Gangs

1
Gangs

• Gangs are not a new phenomenon in the US. For
  example
• Philadelphia was trying to devise a way to deal
  with roaming youth disrupting the city in 1791.
• New York City acknowledged gang problems as early
  as 1825.
• Ethnicities, among others, associated with gangs
  in US History
• Irish Jewish Italian
  African-American Chinese Russian
• Mexican-American Puerto Ricans Vietnamese
  Haitian
• There appears to have been an increase in gang
  involvement in the 1980s, and a subsequent
  decline in the 1990s.

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Gangs

• It is generally agreed that gang activity and
  membership increased through much of the late
  80s and early 90s. However, numbers started
  declining in the late 90s
• 2002 21,500 gangs and 731,500 gang members
• 1998 28,700 gangs and 780,000 gang members
• 1996 31,000 gangs and 846,000 gang members
• There are still methodological concerns about how
  we count.

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Gangs

• Conditions that foster gangsStructural Changes
  in the 1980s
• that may have fostered increases in
• gangs
• Kids are most impoverished group, and poverty had
  risen again.
• Economic restructuring occurred.
• Increases in low-wage, low-benefits jobs
• More women with kids entering labor force
• Cuts in assistance to the poor
• Disinvestment in larger cities
• Racism and denial of inclusion in the economic
  system continued in poor urban neighborhoods,
  while upwardly mobile minorities left minority
  neighborhoods

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Gangs

• Structural Changes in the 1980s
• may have fostered increases in
• gangs
• Kids are most impoverished group, and poverty had
  risen again.
• Economic restructuring occurred.
• Increases in low-wage, low-benefits jobs
• More women with kids entering labor force
• Cuts in assistance to the poor
• Disinvestment in larger cities
• Racism and denial of inclusion in the economic
  system continued in poor urban neighborhoods,
  while upwardly mobile minorities left minority
  neighborhoods

• Higher rates of single-parent familiesless
  supervision and attachment.
• Smaller families. Lone children seek friends.
  More protection with peers. More gang
  involvement.
• Volatile drug markets created economic
  opportunities for youths and gangs.
• Crackdowns on youth behaviors. We tend to tighten
  our bonds in times of trouble. Hatfields vs.
  McCoys
• Normalization of gangs in youth culture.

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Gangs

• Normalization

6
Gangs

• Social Structure of Gangs
• Members are typically young teenage males of
  similar ethnic or racial backgrounds (usually
  from broken homes in the inner-cities).
• Loyalty and adherence to a strict gang code
  (i.e., the gang is more important than anything,
  dont squeal) is expected.
• Cohesiveness among members is typically loose,
  but increases as recognition from society
  increases.
• Loyalty and camaraderie are solidified by
  participation in group activities that are often
  antisocial, illegal, violent, and criminal.
• Goals, roles, and responsibilities are loose, but
  some have these unspoken, but understood.
• There is an established hierarchy.
• Identification with a local territory (often
  referred to as turf) is commonplace in the
  neighborhood as well as on school campuses.
• Recruitment is an ongoing process, especially at
  schools.

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Gangs

• How were gangs transformed in the late 1980s?
• Younger active members (some as young as eight-
  or nine-years-old)
• Evidence of ethnic and racial crossover in
  multiethnic neighborhoods
• Growth in female gangs
• Established cliques or sets in smaller cities and
  suburban communities
• Acquisition of large sums of money from illegal
  drug markets and prostitution for some gangs
• Frequent use of drugs and alcohol
• More violence
• Use of sophisticated communications devices and
  automatic weapons
• Employment of guerrilla warfare-like tactics

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Gangs

• But lets face it . . . Gangs are not the leading
  cause of violence in the US.

9
Gangs

• According to Research,
• Reasons for Gang
• Involvement are
• A search for love, structure and discipline
• A sense of belonging, commitment, acceptance
• The need for recognition and power, self-worth
  and status
• Training, excitement and activities

10
Gangs

• According to Research,
• Reasons for Gang
• Involvement are
• A search for love, structure and discipline
• A sense of belonging, commitment, acceptance
• The need for recognition and power, self-worth
  and status
• Training, excitement and activities

• To make money
• The need for physical Safety and protection
• A family/neighborhood tradition

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Gangs

• According to Research,
• Reasons for Gang
• Involvement are
• To sum it up, people are gregarious and join
  groups for psychological security, resource
  security and for emotionally satisfying bonds.
• These reasons for joining gangs sound like
  reasons people join any other organization.

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Gangs
Gangs are not Abnormal

• Gangs are like
• Fraternities Sororities
• Lodges How?
• Sports Organizations
• Political Groups

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Gangs

• Colors or Logos

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Gangs

• Initiation

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Gangs

• Secret Societies

Independent Order of Oddfellows, Order of Rebekah
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Gangs

• Conformity

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Gangs

• Homogeneity

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Gangs

• Hierarchy

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Gangs

• Marking Turf

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Gangs

• Competition

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Gangs

• Recruitment

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Gangs
Gangs are not Abnormal

• Gangs are like
• Fraternities Sororities
• Lodges
• Sports Organizations
• Political Groups

• How?
• Colors or logos
• Initiations
• Secret Society
• Demand for Conformity and Loyalty
• Homogeneity of Membership
• Hierarchy
• Marking Territory with Symbols or Objects
• Competition with other organizations
• Recruitment

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Gangs

• Gang Prevention Strategies
• More satisfying families and communities. If the
  family or significant others are the source of
  love, guidance, and protection that youths seek,
  they are not forced to search for these basic
  needs from a gang.

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Gangs

• Gang Prevention Strategies
• More satisfying families and communities. If the
  family or significant others are the source of
  love, guidance, and protection that youths seek,
  they are not forced to search for these basic
  needs from a gang.
• Educational attachment. Young people who
  successfully participate in and complete
  education have greater opportunities to
  participate as rewarded and contributing adults.

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Gangs

• Gang Prevention Strategies
• Educational attachment. Young people who
  successfully participate in and complete
  education have greater opportunities to
  participate as rewarded and contributing adults.
• Graffiti removal. Removal reduces the chance
  that crimes will be committed. Since gangs use
  graffiti to mark their turf, advertise
  themselves, and claim credit for a crime, quick
  removal is essential.

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Gangs

• Gang Prevention Strategies
• Graffiti removal. Removal reduces the chance
  that crimes will be committed. Since gangs use
  graffiti to mark their turf, advertise
  themselves, and claim credit for a crime, quick
  removal is essential.
• Recreational programs. Can get youths involved
  in activities and belonging that would serve the
  same kind of function that gangs serve.

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Gangs

• Gang Prevention Strategies
• Recreational programs. Can get youths involved
  in activities and belonging that would serve the
  same kind of function that gangs serve.
• Conflict resolution programs. Can teach
  potential gangsters how to better deal with
  conflicts and help reduce gang intimidation
  tactics.

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Gangs

• Gang Prevention Strategies
• Conflict resolution programs. Can teach
  potential gangsters how to better deal with
  conflicts and help reduce gang intimidation
  tactics.
• Fight high-density poverty and hopelessness.
  Combating conditions of urban slums removes the
  structural conditions conducive to gangs.
• The chief problem in any community cursed with
  crime is not the punishment of the criminals, but
  the preventing of the young from being trained to
  crime. WEB Dubois

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Gangs