Contemporary_Issues_in_Youth_Gangs

Week 3 Contemporary Issues in Youth Gangs CJA/313 University of Phoenix Barbara Langley August 25, 2008 There have been gangs in the United States, dating back to the eighteenth century. Gangs started to grow and become more involved in drug activity in the mid-1900. “In the early part of the century gang members were mostly second-generation white Immigrants from Eastern Europe. Africa –Americans who had recently immigrated to northern cities were also involved in gang activity. A 1992 gang migration study of 1,100 cities found most youth gangs are homegrown. A recent law enforcement analysis found that 48% of gang members are black, 43% are Hispanic 4% are Asian, and 5% are whites” (Howell, 1997). Youth gangs are usually formed with about three or four members ranging in ages from 12 to 24. To give their gang a sense of identity and permanence they use a style of clothing, graffiti, and hand signs, to show they belong to a certain group. These youth are looking to belong, and the older well organized street gangs know this and take advantage of the needs these children have. The factors that have contributed to the proliferation of youth gangs are community wide social and economic conditions, the loss of employment, poverty; racism also the media has also glamorized this lifestyle. Most of the children who find who themselves in these gangs come from families where the father, mother or other relative has a history of gang membership or in prison for gang activity. “The growth of youth gang violence in the period from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s coincided with the crack cocaine epidemic, these two events were generally perceived to be interrelated” (Klein, 1995). Youth gangs do not manage or control drug distribution at any of the upper levels of the drug trade, these youth are mainly involved in mainly street level sales. The big level dealers use these youths because of their age. They know these young people face less serious consequences and no real serious jail time (Howell & Egley 2007). “There is no question that youth gangs are very active in the drug trade. The most common myth is the relationships between youth gangs, drug trafficking and violence are often sensationalized” (Klein, 1995). Youth gang involvement among girls is a growing problem. Girls are becoming a more violent segment of our society, and the juvenile justice system has little to offer girls. Most programs and rehabilitation services are aimed at the male population. “Gender mixed gangs are also more common now that in the past” (Egley, 2006). “There is growing research that shows the gender composition of the gang is associated with gang delinquency rates. Females in all or majority female gangs exhibited the lowest delinquency rates, and males and females in majority male gangs exhibited the highest delinquency rates, this also includes higher rates than males in all male gangs” (Peterson, Miller, and Esbensen, 2001). Law enforcement need to assess the gang problem they have in their communities. The gangs have a tendency to grow into well-formed organization if not addressed. They also have the tendency to grow in violence and drug trafficking, which can cause a public concern. Law enforcement needs to be aware of newcomers in the community that are coming from other areas. “Assessing a communities youth gang problem can be a complex and politically sensitive issue” (Scott, 2000). Law enforcement must take a big role in dealing with youth gangs. Most programs that law enforcement use in dealing with youth gangs is suppression. The officers need to protect areas where the community members are threatened by gang members or their activities. “Law enforcement‘s role in gang suppression is that they are the coordinator, recorder, and monitor. This agency can record the actions taken for future review and also monitoring the results so that problems do not recur” (Scott, 2000). The prosecutor’s office is another source for the fight against youth gangs. “Their primary role is prosecution and convictions plus incarceration of youthful offenders” (Scott, 2000). Prosecutors have begun to recognize and be more aware of the youth gang problem and have begun to specialize in this type of prosecution. “The prosecutor’s office can be very beneficial in researching and proposing new or enhanced laws directed toward youth gang activity” (Scott, 2000). Many jurisdictions are proposing legislation that targets certain gang behaviors, such as stronger weapons laws and laws that target graffiti (Scott, 2000). In Pitt County in Greenville North Carolina where the gang problem has grown, all schools are requiring its students to wear uniforms. Teenagers were starting to wear gang colors and this was causing gang violence at the junior and high Schools. The court system needs to address the gang activity. “This is the resource that has the most authority to emphasize a tough strategy (Scott, 2000). Judges can help this youth get into special programs and counseling, the judge can remove this person from society if this youth is constant presence in court. Judges can order family counseling and try to get to the root of the problem. The judge needs to ask questions like why is this person involved in gang activity, and what can be done to remove this youth from this type of activity. Juvenile justice is supposed to be about rehabilitation, but sometimes this is not possible. Youth join gangs to belong; they are missing something in their life. Schools, communities and the justice system need to reach out to these young people. In our society a majority of our children is growing up in single parent homes, they come home from school and most parents are at work. These children reach out to the streets and join these gangs for a sense of family, something they do not have at home. The community needs to work together and develop programs that fill the need these children and young adults have. The communities need afterschool programs for youth to attend that not only allow them to socialize and be with other youth, but also help these children realize that gang life is not the answer. The juvenile justice system also needs counseling programs for children and young adults who have already gone down the wrong path. The programs need to focus on the problems that are facing many young people today. What worked twenty years ago will not work today. References (Howell J 1997 Youth Gangs)Howell, J. (1997). Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Programs, Youth Gangs Fact Sheet #72 Washington, D.C: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. Howell, J. & Egley, A. (2007). Frequently asked questions regarding gangs. Retrieved August 22, 2008 from http://www.iir.com/nygc/faq.htm (Klein M W 1995 American Street Gang)Klein, M. W. (1995). The American Street Gang. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. (Peterson D Miller J Esbensen F 2001 impact of Sex Composition on Gangs and Gang Delinquency)Peterson, D., Miller, J., & Esbensen, F. (2001). The impact of Sex Composition on Gangs and Gang Delinquency. In Criminology 39 (2), (pp. 411-439). Scott W. (2000). Combating Youth gangs: A threat assessment model for the year 2000. Retrieved August 21, 2008 from http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/FCJEI/SLP%20papers/Scott.pdf