Criminal Gangs: A Qualitative Research

Chapter Four is entitled, “[The] Scope and Nature of the Current Gang Problem.” It focuses on recent trends in number of gangs, gang members and gang-related crimes in each city. In Inglewood, almost all the neighborhoods were claimed by at least one gang, with gang-unit officers agreeing that the city was facing a major gang problem. In Albuquerque, gangs were involved in drug trafficking and property offenses, with 7 out of 8 gang-unit officers believing the city had a major gang problem. In Las Vegas, migration from other cities was thought to be the primary cause of an increase in gang members. 50% of crime in Las Vegas is attributed to gangs, with most officers believing they had a moderate to major gang problem. In Phoenix, the gang problem is described as wave-like, with 70% of gang-unit officers thinking the city had a major gang problem. These statistics were backed up through interviews with officers and city records.

This paper will serve as a profile of a prison gang of your choice. You will research this gang, its origins, growth, culture and newsworthy incidents. This paper should include the influence gang membership has on inmates, their progress in their sentences, rehabilitation and recidivism.

A study done in 1996 on prisoners of the Arizona Department of Corrections, followed inmates for the first 3 years of their incarceration. This study found that “inmates with no gang affiliation were significantly less likely that those wit either street gang affiliation or prison gang affiliation to have been guilty of a violent misconduct” (Griffin, 2006). Also noted in the Griffon study, inmates who have a gang affiliation are less likely to participate in needed rehab and vocational programs that may help them upon release. A big problem with prison gangs is that very little is known about them, this is because they are very secretive, unlike their counterparts on the streets (Fong, 1991). The reason for this secrecy is so gang members can avoid being persecuted by the prison administration.

Gang: a group of young people who do illegal things together and who often fight against other gangs (Webster, 1953).

Thank you for your comment on my post. It's a pleasure to share some points in common. I would agree, that the characteristics are unlimited to subdivide each gang upon it's own description. They are viriable upon the situation, location, social environement and even genetics in some cases. However, there are a possibility to trace gang's activities and to split it in sub- categories. Nonetheless, those sub-categories content is based on illicit activities, and as I said in my post, Omaha police Dept. Declared, that 'not all gang are bad', but if their activities are good, than it won't be a gung but something else. Like for example, it can be named an organization insted of gang, with the primary propose of their activity/ies based on their common

The United States of America has a strong history of gang related violence inside and outside of correctional facilities. Federal law defines gangs as an ongoing organization comprised of more than five persons who engage in serious criminal offenses (Giffiths, Howell, 2016, p. 100). Typically, gangs are a social organization with their own law, order, politics, and economy. Gangs may have a written or unwritten set of rules in which all members need to oblige to. Gangs are notorious for being organized in a particular geographic territory or deteriorating neighborhoods that are usually poor economically (Decker, Van Winkle, 1996, p. 5). Gangs also have unique names, colors, symbols, and participate in particular criminal activities in order

Gang Defined: There is no universally agreed-upon definition of "gang" in the United States. Youth gangs and street gangs are terms widely and often interchangeably used in mainstream reporting. Reference to gangs often implies youth gangs. In some circumstances, youth gangs are distinguished differently from adult gang;youth gangs are distinctive and their identity may vary. The official definitions for gangs are defined on two levels of federal and state. The federal level, which includes; The Department of Justice, The Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the state level.

Throughout history there has been research and data gathered about gangs, their activities, and crimes. This paper will discuss and examine how gangs can be classified as social systems, what does a gang do for its members, and the overall evolution of gangs. The changes I will focus on in particular are the crimes or violent acts the gang commit, weapon advancements, drug trafficking, the purpose for drug trafficking, and the wars amongst different gangs.

Gang violence creates many problems on communities and societies. Although not all gangs are sophisticated and well organized, they all use violence to control neighborhoods and extend their illegal activities, jeopardizing the lives of those apart of the affiliations and civilians. A gang is an organization or group of people who have a commonality by name, recognizable signs, colors, and symbols. Gangs includes people who independently or jointly undertake in criminal operations, notoriously for being involved in many acts such as claiming territories and using it to make money through unlawful activities (drug trafficking, prostitution, etc.). Gang activity have a negative influence on youth and the common purpose of a kid to join a gang includes a sense of belonging, sharing in mutual desires for safety, family problems, friends are in it, or life challenges.

According to (ProQuest Staff. “At Issue”.) A gang is a group of three or more people who band together for protection, socialization or financial gain. 88% of gangs are street gangs, the others reside in prison. Many government officials see gangs the number one risk to public safety, seeing as they have moved into communities increasing violence and crime. They also claim that more preventive initiatives to keep young people out of gangs.

Recruitment into gang chapters expresses common themes pertaining to economical in²uences and lower, middle, and upper class status. In places where the norms are different, such as in poor inner city neighborhoods, individuals are exposed to value systems run by gangs and overwhelmed with violence. Gang members established skewed perceptions of wealth and status which signifies that the only means to obtain this wealth and status in poverty stricken conditions is to join the gang and participate in the same

Gang is a number of group members who commit crime and fight for their rights. People like us who join or create a gang will end up being dead or survive from the mistakes they made. The reason why people would join a gang because to feel more powerful, show a message to the world and be protected with their gang members. “Being or with a gang is destruction to the world” With these three reasons, I’m going to be talking about what gangs do with these reasons I stated.

A gang is a group of recurrently associating individuals or close friends or family with identifiable

When most juveniles join gangs most outsiders perceive this to be because these youths are joining to get involved in delinquent activities. Sven Morch and Helle Andersen’s research on “Becoming a gang member: Youth Life and Gang youth”, state that gangs may be seen as social networks that give space and support for the person, but unfortunately are also contexts for common activities that are often directed against the outside world. (Morch, 2012) Although many people may perceive this as being negative, most who join find the experience as a positive event. One author found out through interviews with gang members that they joined for peer group attraction, an escape from abusive or non-existent families, the possibility of economic gain, and the sense of being marginalized ethically and/or economically from the larger society. (Beare, 2013) What makes the bond so strong with the gang is their culture is imparted from one generation to the next through a process called socialization.

A gang is the organization of a group of individuals, friends or family, that typically