Gang Violence

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The effects of Gang Violence
Gangs have been around since the beginning of time. Humans have always banded together for mutual protection and support - and to better dominate others. Gangs have always provided a way for people to more effectively get what they want, especially if it comes to force. And weaker members of society gravitate toward gangs that they feel can offer a sense of community and protection from others. But today were going to reflect on the effects of the most modern gangs. I watched the movie “Boys In The Hood” Directed by John Singleton in 1991. And it was an onscreen representation of what takes place in the urban areas of our country. Street gangs in the U.S. arose with Italian immigrants related to the Sicilian Mafia and others. These street gangs in New York City stole and killed to get what they wanted. One of the most famous street gang members was Al Capone, who later moved to Chicago in 1919 to help keep the other gangsters in order. Street gangs of this type were quite popular in the 1920s and 1930s.Gang Violence as we know goes beyond racial barriers, but it more vividly affects black and Latinos in America. I have chosen this topic because I have witnessed the effects of gang violence culturally, socially, and personally. It’s no secret that even St.Louis, MO is well known for gang violence. I don’t condone gangs but there are key factors that give reason for its existence. Gangs today have similar practices of creating their own sub-language, symbols, handshakes and other identifiers. Hispanics, Asians and African Americans began banding together to form gangs in the 1950s and 1960s. By the 1970s and 1980s, there were national gang alliances, with gangs moving out of Los Angeles and New York City, and spreading across the country, with affiliates in many towns, as well as drug routes to finance gang activities. Although gang members insist that gangs are the only way to ensure success
Page 2 today, others maintain that the only way to survive is to eliminate them. Many gangs threaten the safety of everyone in their 'hood (territory or neighborhood). Innocent people living in gang war-torn towns live in constant fear of death. However, for children who have no one to look up to and no future to look forward to, gangs can become their surrogate family. Gangs are not only a set of friends or a night’s activity. Gangs are a way of life. There is no way to eliminate them, but changing the violent nature of many gangs is possible. Admittedly, gangs cause many serious problems, but they could end up helping more people than they hurt. A gang can be defined as a group of people who unite to serve a common purpose and engage in violent or otherwise criminal behavior. The types of crimes committed by gang members differ between gangs, but the crimes generally associated with gangs include vandalism, robbery, drug-trafficking, assault, arson, and murder. There are many reasons why teenagers may join gangs. The root causes of violent gang formation are poverty, stressed families, unemployment, under-employment, under-education, racism, and the breakdown of sociocultural institutions. While it is true that gang violence has been decreasing, it still exists. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the Department of Justice offers a National Youth Gang Survey. Some of the results from this survey include the following gang statistics: * 100% of cities with a population of more than 250,000 report gang activity. * 11% of rural counties report gang activity. * 35% of suburban counties report gang activity. * More than half of the homicides reported in Los Angeles, and more than half of the homicides reported in Chicago, are elated to gang violence. * More than 24,500 gangs are active in the U.S. * 772,500 people are members of gangs in the U.S. * 94% of gang members are male. * Only 2% of gangs are predominantly female. * Only 37% of gang members are under the age of 18 right now. * Gang member ethnicity breaks down this way: 47% Hispanic, 31% African American, 13% white, 7% Asian. * Gang violence costs more than $100 billion a year

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The statistics listed in my opinion are very accurate. Although gang activity is primarily located in metro areas (inner city) it also takes place in rural areas.
Gang life is dangerous and often deadly for the people directly involved and for their friends and family. However, not all those maimed or murdered are gang members or those connected with them. Innocent people are often caught in the crossfire and injured or killed. In some areas, as many as half of the victims of all gang murders are innocent bystanders. Their only mistake is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A police detective was once quoted for saying “It 's like bullets are flying everywhere. And where they land, heaven only knows." Each gang has its own turf and graffiti marks its boundaries. Anyone not belonging in the area and who resembles a rival gang member may become the subject of an attack. This is one way that non-gang members can get caught in the middle of gang violence not directed towards them. Many things have been done to try to stop gang violence. Some of the ways that have been proposed to attempt to solve this problem are citizen participation, reducing availability of guns and other weapons, programs to address violence, and national training and assistance for emergencies such as crime, drug use, or violence. None of them have worked so far because they were not geared towards the typical teenage gang member. They are people just like any other adolescent, looking for love and support. Many of them come from broken homes, with one or both parents on welfare or taking drugs or both, and gangs take the place of their familial structure. Authorities put the total US gang member figure at over 1.5 million. Half of the members are between the ages of 13 and 25. No solutions to this problem that have been tried have worked, because they have not found a replacement to the comfort and support of belonging to a gang, however dangerous it may be to be affiliated with such an association.

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People who have joined gangs do not see them in the same way as people other people do. People outside the gang life see only either the climate of fear created by the gangs or the sense of belonging experienced by those inside of them. What they do not see is the day to day reality of living inside their secrets - the initiations, the daily rituals, the network of friends and enemies, all of the information they each have that could get them killed upon suspicion of informing. A friend of mine who belongs to a gang once told me that a gang is more than your family; it is your entire life. Once a person has joined a gang, they cannot see past it. The gang takes over everything, leaving no time for school, work, or any other commitments that a member may have made prior to joining. This may be considered unhealthy by outsiders, but it gives a focus to a person 's life that otherwise would not have been provided in many cases. Gang life is hectic. Many times, the older members (those that can drive) sleep in a different city each night. This can go on for years, until someone this person gets too tired or old to perform their various jobs as well as someone else might be able to. Although gang members pretend to be unaffected by the violence they perpetrate onto others, they are perhaps the most sensitive people in the world. Having never known happiness, many are driven to the never-ending war of gang violence to get money to support their starving families, which are beyond wondering or even caring where the money came from. They hate themselves and those around them so much that they eventually become hardened to their pain and so can make the lives of those around them miserable without even realizing it. Many gang members take drugs constantly, which makes them believe they are invincible - and many times they are. Although many gang members are involved in drug trafficking, it is not a primary gang activity. Many people think that without gang activity, there would be less of a drug problem, but this is not true. Drug addicts will find a way to get their drugs no matter what. Gangs can be scary, especially for those directly involved with them. In the words of a male gang member, "The scariest moment of my life has to be the first rumble I was involved in. I absolutely 'knew ' I was going to die. These rumbles are
Page 5 their way of trying to prove their bravery. Once a person is jumped into a gang, there is no way out except to be beat out, which can kill the offender. It is this aspect of gang life that sickens people; the fact that gang members are willing to kill over an insult or a dirty look. But when you think about it, respect is a precarious thing - once it starts to slip away, one can never get it back, and respect is all-important to people who have never had any.
Even though gangs terrorize the people living around them and drive their members so completely insane that they have completely lost touch with reality, there are still aspects of gangs that are very good for society. For example, in order for gangs to commit any sort of crime as a group without getting caught, their organization must be very good. Fortunately, criminal activity is not the only thing that organization is good for, so people with leadership skills or people who possess the ability to work well in groups work well at other things also. In fact, since a gang would never take a member who did not pull their own weight and who would stick to whatever decision the gang leader made, gangs could become productive associations instead of destructive associations if good influences were put upon them. If this happened, the gang members would no longer be hiding in the shadows of their unhappy lives; instead, they would be given a chance to grow into healthy, happy people in the same way that the others around them have. Gangs would be like a support group for troubled youngsters to steer them away from more serious problems such as drug abuse and violence towards others. This may sound unrealistic, but all most gang members need is a little love and affection to give up their life of crime if they are stopped before they become too inground in their ways to turn their life around. Gangs tend to form where poverty, discrimination, and hopelessness exist. If a way can be found to give hope to people living in desperation, the poverty and discrimination will disappear by themselves, and the gang problem with them.

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References (Work Cited)
(http://www.instanet.com)

(http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/progplan.txt)

(http://www.ci.torrance.ca.us)

(http://uvince.uvm.edu:443)

http://www.teenviolencestatistics.com/content/gang-violence.html

References: (Work Cited) (http://www.instanet.com) (http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/progplan.txt) (http://www.ci.torrance.ca.us) (http://uvince.uvm.edu:443) http://www.teenviolencestatistics.com/content/gang-violence.html