Gangs Formation and Functioning

Introduction
A far greater number of US citizens become victims of gang-initiated violence as compared to mass shootings or terrorist attacks. Gang members contribute to a disproportionately high percentage of the violence and crimes witnessed in the nation. Roughly two-thousand gang-linked murders are reported across the country per annum, which makes up 13% of overall murders in the nation. America's gang-connected murder rate alone (approximately 2 for every 100,000 individuals) goes beyond the overall rate of murders in almost every nation in the EU (Pyrooz & Densley, 2018). The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) claims that as many as 33,000 motorcycle gangs, prison gangs, and aggressive street gangs are currently offending across the country (FBI, n.d.), several of them being highly organized and advanced. Further, they all resort to violence for maintaining their control over localities and boosting their illicit commercial activities, such as theft, firearms and illegal drug trafficking, human trafficking, fraud, and prostitution. Innumerable gang members still perpetrate offenses after being imprisoned.
\"Gangs\" are composed of different kinds of members, such as leaders or core members, regular members or associates, fringe or peripheral members, and recruits or \"wannabe\" members. A gang's core may be considered its inner circle that governs gang activity levels and fundamental nature. They are often engaged to a greater extent in acts of delinquency or offending as compared to fringe members. Attributes of gangs include violence, group organization, symbolism, territory, leadership, and repeated interaction (Finelli, 2019). The longer an individual stays with a gang, the more serious offenses he/she commits. Gang members usually end up in a gang through perpetrating an offense or via a process of initiation in which other members of the gang beat them up to gauge their fighting capacity and bravery (Hesketh, 2019). While there may be various motivations for entering gangs, they typically come under the following groups:
· Recognition or Identity – Belonging to a gang accords the individual a kind of status that isn't experienced outside of the gang culture.
· Brotherhood and Fellowship – Most members view their gang as their family, seeking the companionship they crave there, which is often absent in their actual domestic environment. Several older relatives or siblings currently are, or previously were, part of the gang.
· Protection – Several individuals merely enter for protection from violence on the part of rival gangs in the locality they reside in. Gang membership ensures support in the event of a violent attack, and retribution for any transgression.
· Criminal Activity – A few enter for engaging in drug trade/consumption and profiting from gang protection and trade earnings.
· Intimidation – A few are coerced into entering when their membership is deemed to contribute positively to the criminal activities of the gang. Meanwhile, some even enter for intimidating other community members not participating in gangs (Hesketh, 2019; LAPD, 2020).
1. Review of most relevant literature on gang formation and gang functioning
(Citation) Author and date
Purpose
Findings
Contribution to knowledge about gangs
Hesketh (2019)
Hesketh's (2018) research on the topic of street gangs aimed at determining a key element of why disenfranchised youth are drawn to street gangs. The research effort attempted at discerning differences between youngsters who decided to enter a street gang and those who didn't, in Merseyside.
Economic hardships and societal marginalization were factors that contributed to the growing rate of institutional restraint and inequality among Merseyside youth. Consequently, a large number of male youth aged between 18 and 25 years perceived themselves to be powerless, and without ambition or identity. Gaining entry into a gang, therefore, became the means of taking back control of their lives using engaging in risky offensive/delinquent conduct, as well as a means for acquiring the identity of a \"bad\" boy that helped them derive intrinsic pleasure and gave them a criminally seductive feeling. Young females were attracted to such bad boys, excited by the indirect risk while continuing to abide by the law.
This research work sheds light on a major and alarming socio-psychological motivator triggered by marginalization. According to the author, this area has mostly been overlooked by risk factor-centered interventions, which mostly pay attention to the concepts of sociological positivism and rational choice theory.
Alleyne & Wood (2013)
This research work studied the mental, behavioral, and societal factors linked to gang offenses. Using a comparison of group offenses perpetrated by gangs and non-gang youngsters, the authors of this research endeavor aimed at ascertaining the types of crime perpetrated by gangs and the distinctive traits differentiating gang crimes from other kinds of group offenses.
Gangs use graffiti to demarcate their territory and use threats to intimidate other people. Further, the authors noted that high individual delinquency levels and the existence of gangs in the neighborhood proved to be major gang crime predictors. Against the expectations of authors, the perceived significance of social standing, negative attitudes towards authority, and ethical disengagement weren't predictive of gang-connected offending. But additional analyses revealed greater ethical disengagement and perceived societal standing significance did indeed predict gang offenses, while negative attitudes towards authority served as a mediating factor.
This study highlights the need for a closer examination of the societal and mental contributors to gang crimes and membership.
Peterson, Carson & Fowler, (2018)
The aim of this study's authors was: gauging whether or not gangs' sexual composition is associated with gender differences in perpetrating crime within a sample. Additionally, they aimed at determining whether or not the sexual makeup of gangs likewise structures male and female experiences of victimization and the reason underlying this.
Study outcomes corroborate earlier findings of differences in gang member delinquency based on gender and gang sexual makeup, further suggesting parallel member victimization variations.
This research effort has presented additional information for consideration when it comes to facilitating influences like gender dynamics, normative orientation, and gang attributes.
Higginson et al. (2018)
This systematic Campbell analysis explores youngsters' gang enrolment predictors among underdeveloped and developing nations. The analysis summarizes the findings of a total of 8 reports revolving around the Caribbean and five other nations.
The analyzed reports deal with the relationship between life circumstances and events, and the probability of youth gang membership over the following five domains: family, individual, friends, educational institution, and the community. Major linkages were discovered with the factors in all domains.
The study contributes, to a small extent, to evidence on youths' gang membership correlates. In particular, it indicates factors potentially influencing the decision to join gangs, recommending areas for promising interventions within the familial, community, and school setting, in addition to offering a basis for further research.
1. Learning gained and why it is important
The above literature review facilitates an understanding of gangs, their formation, member initiation and membership maintenance, and the many gang activities which help sustain them in terms of finances, identity symbols, and competition from rival gangs. Such insights will help grasp the depth of the gangs' security risks to those not part of a gang as well as to the overall community. Comprehending factors resulting in gang formation prove crucial to preventing their establishment and to taking apart extant gangs. Also, appropriate policies may be developed for dealing with this issue that is a threat to both societal wellbeing and security.
Topics to be addressed
1. Gang formation
· Factors resulting in gang creation (such as the community's financial standing, security issues, identity issues, and level of education attained by likely gang members, to name a few)
· Community members more likely to enter gangs (gender, age, educational attainment, etc.) (Shelden, Tracy & Brown, 2013)
· How are recruits lured by gangs?
1. Gang membership sustainment
· Initiation into the gang and what it means when it comes to members?
· What is the gang's membership status? (freedom to leave whenever one desires or permanent membership till death)
· Individual membership-linked advantages (Manwaring, 2005)
1. Gang activities
· Money-making activities
· Rivalry and competition
· Identity establishment activities (Phillips, 1999)
1. Gang functioning
· Gang hierarchy
· Punishment for opposition or failure
· Roles based on hierarchy level (Phillips, 1999)
Summation and Recommendations
Youngsters gain entry into gangs for leisure, status, protection, financial gain, or by peer influence. While innumerable gang members report protection to be the main cause for their joining, empirical studies on the subject note that in several instances, perceived fear of violence proved much greater than it was. Several young adults are forced to become members fearing they will face continuous harassment or may even be murdered for declining membership (Yearwood & Hayes, 2000).
Violent, aggressive, delinquency-prone, problem behavior-displaying youngsters are more prone to ending up in gangs. Other factors include several caretaker transitions, residing in insecure communities with several trouble-making youngsters, and interacting with other youngsters who are involved in gang activities.
For preventing youngsters' gang entry, communities must strengthen familial bonds and bonds with educational institutions, cultivate interpersonal skills among youngsters, ensure greater community supervision, and train parents and educators to deal with disruptive youngsters effectively.
A study of non-gang and gang-involved youngsters revealed that the latter displayed considerably greater likelihood of \"hang outing,\" cruising, partying, and engaging in scuffles as compared to the former (Yearwood & Hayes, 2000). A few extensively-believed reasons for youngsters' entry into gangs have been proved false by the authors. For instance, it is commonly held that several youngsters are forced to join. However, in reality, the majority of these individuals desire to gain gang membership for various reasons. The main reasons cited by them are protection, leisure, status, financial gain, and because their friend is a gang member. There are numerous steps in the gang-joining process, especially in localities with well-established gangs (Klein, 1995). Elementary school-goers might get to hear of gangs and be awestruck by middle-school bullies or gang members. The first sighting of a gang member may validate their significance to a teen. Further, there may even be gang hangouts within the school premises that interested teens are attracted towards. Further, the most high-risk middle-school student population is characterized by low academic performance, with their exposure to street gangs, making them leading candidates for acquiring gang membership.
Recommendations of policies, strategies, and programs that address gangs and gang membership for a long-term positive community effect
Focus: It is assumed that gangs grow into a grave, chronic issue in communities characterized by inadequately-integrated major organizations and insufficient resources for targeting gang-involved youngsters. For dealing with such issues, community institutions – such as grassroots institutions, law enforcement agencies, and social welfare departments – must collaborate to formulate a more team-focused, integrated strategy. The model's chief objective is the prevention and reduction of gang violence and offending.
The model encompasses several gang control elements such as interventions, prevention, and community. It banks on the following five key approaches for addressing the issue of gang-involved youngsters and their neighborhoods/communities (Klein, 1995; Howell, 2010):
· Community Mobilization – Mobilization of local community inhabitants, community groups, youngsters, civic organizations, and leadership for planning, reinforcing, or formulating novel opportunities or relationships with existing organizations for vulnerable and gang-involved youngsters; and, coordination of both services and initiatives, and staff functioning within organizations as well as across different organization;
· Social Intervention – Identified in the form of street outreach, offering social services and initiatives (through youth service organizations, faith-based organizations, educational institutions, and others) to youngsters belonging to gangs as well as potential gain joiners; furthermore, having outreach workers actively engage youngsters with gang membership;
· Suppression – Carrying out suppression activities through informal and formal social control processes and ensuring accountability of youth gang members for their conduct and activities; this includes their careful observation or supervision on the part of community-based organizations, criminal justice organizations, grassroots organizations, and educational institutions;
· Opportunities Provision – Offering and improving access to training, academic, and vocational/employment services or initiatives focused on youth gang members and youngsters highly susceptible to joining gangs; and
· Organizational Growth and Change – facilitating institutional growth and change for equipping community organizations to better deal with the issue of gangs via a team-based \"problem-solving\" strategy in line with the problem- and community-oriented policing; additionally, coming up with and putting into practice processes and policies leading to the most efficient utilization of potential and available resources across and within organizations.
Purpose of the program: The suggested model aims towards gang prevention, suppression, and intervention. The approaches deal with risk factors impacting the overall community, in addition to focused prevention programming helping local youngsters prone to gang-joining. It is suggested that the gravest issues be addressed first: eliminating intimidation and fear among community members and combating gang offenses. As approaches start proving effective, prevention programs must be created and put into force.
Two prevention approach levels – primary and secondary – are taken into account together with the proposed model: prevention. The former involves approaches concentrating on the overall population group of high-risk, high-crime communities. Initiatives successful at alleviating community risk elements or providing community protection elements are a part of primary prevention. Meanwhile, secondary prevention approaches entail services and activities focused on children aged between 7 and 14 years who are highly prone to ending up as gang members.
Within the model's context, the Intervention Team constitutes the chief mechanism for intervention provision/delivery. These strategies are comprehensively provided to a specific number of identified persons based on information garnered during evaluation.
Law enforcement contributes significantly to suppression (called \"social control\" within the model's context). Ideally, every project partner will collaborate to ensure the accountability of gang members targeted.
Evaluation for success: The model will be evaluated for success based on police apprehension and violent criminal history within the area where it is implemented.
Successful model initiative implementation ought to decrease levels of overall youth arrests on charges of violence, drug use/possession/trade, and serious violence to a significantly greater degree than before among quasi-initiative youngsters and comparison youngsters in the initiative period. Serious violence apprehensions ought to be reduced to a far greater degree for program youngsters as compared to the comparison group (aged 17-18 years) – the greatest offenders of that age more prone to gang-joining – after controlling for the remaining variables. The project ought to have a sweeping impact when it comes to decreasing the rate of apprehensions on the grounds of serious violence in the case of every age group within the initiative sample relative to quasi-initiative and comparison samples. The model ought to be especially efficient in decreasing drug arrests among initiative youngsters when compared with quasi-initiative and comparison samples displaying greater drug arrests. Initiative youngsters ought to display non-significant increased drops in apprehension rate even for other kinds of apprehension like mob action, disorderliness, and law enforcement official/police obstruction, though no difference when it comes to overall apprehension reduction (mostly property-related crimes). The greatest reduction among all kinds of apprehensions is expected to be among youngsters aged ?19 years across samples and, particularly, within the initiative sample.
References
Alleyne, E., & Wood, J. L. (2013). Gang-related crime: The social, psychological, and behavioral correlates. Psychology, Crime & Law, 19(7), 611-627.
FBI, (n.d.). Gangs. Retrieved from https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/gangs#The-Gang Threat on 12 June 2020
Finelli, G. A. (2019). Slash, Shoot, Kill Gang Recruitment of Children, and the Penalties Gangs Face. Family Court Review, 57(2), 243-257.
Hesketh, R. F. (2018). A critical exploration of why some individuals with similar backgrounds do or do not become involved in deviant street groups and the potential implications for their future life choices. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Chester, United Kingdom).
Hesketh, R.F. (2019). Joining gangs: living on the edge?. Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, Vol. 5 No. 4; 280-294.
Higginson, A., Benier, K., Shenderovich, Y., Bedford, L., Mazerolle, L., & Murray, J. (2018). Factors associated with youth gang membership in low?and middle?income countries: a systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 14(1), 1-128.
Howell, J. C. (2010). Gang Prevention: An Overview of Research and Programs. Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Klein, M.W. (1995). The American street gang: Its nature, prevalence, and control. New York: Oxford University Press.
LAPD (2020). Why Young People Join Gangs. Retrieved from http://www.lapdonline.org/la_gangs/content_basic_view/23473
Manwaring, M. G. (2005). Street gangs: the new urban insurgency. ARMY WAR COLL STRATEGIC STUDIES INST CARLISLE BARRACKS, PA.
Peterson, D., Carson, D. C., & Fowler, E. (2018). What's sex (composition) got to do with it? The importance of sex composition of gangs for female and male members' offending and victimization. Justice Quarterly, 35(6), 941-976.
Phillips, S. A. (1999). Wallbangin': Graffiti and Gangs in LA. University of Chicago Press.
Pyrooz, D. C., & Densley, J. (2018). Is gang activity on the rise? A movement to abolish gang databases makes it hard to tell. The Conversation.
Shelden, R. G., Tracy, S. K., & Brown, W. B. (2013). Youth gangs in American society. Nelson Education.
Yearwood, D. L., & Hayes, R. A. (2000). Perceptions of youth crime and youth gangs: A statewide systemic investigation. NC Criminal Justice Analysis Center, Governor's Crime Commission.