Gang sociology and social dynamics

Gangs:  Membership Prevention intervention suppression
There are various strategies that could be adopted in an attempt to reign in the gang membership problem. The strategies offered by youth.Gov, a U.S. government resource for the creation and maintenance of sound youth programs, would come in handy in this regard. The said strategies could be grouped into three main categories, i.e. prevention, intervention, and suppression responses. One strategy relates to strengthening families. It is important to note that “gang members often come from homes where they feel alienated or neglected” (Chaskin 97). It is this feeling and experience of neglect and/or alienation that motivates the said youths to seek solace in gang membership. Thus, strategies meant to strengthen families would be effective in seeking to prevent gang membership. Such strategies could be inclusive of sensitizing families on the various conflict resolution strategies they could pursue in case of misunderstandings, ensuring that there are community resources available to address/resolve familial conflicts, etc. The gang membership problem could also be addressed by way of offering gang members incentives to quit. In essence, this is an interventionist approach. Incentives could in this case be inclusive of education opportunities, job training prospects, etc. Lastly, other strategies that could be used in an attempt to reign in the gang problem include the implementation of tougher sanctions against gang involvement, enhancing corporation between agencies in law enforcements (i.e. via better information/intelligence sharing) on matters related to gang activity, etc. It should be noted that this is a suppression technique. In the final analysis, it would be prudent to note that there are a few challenges that could be encountered in attempts to reign in gang involvement. Challenges could be inclusive of resource constraints (given other competing undertakings and the finite nature of resources), threats to the lives of those who denounce gang membership, etc.
Works Cited
Chaskin, Robert. Youth Gangs and Community Intervention: Research, Practice, and Evidence. Columbia University Press, 2010.