Term Paper on "How Teens Get Involved in Gangs"

Term Paper 5 pages (1776 words) Sources: 6 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Teens Get Involved in Gangs

There can be little doubt that gangs pose a significant threat to modern society. First, gangs engage in criminal activity, which has a tremendous negative impact on non-gang members and members of rival gangs. In addition, by concentrating recruiting efforts on young children, gangs deprive many children of the opportunity to have a normal childhood and normalize criminal behavior like violence, drug abuse, and drug dealing. Furthermore, because teenage gang members frequently acquire obvious vestiges of gang membership, like gang tattoos and criminal records, they are often virtually unemployable in mainstream society by the time they enter adulthood. Because of the negative impact that gangs have on their members and on society at large, it is clear that lowering the number of people involved in gangs would be beneficial to society. Therefore, it is important to understand how teens get involved in gangs, so that those in law enforcement, social work, and related fields can work to reduce the number of teens who become involved in gangs and the impact of gangs upon society.

To understand the magnitude of the gang problem in the United States, one must first understand what a tremendous number of people are involved in gangs. The National Youth Gang Survey covered a nine period. Over that time period, annual estimates of total gang membership averaged around 750,000, with declining numbers reported in more recent years. (National Youth Gang Center, 2006). Furthermore, in this nine-year period the number of gangs has averaged around 25,000, but there has also been a decline in the number of gangs in recent years. (National Youth Gang Center, 2006). While these numbers may appear reassuring, the fact is that gangs recruit very young teens. Even though the majority of gang members are adults, juveniles are still disproportionately represented in gangs. Most gang members are male, but there does appear to be an increase in female gang membership. (National Youth Gang Center, 2006). In addition, females compose a greater percentage of gang membership in those areas reporting more recent gang activity. (National Youth Gang Center, 2006). Furthermore, minorities are disproportionately represented among gangs, with African-American and Hispanic youth predominating among gang members. (National Youth Gang Center, 2006). However, areas with recent gang problems report a greater variation in gang composition and a greater percentage of Caucasian gang members. (National Youth Gang Center, 2006).

In addition, many people believe that gangs are only an urban problem. This impression has a basis in reality; the majority of gang activity is concentrated in large cities and suburban areas. (National Youth Gang Center, 2006). Furthermore, these areas large urban and suburban areas are more likely to report long-established gang activity. However, gang activity is spreading to smaller urban and rural areas. The spread of gang activity may be very significant because of the composition differences between established and newer gangs. Another interesting aspect about the spread of gangs outside of their established areas is that there has been relatively little gang migration. One of the more interesting findings in the survey is that areas with more established gang activity report a greater percentage of adult gang members, while areas with more recent gang activity are more likely to report a greater percentage of juvenile gang members. (National Youth Gang Center, 2006). Instead, emerging gang problems appear to be attributable to local social conditions rather than the result of gang migration. Furthermore, it is important to understand that gangs are not only a problem in society; gangs are a tremendous problem in prison environments. In fact, in some prisons the majority of the population is composed of the members of various gangs.

Once one understands the magnitude of the gang problem and the spread of gangs within the United States, the logical step is to question why gangs are so popular. To answer that question, researchers have developed a variety of different theories to explain the proliferation of gangs. Those theories that focus on the social aspects of crime and gang membership are referred to as criminological theories, and there are several of them. Social disorganization theory suggests that gang involvement is "an alternative for youth who otherwise lack social connectedness with personal and community institutions." (Jones, et. al, 2004). Strain theory believes that gang membership is a result of "the discrepancy between having high economic aspirations and a lack of means by which to achieve them." (Jones, et. al, 2004). Subculture theory is similar to strain theory, except that it suggests that youth who are unable to attain the same goals as middle-class youth, "lower-class youth create their own, new, subculture in which to attain status." (Jones, et. al, 2004). Labeling theory suggests that people only truly become gang members after having been labeled as a gang member and internalizing that stereotype. (Jones, et. al, 2004). Underclass theory posits that there is a class below the lower class, and that members of that class have limited access to employment, and that gang involvement is the natural response to the harsh realities of street life and structural divestment. (Jones, et. al, 2004). Social control theory suggests that all people contain a propensity towards deviance, but that the degree of deviant behavior exhibited is often limited by one's bond with the moral order. (Jones, et. al, 2004). Finally, differential association theory suggests that people's norms and beliefs are shaped by their environment and their intimate social groups. (Jones, et. al, 2004). Therefore, when gang membership and criminal behavior are the norm, one can expect a greater percentage of people to become involved in gangs. Although each of the criminological theories demands that one take a different approach when examining why a teen would become involved in a gang, they share an emphasis on environment. This emphasis is significant because it suggests that the gang epidemic is a systemic problem, which will only be solved by approaching the problem as a system, rather than by removing individuals from gangs. Such an approach suggests that the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of individual gang members for gang-related activities will have little impact on gang activity. Instead, to solve the problem of gangs, society needs to look at a broader solution.

Advocates of social disorganization theory suggest that it is more comprehensive than any of the criminological theories, and that it may be able to supply a broader solution to the gang problem. Social disorganization theory links high crime rates with lowered or ineffective social controls. (Osgood & Anderson, 2004). Furthermore, social disorganization theorists have found a link between certain neighborhood characteristics and a weakening of informal social controls. These characteristics include "poverty, segregation, and residential instability." (Silver & Miller, 2004). These structural deficiencies lead to the breakdown of traditional social networks, which, in turn leads to a weakening of traditional social controls. When one feels attachment to one's neighborhood, one feels a responsibility for maintaining order in that neighborhood. (Silver & Miller, 2004). Therefore, parents who feel attached to their neighborhood are more likely to serve as surrogate parents in the absence of other parents, and people are more likely to involve law enforcement when they become aware criminal activity. In fact, social disorganization theory strongly suggests that this type of informal social control is more effective at suppressing deviant behavior than formal social controls like the criminalization of deviant behavior. However, it is important to keep in mind that factors like poverty and racism merely indicate areas that might be plagued by a breakdown of social networks, but a neighborhood's sense of community did not significantly alter the affects of disadvantaged neighborhoods on youth's self-reported delinquency. (Cantillon et. al, 2003). At first glance, this finding fails to support the idea of social disorganization theory, because youth from disadvantaged neighborhoods engaged in similar levels of delinquent behavior regardless of the sense of community and its attendant social networks. However, when the researchers looked at the type of delinquent behavior engaged in compared to the sense of community, it became clear that a sense of community has a mediating affect on delinquent behavior.

Social disorganization theory and the various criminological theories have several implications for those developing gang prevention and intervention policy. The first step in fixing a neighborhood's gang problem is community recognition of the problem. (Spergel, et. al, 1994). Next, communities must organize to combat the gang problem, because policies alone are insufficient to combat gang problems; instead communities need to integrate the strategies to carry out those policies. (Spergel, et. al, 1994). These policies need to include long-term comprehensive strategies that address individual disadvantage and that encourage systemic change. (Spergel, et. al, 1994). While law enforcement and social service agencies have been engaged in a variety of activities that reduce gang involvement, it is clear that community involvement and activism is necessary to deal with the gang problem. One of the most difficult issues with developing gang policy is making youth gang members accountable, while still giving them the opportunity to change.… READ MORE

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