in gang members. 50% of crime in Las Vegas is attributed to gangs, with most officers believing they had a moderate to major gang problem. In Phoenix, the gang problem is described as wave-like, with 70% of gang-unit officers thinking the city had a major gang problem. These statistics were backed up through interviews with officers and city records.

A two-pronged prevention approach has proven effective, with primary prevention strategies aimed at the community 's general population and secondary prevention strategies targeting youth between the ages of 7 and 14 who are at high risk of joining gangs. Prevention efforts undertaken by law enforcement departments around the country include: “Participating in community awareness campaigns (e.g. developing public service announcements and poster campaigns). Contacting the parents of peripheral gang members (through the mail or during personal visits) to alert them that their children are involved with a gang. Sponsoring gang hotlines to gather information and facilitate a quick response to gang-related issues. Organizing athletic events with teams of law enforcement officers and gang members. Establishing working relationships with local social service agencies. Making presentations about gangs to schools and community groups as a combined effort at prevention and information gathering. Sponsoring school-based gang and drug prevention programs (e.g. DARE and GREAT)” (Hess, 2013 p.230).

Before I get into the strategies put in place to reduce gun violence, I want to touch on the things that contribute to gun violence in New Haven. According to the “Selected Strategies for Community Gun Violence Prevention” report, violent crimes contribute to and are exacerbated by economic disadvantage (City-Wide). The main area in New Haven where gun violence occurs is in areas of low-income and poverty and the gun violence are being executed by the youth ages 15-24. In this day and age, we are living in a society where your income level determines your life expectancy, whether it is homicide, suicide or another form of violent activity. Living in New Haven and experiencing this first hand, I was able to see how the power and the struggle of poverty, low-income, gang wars and even drug activity can exacerbate gun violence. New Haven has as many as 2,500 people who are in gangs. These gangs lie in six neighborhoods in New Haven. The gangs being, The Ville, The Tre, The Tribe, The Jungle, The Island and The Hill hold responsibility

Throughout the years, many plausible solutions to gang violence have been presented. A commonly thought of solution to gang violence is to punish and arrest gang members. People want anyone who is in contact with gangs locked up, but that will only make gangs rebel more. By doing so, the streets would be rid of gangs, but jails would be overpopulated with them. It may seem like having gangs in jail would solve the problem, but gang leaders being in jail does not stop a gang from continuing what they’re doing. Arresting gang members teaches nothing except for children to hate the authorities. “From 1985 to 1994, the number of American youths arrested for murder increased 158%, to more than 2,200” (Teen Gangs and Crime, 1996). If a child resents the authorities, they would be more likely to join a gang that goes against authorities. Officials are aware that they cannot arrest their way out of gang violence, and they have to take positive measures (Parks & Recreation, 2009). The most important thing to remember is “To treat this not

After doing extensive research on this topic I found that between 1985 and 1994 the rate of violent criminal acts increased. During this period juvenile homicides committed with a handgun also increased. A national evaluation of the Youth Firearms Violence Initiative (YFVI), a program initiated by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), the organization who funds intervention programs. This particular program employed community policy approaches to decrease the number of violent fireman crimes committed by youth, including gang-and drug-related offenses. There are five intensive sites (Baltimore, Cleveland, Inglewood, Salinas, San Antonio) that were chosen for the YFVI initiatives. The reason for these particular areas is because of the high crime rate. There is evidence from Inglewood and the Salinas area that supports their view about how weapons and crime affect their neighborhoods, although at the other sites the interventions did not yield the same results. How results in a specific area turn out depends on how a department conceives the initiative and the consistency of their focus. It is mandatory that the federal government play a strong role in ensuring that participating departments adhere to the strategic goals and objectives. There are questions regarding how funding agencies should adopt a timetable that more closely matches the agencies of the world in which most departments operate. In regards to making sure the programs run smoothly

Abstract: This review studies in depth research done on street gangs. Social issues have social scientists turning away from including this in their research around this time. Sociological views have been changed dramatically in the past 40 years due to gender and racial studies. Also, women have started to join gangs since America has been changed with woman equality laws passing.

            Youth violence is a problem among young teens because it causes a division, which unfortunately result into gangs. Moreover in the past, gang violence results into youth crimes such as robbery, and drug sales. In this new generation, the youth resort in selling marijuana and heroin, even more than crack cocaine now, this means where the drugs are is where the gangs are, also the weapons to protect to their territory. While writing his article Michael Blanding quotes a young man of 16 years of old named Sharodeny Finch, who said, “People get tired of wearing the same damn jeans”. This young man was referring to the fact that he gets tired of the gangs, and tries to do the right thing by finding an actual job. But when he got turned down his response was, “ You try to do the right thing, find a job to earn money, and you can't. You got a block right here, you know what I'm saying?” Basically Finch is explaining that, sometimes young people will try to escape the gang life, but when they try and do not get what they intended for, they go back to the gangs. This overall shows in order for the youth not to resort back to the gangs, they have to be dealt with in the proper format. Gang violence does not have broaders, however in the urban areas of Boston it tends to receive the most attention. This problem causes emotional stress, group tensions in communities, and many other troubles. This issue tends to thrive in communities that already have drug addictions, and low property rates.Moreover, gang violence influences these other issues to worsen over time. Therefore, youth violence should be a priority to resolve for it causes and affects many other issues in Boston.

What influences youth to join and leave gangs in America? This essay strives to seek and inquire an answer or explanation to this question. I will try to approach the answer to this question by analyzing the biggest factors of it such as the influence of social institutions, psychological behaviour, media and many more to determine the push and pull factors of a gang. Understanding that the dynamics of gang membership can be separated into formation & joining which will allow theories & methods of gang-related research to be refined.

Street gangs in this country can probably be traced back to the first wave of Europeans who migrated to the colonies for a better life for themselves and their families. Many of the first gangs were formed as a means of self protection, with the thinking that there is simply strength in numbers. The missions of gangs in today’s society have grown and emerged to include many violent criminal avenues, including drug trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, and extortion but the original thinking that there is strength in numbers remains true. Criminology experts believe that the number of teens involved in gangs or gang activity may be as high as 1 in every 5 people in most urban areas. Those number jump to 1 in every 3 people in

Gang involvement and its associated violent crime have become a rapidly growing problem for the United States. Generally, gangs consist of young people of the same ethnic, racial, and economic background. Usually of a low socio-economic status, these gangs engage in illegal money making activities and intimidate their neighborhoods and rival gangs with violent crimes and victimization. Gang members exemplify a high value for group loyalty and sacrifice.

Gangs originated naturally during the adolescent years of a child. They started from small play groups that eventually found themselves in conflict with other small groups of youth. Due to the conflict between the two small groups of youth it became a part of a child’s mind set to come together as a gang and protect their rights and satisfy the needs that their environment and families couldn’t provide. There are about 24,500 gangs in the U.S and out of those gangs 40% of them are juveniles (Hess, Orthmann, Wright, 2013). There are numerous reason why a child would join a gang, and the

Gangs are becoming prevalent in today’s society and within our schools. More and more young people are turning to gangs in an attempt to escape their everyday lives and the future, which they perceive as dismal and bleak. They are initially attracted to the prestige and cash flow, which is glamorized by the street gang. Many gangs are actively involved in criminal misconduct, such as drug and gun trafficking, burglaries and homicides. However, street gangs are not just a criminal justice issue, but a social problem, which is triggered by poverty, peer pressure, boredom, despair and lacking a sense of belonging.

When individuals decided to get involve in those type of activities many of them do it for specific reasons. For example, people join gang for acceptance, protection, and some are forced into it, because of their family are gang affiliated. Gangs partake endlessly in finding different method for individuals to more effectively get the things they want, particularly power. Therefore, people that are easily influenced tends to gravitate toward gang activities for recognition in the community. According to Goldman, Giles, & Hogg (2014), “Gang members’ actions impact other gang members as well as the wider community; everyone is at risk of being a victim of gang violence” (p. 825). Gang violence goes further than racial issue, but it more intensely touches African American and Latino communities.