Youth Gangs in Canada

1
Youth Gangs in Canada

• By Debbie Peraza Kim Gaudio

2
Research Study

• In September 2005, the Canadian Research
  Institute for Law and the Family (CRILF)
  conducted a study on youth involvement in gangs.
  
• 3 main objectives to this study
• Develop a multidimensional conceptual framework
  of youth involvement in gangs including gangs
  with connections to organized crime, in the
  Canadian context.
• Examine current programs and services which
  address issues that are relevant to youth gangs.
  
• Categorize each program based on their level of
  prevention (primary, secondary, tertiary)
  

3
Research Methods

• Collected data from various regions in Canada
  through literature, internet sources, and key
  informants in governmental departments (including
  police agencies, and non-governmental
  organizations)

4
Different Types of Gangs

• Researchers identified 5 different types of gangs
  that exist in Canadian society
  
• They include
• Type AGroup of Friends
• Example Youth Groups
• Type BSpontaneous Criminal Activity Group/ Gang
• Example different Clicks that exist in school
  
  
• Type CPurposive Group/Gang
• Example KKK
• Type DYouth Street Gang
• Example the film The Outsiders and the film
  Doomstown
  
• Type EStructured Criminal Organization
• Example The Mafia

IMPORTANT It should be noted that this model
does not assume that youth make transitions from
petty crime gangs to criminal organizational gangs
5
A Brief Overview of Programs and Services

• A total of 77 anti-youth gang programs were
  examined
  
• The majority of the programs focus on primary or
  secondary level prevention, while others
  concentrate on both
  
• Only 10 of the programs examined are geared
  towards tertiary level programs
  
• Ontario had only 5 of programs found nationally
• There were no programs found in the Maritime
  Provinces.

6
Programs Level of Prevention

• Primary Level Five Core Curriculum
• Operated by the Toronto Police Service, 33
  Division
  
• Based in North Central Toronto, Ontario
• Target Group Grade 8 9 students
• Secondary Level Community Cadet Corps Program
  
  
• Operated by the National Community Cadet Corps
  the RCMP
  
• Nationally Based
• Target Group youth aged 12-18
• Tertiary Level Adopt an Offender Program
• Operated by the Prince Albert Police Service
• Based in Saskatchewan
• Target Group young offenders

7
Conclusions of Study

• Found that in Western Provinces, youth gangs and
  gang related activity is on the rise
  
• Noticeable increase in homicides and drug
  incidents related to gang activity (The Canadian
  Centre for Justice Statistics, 2005)
  
• As the Results of the Canadian Police Survey on
  Youth Gangs suggests, current trends in certain
  Canadian jurisdictions seem to be consistent with
  Taylors concept of the evolution of gang
  imperialism
• Overall, the number of innovative programs and
  the commitment of those who developed and
  implemented them was impressive
  

8
Introduction to Youth Street Gangs

• Movie Clip
• Doomstown
• http//www.youtube.com/results?search_queryDoomst
  ownsearch_type
  

9
Youth Street Gangs

• Definition
• The concept of youth street gangs is difficult to
  define given that different regions have gang
  issues that are particular to that specific area
  
• There is a lack of knowledge concerning whether
  or not youth street gangs are connected to adult
  organized crime in Canada
  
• Violence between youth street gangs is often
  directed toward other street gangs
  

10
Youth Street Gang Facts

• 94 of youth street gang members are male
• 39 range from 16-18 years of age
• 48 of all youth street gang members are under
  the age of 18
  
• Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia have
  the highest percentage of youth street gang
  activity
  
• 25 of youth street gang members in Canada are
  African Canadian/Black The largest proportion of
  youth gang members
  
• 22 are First Nations
• 18 are Caucasian/white
• Interestingly, most street gang related violence
  is committed intra-racially

11

• 44 of respondents in Canada indicated that youth
  street gangs have established relationships with
  organized crime groups
  
• 40 of the relationships are between First
  Nations organized crime, while 22 are with Asian
  organized crime, and 22 are with outlaw
  motorcycle organized crime groups

12
Motivations to Join

• Youth become involved in street gang activity for
  a number of different reasons
  
• Matthews 1999, push and pull factors that
  lead youth to become members of a gang
  
• Financial gain, easy access to drugs, etc.
• Forced to join
• Status, prestige, power, and women

13
Recruitment

• Describes how youth are brought into a street
  gang, or how adolescence gain access to gangs
  
• Range from friends coming together because of
  shared interests, to formal recruitment through
  the sponsorship of youth by existing gang members
  
• If ones family has a history of gang
  involvement, the risk factor for the youth is
  higher
  
• Matthews concept of drifting
• Engage in various forms of initiation

14
Exit Strategies

• youth street gangs are one of the most difficult
  and dangerous to exit
  
• Made up of 2 main components
• Level of difficulty in leaving the group
• And developing a plan of action for leaving the
  group
  

15
Conclusion of Youth Street Gangs

• Movie Clips
• The Outsiders
• http//ca.youtube.com/watch?vnI-WiZ58SS0

16
Theories

• Robert Merton Social Structure Anomie
• Lower class people are socialized to desire
  conventional middle class values and norms
  
• People in this class are unable to achieve middle
  class success through legitimate means
  
• Leads to strain and frustration
• Adaptation
• Conformity
• Retreatism
• Ritualism
• Rebellion
• Innovation

17
Theories Continued

• Albert Cohen Status Frustration, 1995
• Developed this theory to explain the higher rates
  of delinquency among lower-class youth
  
• In North America, all individuals are encouraged
  to aspire highly, but at the same time, it does
  not provide equal means to all individuals in
  order to achieve this aspiration.
• School creates a competitive place for youths of
  all races and classes to pursue the all-important
  goal of elevated status. Lower class youth often
  do not achieve this goal of elevated status in
  the public school system due to the following
• Middle-class youth have an advantage over lower
  class youth in terms of the early socialization
  they receive from their parents.
  
• Lower class youth are socialized with different
  social values and norms. They fail to achieve
  middle-class status-? grow frustrated ?status
  frustration
• The consequence of this status frustration is the
  formation of a subculture that involves the rival
  hierarchy of statuses through reaction
  formations.
• Deviant behavior occurs when lower class youth
  lack sufficient access to legitimate means for
  attaining societal goals and elevated statuses
  and thus, they engage in delinquent and/or
  criminal behavior?many decide to join gangs

18
Discussion Questions

• Recently, there was a local stabbing involving a
  15 year old boy outside of school. The stabbing
  is believed to be gang relateddo you feel that
  youth street gangs are becoming an increasingly
  greater problem in the London area?
• Why do you feel that youth street gang activity
  in the Maritime provinces is relatively low
  compared to the rest of Canada?
  
• Why do you feel that female involvement in youth
  street gang activity is considerably low, in
  relation to that of males?