Gang Violence

According to California Penal Code 186.22 “Gang” is 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 or more (specified) criminal acts, having a common name or common identifying sign or symbol, and whose members individually or collectively engage in, or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity.”(Image courtesy of chanpipat /FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Statistics (2001)

59% of all homicides in 2001 in Los Angeles and 53% of all homicides in Chicago were gang related

100% of cities with populations of 250,000 or more report gang activity

24,500 gangs were active in the U.S.

94% of gang members were male, and 6% were female

2% of gangs have predominantly female members

47% of gang members were Hispanic; 31% were African American; 13% were White; 7% were Asian

California (Source: Rodriguez, L., “The end of the line: California gangs and the promise of street peace”, Social Justice, Fall 2005)

California leads the country in the worst violence even though it is the “…country’s most populated, most agriculturally rich, and most industrialized state.”California is described as “strained along racial and class lines” and many of the most prominent and largest gangs in the United States were established in California.It is also noted that California has a “bloated prison system”…one of the reasons is due to its’ “revolving door policies.”California has established some of the most innovative gang prevention and intervention programs (“Barrios Unidos”, “Homeboy Industries”, “Community Self-Development Institute”, “Community in the Schools”, and “Café and Centro Cultural”)

Why Do Youths Join Gangs?

·Love

·Protection

·Acceptance

·Excitement

·Peer pressure

·Financial gain

·Family tradition

·Respect feeling of power

·Being feared by others

·Gaining notoriety

·Feeling wanted

·To obtain girlfriends or boyfriends

·Out of boredom

STUDY: “Vulnerability to street gang membership” (Maxson, Whitlock, and Klein, 1998)

The researchers investigated “…the differences between gang and non-gang youth” in terms of the following characteristics: individual, family, peer, school, and neighborhood.The focus was to “explore how youth…growing up in areas with high levels of street gang activity manage to avoid gang involvement.”Those individuals who joined gangs had specific needs – to belong to something, protection, excitement, having a territory of one’s own, and money – they stated that the gang helped to fulfill these needs.It was also noted that they had other family members who were involved in a gang.Gang members were found to have low self-concepts, experienced more stressful life events than their counterparts, experienced inconsistency in punishment in their homes, were more likely to characterize their homes as aggressive or violent, and reported that there were guns in their homes.The gang involved youth also missed more school, had poor school performance, and reported negative teacher perceptions of them

Those who did not join a gang (non-gang youth) were found to have positive self-concepts, participated in religious activities, and secured the value of saving money for their futures (deferred gratification).The parents of these non-gang members were more likely to know all of their son’s friends and the parents cited more sources of social support.

It was noted that 40 percent of the non-gang youth were approached to join a gang but did not join (57% of the 40% reported that they knew who had successfully turned down a gang who asked them to join).

In another STUDY (Wang, 1994) it was found that African-American students who were not gang members were likely to state that they had a parent or a teacher who acted as a role model to them.This study indicated that the absence of parental or teacher role models “…was the best predictor of gang membership.”

Signs That a Young Person May Be Involved In a Gang:

·Decline in grades

·Change of friends

·Truancy

·Keeping late hours

·Drug and alcohol abuse

·Having large sums of money or expensive items which cannot be explained

·Developing a major attitude problem with superiors

·Glamorizing gangs

·Secretive behavior

·Withdrawing from the family

·Changes in music tastes and clothing styles

·Appearance of tattoos, scarring, burns, and bruises

GANG PREVENTION

Street Terrorism Enforcement and Protection Act (S.T.E.P), 1988

“…the legislature hereby finds and declares that it is the right of every person, regardless of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation or handicap, to be secure and protected from fear, intimidation, and physical harm caused by the activities of violent groups and individuals.”

Additional time was/is tacked on to sentences in convictions of such crimes deemed as gang related.

In May 2005, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill (“Gangbusters” bill) which was focused on turning gang-related violent offenses into federal crimes.This bill imposed “…mandatory sentences of 10 years to life, expand the death penalty, and allow the prosecution of 16 and 17-year-old gang members as adults for federal crimes.”

Gangs in Schools

The school community must work on gang intervention, prevention, and suppression programs.Parents are noted as playing an important role in this process.As noted by The National Crime Prevention Council there are four things that parents can do to keep their children out of gangs: develop alternative activities their children can participate in, communicate with other parents, work with other agencies to understand why children join gangs, and work with other parents and local community agencies to help prevent the growth of gangs in their neighborhood.

Source: Griffin, M. and Meacham, M., “Gangs in schools: an introduction to the problem and interventions”, Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association, 2002

“School-based Strategies” (Stephens) are noted as: increasing gang awareness (educating faculty and staff), establishing clear class behavioral expectations, having a dress code, understanding graffiti, removing graffiti, establishing a gang crimes report hotline, establishing victim support, implement visitor screening, having adequate supervision, networking with other community agencies and parents, establishing and supporting parenting classes, establishing and implementing extracurricular programs, and encouraging students to become involved in community service programs.

Martial Arts as treatment for violent adolescents?

In Twemlow and Sacco’s research martial arts for the treatment of violent adolescents was investigated.The authors stated that martial arts programs to treat violent adolescents focuses on respect and self-control and emphasizes leadership and community service.It was found that the programs work to satisfy several of the needs that these youths have: affiliation with a group, power, physical security, activities, and role models.Those who participated in one particular program (tae kwon do) “demonstrated lessened aggression, lowered anxiety, and increased self-esteem.In another program (judo) the result was students coping with stress in a less violent manner and were found to be more “…warmhearted and easygoing” after participating in the program.The study concludes by suggesting thatthe programs consist of one-hour classes, one or two times each week, that the classes take place during school hours, and that students who exhibit bullying or victimization take part in the programs.

Source: Twemlow, S. W. and Sacco, F.C., “The application of traditional martial arts practice and theory to the treatment of violent adolescents”; Adolescence, Fall 1998.

Related Posts

• Here is how to ace your quizzes!
  Here is how to ace your quizzes!
• 

  Global Stratification Assignment Guide
  Global Stratification Assignment Guide
• 

  Vitual Environments Assignment Guide
  Vitual Environments Assignment Guide
• 

  Cultural Relativism Assignment Guide
  Cultural Relativism Assignment Guide