Gang Prevention

The Gangs All Here
A gang is defined in the dictionary as a group of youngsters or adolescents who associate closely, often exclusively, for social reasons, especially such a group engaging in delinquent behavior. According to the 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, there are over “1.4 million active street, prison, and OMG (Outlaw Motorcycle Gang) members comprising more than 33,000 gangs in the United States” ("Fbi.gov"). These gangs exist in all 50 states and account for 48 percent of all violent crimes in some areas and in others, up to 90 percent in several others, according to National Gang Intelligence Center analysts. When gangs are prevalent in a society, it causes damaging effects not only to the community, but also to the individuals who reside in the community as well…especially the youth. In major cities of America with populations numbering over 250,000, a report conducted by the National Youth Gang Center’s research associate Arlen Egley Jr. from 1996 to 2000 stated that virtually every city had persistent gang problems (Egley, Jr.). These problems pose a threat to the youth’s well-being and, if not acted against, can lead them down a road of violence, addiction, and ultimately death. The problem with gang involvement in youth is at its highest in the larger cities throughout the country. A staggering statistic in the state of California conducted by the California Healthy Kids Survey for kids in grade 5, 7, 9 and 11, in the 2007-08 year reported the amount of youth with gang involvement in the state of California and its cities and counties compared to the rest of the nation. While the survey for the nation reported a 5 percent involvement from youth in gangs, the state of California reported 8 percent of their youth involved and in its suburban cities of Oakland and Richmond, the percentage reached as high as 13 (Austin & Skager 2008). With levels of that nature, it throws in to effect the question of what is being done to counteract the high and increasing amount of gang youth involvement in the areas in which these children reside. Although these cities state that they have ways to deal with the involvement, how are they “correctly” dealing with the ten percent of their future who are literally throwing their lives away to the streets? As J.C. Howell stated in his report “Preventing & reducing juvenile delinquency,” “There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ method to reduce or prevent gang involvement. Successful approaches may combine elements of prevention, intervention, and suppression, based on a particular community’s needs,” (Howell, 2003) proving that there needs to be better regulation and improvement in gang prevention programs for the youth in these large cities. There is not a solid reason or answer to why kids decide to make the choice to join gangs, but there are specific factors that usually correlate with the process. Research states that youth decide to join gangs because they want to “feel accepted, attain status, and increase self-esteem” (Stover, 1986). This attracts youth because, as most of us have experienced, we go through a stage where we seek a form of self-identity. Since it is difficult for youth to find this identity themselves, they turn to others to attain the self-gratification they yearn for. Other risk factors that contribute to youth gang involvement are of issues in school, such as “low grades in elementary school, poor attendance, lack of attachment to teachers and low commitment. Issues in family life such as low socioeconomic status, poor parental supervision, child abuse, and family members with criminal history” also contribute. Issues in the community such as high crime rates, availability of drugs and firearms, poverty, and association with delinquent or gang involved peers or relatives contributes as well along with problems with the individual themselves such as “bad behavior, objection to authority, poor refusal skills, substance use, victimization” and many other factors (Howell & Egley, 2005). Although these are the usual factors that increase the likelihood of youth gang involvement, youth without any prior history of the listed factors also have also been known to join gangs as well just to be “cool” and gain a sense of popularity. No matter the reason in why these youth join, specific course of action needs to be taken into effect to maximize efficiency for gang prevention and ensuring the youth a brighter future. Many schools take course of action to gang prevention by applying disciplinary acts to students who cause disturbances or who engage in gang-like activity. They apply consequences of suspension and expulsion to remove the distraction from the school without taking into account the students well-being. As stated by school psychologists Rosario C. Pesce and James D. Wilczynski:
Suspension and expulsion neither address the underlying cause of the problem nor teach students alternative strategies and decision-making skills. Moreover, the suspended or expelled student is unsupervised and on the street and is likely to fall further behind in school. (Pesce and Wilczynski) What these schools are doing are adding fuel to the fire, making the child worse off than they were than when they were in the school, confirming the need for improvement in their programs. Instead of “leading the lamb to the slaughter”, research from Osher, D.M., Sandler, S., and Nelson, C. L states that “schools that attempt to keep students in school and improve achievement improve school safety as compared to those that suspend or expel students” (Osher, Sandler, &Nelson 2001). By incorporating these kids back into a learning environment rather than exiling them to the streets to dissipate into the unforgiving gang life, you keep them from straying away, ultimately giving them a better opportunity for success and leading them away from the temptations gangs present. This is a step in the right direction for cities with an initiative to improve gang prevention programs.
In many of the large cities which have the largest concentration of youth gang members, there is progress in the initiative for anti-gang prevention programs. An injunction policy was passed in Chicago in 1992 known as the Chicago Congregation Ordinance which “allowed police officers to order two or more people ‘remaining in any one place with no apparent purpose’ to disperse. If those people disobeyed, they could be fined up to $500, imprisoned for up to six months and required to perform community service” (Cohen, 30). Cities, such as San Jose and Los Angeles implemented injunctions similar to that of Chicago. Unfortunately, the injunctions were met with hostility from the American Civil Liberties Union which ultimately brought Chicago’s policies to court, deeming them unconstitutional because “the ordinance violated the 14th Amendment 's protection against restriction of liberty without due process of law” (ACLU). The ordinance was redrafted in February 2000 and aimed more towards gang members. Even though the ordinance was re-edited, its chapters in the cities of California still met opposition because civil rights groups stated that “anti-gang measures disproportionately affect innocent members of minority groups” and “Police may tend to see lawful behavior, such as gathering on street corners, as threatening when they make assumptions about people 's behavior based on their ethnicity” ("yahoo.com"). Members of the community who experience the youth gang life on a personal level likes of Rev. Jeffery Haynes spoke out against the criticism saying “Is a kid being questioned by the police more important than lives being lost. Even if there is some harassment, it 's a minute concern compared to how gangbangers and drug dealers have held the community hostage.” Individuals, such as Rev. Haynes, who experience these juveniles who delve into the negative world of gangs, are able to vouch for the needed improvement of gang prevention programs. One of the main errors in large cities in their handling of youth involvement in gangs and prevention is that the media, such as the press and news, incorrectly assesses the problem and tend to over sensationalize the phenomenon of the youth gang involvement, consequently, boosting the image of the gang itself and, in turn, increasing involvement by the youth in the negative organizations. The cities believe that their prevention programs are working and doing a justice preventing an increase in members, when in reality, they are supporting the myths that gangs create known as the “Big Gang Theory” which the University of Illinois, Urbana, Professor Marcus Felson describes as a type of mimicking technique used in nature by animals who want to seem more dangerous, so they copy an animal (who is actually dangerous) of their species to provide the effect which, ultimately, makes predators avoid and fear both species. Felson says: …gangs use the same strategy—providing signals for local gang members to make their gangs resemble truly dangerous big-city gangs. These standardized signals or symbols typically consist of hand signs, colors, graffiti, clothes, and language. By displaying gang signals and employing a famous gang name, gang members can create a more menacing image. Once enough people believe their overblown dangerous image, it becomes accepted as reality (Felson 2006). By providing a false image due to the media, cities boost the effects of the “Big Gang Theory” which leads to a misrepresentation on information about gangs and according Finn-Aage Esbensen and Karin E. Tusinski from the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri - St. Louis, “Misrepresentations of gangs in the print media have been well documented over the past quarter century” (Esbensen & Tusinski, 2007). The media has been a contributing factor in the problems with the current systems of gang prevention used and for a multitude of communities throughout the nation, has created a sense of uncertainty in the authoritative figures of power on how to tackle the task due to the misconceptions that it creates. As Senior Research Associate for the National Youth Gang Center, James C. Howell states, “…(public officials, agency heads, and key professionals such as judges, probation officers, and the like) in these communities often are susceptible to misleading information about youth gangs, and frequently feel uncertain regarding what an appropriate response might be. Prevention and control efforts are far more likely to be effective if they match the level of gang problem that actually exists” (Howell). In order for improvements to be made in gang prevention in larger cities for the youth, the media needs to promote a truthful agenda when it reports gang incidents and counteract the “Big Gang Theory.” Growing up in the 3rd ward suburb of Houston which is ranked one of the top 100 most dangerous places to live ("Neighborhoodscout’s ® top 100 most dangerous cities in the U.S."), gangs were a commonplace in the community. Whether it was school, the parks, or the mall, gang life was prevalent throughout the area and no good came from out of their presence. There were a plethora of occasions where my mother would prevent me from going outside and playing because these gang members would be dealing drugs right in front of our apartment complex. These trends continued into sixth grade year where at that point, I was experiencing childhood obesity because I was never able to truly be active. I remember seeing some of my friends I grew up with drastically changing in front of my eyes, watching their collared shirts and jeans change into sagging shorts and red t-shirts. I stopped seeing them in school because they were constantly suspended and when I did, it was only at the corner store or park, with red flags hanging from their back pockets. The only good friend I had left was my neighbor and best friend named Jeremy. He stayed with his grandmother because his father was never in his life and his mother was addicted to crack-cocaine and her whereabouts were unknown. I always used to tell him when he was over my apartment that “You’re my brother and you’d always have a mom. Our mom.” As the year progressed, Jeremy became progressively less caring about school and would skip class occasionally to hang out with the others at the corner store. He too started to wear the red t-shirts but at the time I thought nothing of it because he was still my best friend. It was not till a Saturday in May of that year when things fell apart. My mother and I were coming back from the grocery store that afternoon when we arrived to our apartment complex to see a police squad car parked outside the apartment with four young boys lined up with handcuffs on the curb. One of them was Jeremy. According to the police, a neighbor called in to them saying that Jeremy and the others broke into my apartment, attempting to steal videogames and my mother’s jewelry, breaking pictures and ransacking the apartment in the process. I remember my mother breaking down in tears and for my safety, sending me to my father’s house in Dallas for the remainder of my education. I realized personally the consequences of a lack of gang prevention and the effects it can have on a child’s life and this is why I stress the importance in cities of the need for improvements in these programs, starting in schools as early as possible. In conclusion, while some large cities believe that they are doing an adequate job, there is an exigent need for improvement and regulation of gang prevention in these areas. The improvement in efforts would provide youth with significantly better opportunities for a successful future by keeping them away from the negative influences on the streets. By keeping troubled youth in the schools rather than suspending them or expulsion, you keep the at-risk child away from the streets and in a learning environment, providing them with safer and smarter alternatives to help them grow and mature. The promotion and passing of policies and injunctions in cities, such as the ones in Chicago, gives power to authority to help them conquer gang growth through the law. This creates safer communities and a better life for its families and allows for funds to be spent on improving the area instead of having to allocate the funding for gang prevention in the first place. Although the media sheds light and attempts to notify the citizens on the danger and negativity of gangs, they are usually misinformed. These misconceptions create myths that gangs feed off of to grow even larger. Stakeholders in the community take the false information and are left with uncertainty on how to relieve the gang problem but better education for the media would help to alleviate the youth gang problem. Through these courses of action, a better future is possible for the youth of large cities. Communities would no longer have to live in fear of gang violence and children would be able to make better decisions, thus, giving them better possibilities in their lives. I personally know the hardships of what a gang infested culture can do to individuals involved, and those around them. It is like cancer. If you identify it too late, there’s a slim chance for a future.

Work Cited
Austin, G., & Skager, R. (2008). 12th Biennial California Student Survey: Drug, alcohol and tobacco use, 2007–08. Sacramento, CA: California Attorney General’s Office.
Cohen, Warren. "The Windy City 's Tough Tack on Street Gangs." U.S. News & World Report (December 14, 1998): 30.
Egley, Jr., Arlen. "National Youth Gang Survey Trends From 1996 to 2000." OJJDP Fact Sheet. U.S. Department of Justice, Feb 2002. Web. 6 May 2012. <http://www.helpinggangyouth.com/ojjdp_survey_on_gang_involvement-numbers.pdf>.
Esbensen, F., & Tusinski, K. (2007). Youth gangs in the print media. Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture, 14, 21-28.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation. Fbi.gov. FBI, 2012. 0. 6 May 2012. <http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/2011-national-gang-threat-assessment>.
Felson, M. (2006). The street gang strategy. In M. Felson, Crime and nature (pp. 305-324). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Howell, J.. "Menacing or mimicking? realities of youth gangs." Juvenile and family court journal. Department of Justice, 2007. Web. 7 May 2012. <http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Content/Documents/Menacing-or-Mimicking.pdf>.
Howell, J.C. (2003). Preventing & reducing juvenile delinquency. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Howell, J.C., & Egley, Jr., A. (2005). Moving risk factors into developmental theories of gang membership. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 3(4), 334–354.
Osher, D. M., Sandler, S., & Nelson, C. L. (2001). The best approach to safety is to fix schools and support children and staff. In R. J. Skiba & G.G. Noam (Eds.), Zero tolerance: Can suspension and expulsion keep schools safe? New directions for youth development, No. 92 (pp. 127–154). San Francisco: Josey - Bass.
Pesce , R. C., and J. D. Wilczynski. "Gang prevention."nasponline. Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, 2001. Web. 6 May 2012. <http://www.nasponline.org/resources/principals/nassp_gang.pdf>.
Stover, D. (1986, August). Gangs. American School Board Journal, 19–24.
"Street Gangs in America: A short history." yahoo.com. Boggie Boggie, 2009. Web. 6 May 2012. <http://voices.yahoo.com/street-gangs-america-short-history-3085394.html>.
"Top 100 Most Dangerous Cities in the U.S.." Neighborhoodscout’s ® top 100 most dangerous cities in the u.s.. Location Inc., 2011. Web. 7 May 2012. <http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/neighborhoods/crime-rates/top100dangerous/>.

Cited: Austin, G., &amp; Skager, R. (2008). 12th Biennial California Student Survey: Drug, alcohol and tobacco use, 2007–08. Sacramento, CA: California Attorney General’s Office. Cohen, Warren. "The Windy City 's Tough Tack on Street Gangs." U.S. News &amp; World Report (December 14, 1998): 30. Esbensen, F., &amp; Tusinski, K. (2007). Youth gangs in the print media. Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture, 14, 21-28. The Federal Bureau of Investigation. Fbi.gov. FBI, 2012. 0. 6 May 2012. &lt;http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/2011-national-gang-threat-assessment&gt;. Felson, M. (2006). The street gang strategy. In M. Felson, Crime and nature (pp. 305-324). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Howell, J.. "Menacing or mimicking? realities of youth gangs." Juvenile and family court journal. Department of Justice, 2007. Web. 7 May 2012. &lt;http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Content/Documents/Menacing-or-Mimicking.pdf&gt;. Howell, J.C. (2003). Preventing &amp; reducing juvenile delinquency. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Howell, J.C., &amp; Egley, Jr., A. (2005). Moving risk factors into developmental theories of gang membership. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 3(4), 334–354. Pesce , R. C., and J. D. Wilczynski. "Gang prevention."nasponline. Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, 2001. Web. 6 May 2012. &lt;http://www.nasponline.org/resources/principals/nassp_gang.pdf&gt;. Stover, D. (1986, August). Gangs. American School Board Journal, 19–24. "Street Gangs in America: A short history." yahoo.com. Boggie Boggie, 2009. Web. 6 May 2012. &lt;http://voices.yahoo.com/street-gangs-america-short-history-3085394.html&gt;. "Top 100 Most Dangerous Cities in the U.S.." Neighborhoodscout’s ® top 100 most dangerous cities in the u.s.. Location Inc., 2011. Web. 7 May 2012. &lt;http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/neighborhoods/crime-rates/top100dangerous/&gt;.