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Gangs
Introduction
Gangs in America have formed the subject of a large number of research works, thereby becoming a growth sector (Sanchez-Jankowski, 2003). The definition of the term ‘gangs’ is: an ongoing informal or formal group, party, or alliance of at least three individuals whose primary activities include perpetrating at least one of the crimes listed below: 1) attacking using a lethal weapon, 2) murder, 3) burglary, 4) selling or holding in possession for production, selling, offering for sale, transporting, or offering to produce controlled substances, 5) arson, 6) shooting at any occupied automobile or inhabited house, 7) intimidating victims and witnesses, and 8) carrying out a grand robbery of a vehicle, vessel, or trailer, in addition to sharing a common sign, symbol, or name, whose members have separately or, as a group, previously or currently participated in some pattern of hang crime (California Department of Justice, 1993).
Classification of Gangs
Depending on structural elements like size, age, ethnicities, sex, criminality, lifespan, and territoriality, besides conditions of origin, evolution, goals, and modus operandi, the classifications described below exist:
1. Scavenger (short-lived) gangs. Such gangs, commonly constituted of 15 to 40 males, seldom accept female members. Ethnically-heterogeneous, the members of such a gang will largely be teenagers (between 13 and 18 years of age). Territoriality includes their neighborhood and secondary school. The offenses generally perpetrated by such gangs include fights with similar rival gangs in the neighborhood or outside of the school campus, bullying, blackmail, and other generally minor crimes around or within the school and neighborhood. While they do respect their leader, there is no explicit, consolidated structure or organization for the commission of their activities. Frequently, they engage in spur-of-the-moment reactions to attacks on the part of rival gangs or ordered directly by their...…other such offenses linked to organized criminal activities.
Problems
The issues that I faced when applying the above classification to data were related to gender perspective and a rights-based approach. About the latter, an intriguing point to consider is, the issue hasn’t been perceived or studied carefully. Various interpretations exist, indicating that teens and younger children with gang links seek “compensatory” rights to survive, participate, and protect themselves, the irony being that in several instances, this only ends up leading to a violation of their rights. In the present day, methodological issues continue plaguing several reports of female gang involvement, particularly so when it comes to female gangs. Considering that female gang numbers and scope aren’t so significant if one takes into account the overall issue of gangs. Unfortunately, little attention has been given to them within the context of care, prevention, and rehabilitation interventions (Department of Public Security,…
20, California Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act, STEP Act California 186.20 (http://www.streetgangs.com/laws/stepact.html)," as well as any community that has a disproportionate juvenile arrest rate, or a high percentage of gang related criminal activity or a high number of gang affiliated acts of violence. The Act hopes to reduce crimes of violence committed by gang members by alerting local law enforcement to their identity thereby reducing their feelings of anonymity in
However, some gang members specialize in multiple criminal activities such as street robbery, human trafficking and drug trafficking. Street Gangs Street gangs are the major concern to parents, school administrators and the communities because they recruit students and the youths across the United States to enhance the growth of gang memberships. Street gangs are the most prevalent type of gangs in the United States because they influence a strong control in
Gangs Since the 1980s, the media has become increasingly interested in urban street gangs, both in the entertainment industry, such as in records, movies, and television shows, and as a newsworthy matter in journalistic media. In both cases, media tend to portray gangs in an exceptionally stereotypical fashion. Ironically, however, the images presented in the news media and in the entertainment industry are seemingly mirror opposites. In the entertainment industry, gang
America has never been a nation to create solutions to problems that have yet to occur. The prevailing wisdom was that terrorism and the need for a unified intelligence gathering community geared specifically to detect and protect against terrorism was uneccessary because terrorism simply wasn't an American problem. This reasoning however has been proven to have been extremely naive. In the wake of 9/11, our nation has come to the
Criminal Justice -- Analyzing Approaches to Gangs Gang violence has plagued American cities for many decades. In response, cities have adopted several approaches to reducing or eliminating gang violence through several methods. Information gathered over several decades has shown that one approach is more successful than the others and is being effectively used even in the "gang capital" of America. Different Approaches to Gangs American cities with high gang violence have dealt with
; They have joint canteen accounts; They have outside support from other gang members; They have unique identification signs; They work to build or shape younger members; They work in seclusion, protecting the gang from outside penetration; They have no problem severely disciplining or killing those who collaborate with staff or other authorities; They try to communicate with staff as much as possible through a spokesperson, maintain self-discipline and use, when possible, threats or assault to intimidate