Different Approaches and Responses to Gangs - Essay Example

In terms of legal definition, the members of gangs commonly violate laws on a regular basis (Kinnear, 2009, p.40).  A more specific definition by Sandra Gardner in 1983 defined gang as “an organization of young people from early teens to early twenties, with a specific name and claims a particular territory, has regular meetings and distinct leaders and exhibits the most important factor which is delinquency” (Kinnear, 2009, p.3). 

The approaches and responses of the community to the gangs are based on the different factors related to the personal, the family, the social and the legal aspects of the society.

The individual and family approach is the primary way to resolve gang behavior since the individual person can be isolated.  For that matter, programs targeting the education of the family members and the individual gang member are included in the main actions undertaken to resolve gang problems.  But there the challenge in resolving the gang-related problems is the fact that teenagers and adolescents are very susceptible to gang membership and other delinquent activities due to peer pressure and the presence of different gangs in the community and in school. 

Based on the survey of national schools, 7.6% of male and 3.8% of female secondary school students are gang members with activities such as fighting, stealing, or selling drugs.  Not only can these activities endanger them, but gang membership can also affect the school performance and safety of the teenagers (Egley, Mason and Miller, 2006, p.362; (Gatti et al., 2005).  Other reasons for gang membership and delinquency that are needed to be taken into consideration are the effects of “poverty, unemployment, and decline of the family in American cities” (Egley, Mason and Miller, 2006, p.313).  The family-based policies and programs are effective to prevent delinquent behaviors through parent support and guidance as well as personality development.

Another approach to the gangs and their activities is through community-based programs and social interventions.  The programs applied in such levels are considered immediate and short-term responses to violence and crisis of the members and the victims of the gangs.  The neighborhood, schools and localities are included in the programs implemented at the community-based levels.  Commonly, local government units and NGOs in the localities are the groups working to find solutions to the problems.  Their goals are specific to the needs of the community which includes crisis intervention, treatment and emergency medical care for the children and their families, and law enforcement activities (p.313). 

An example of a community-based organization is the Boston Gun Project.  It started as an organization to counteract gang activities in Boston by “assembling interagency workgroup, applying quantitative and qualitative research methods for the study and assessment of the problem related to gangs, developing, implementing and evaluating interventions” (p.338).  The community-based programs and policies are effective for immediate results and for solutions that are specific to the needs of the particular community.

The legal aspect is one of the most important approaches to the problems of gangs.  Due to the rise of gang problems in the 1980s, there had been a wake-up call in the legislative needs in terms of gang problems.  The California Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention (STEP) is an example of legislative programs to have legal solutions to resolve gang-related crimes (p.381).  Basically, legal legislation is needed for the enforcement of laws not only at the national level but also in the local communities.

These are the different approaches, responses and solutions to the problems related to gangs in the community in the United States.  Continuous studies and research for solutions are being undertaken due to the evolving activities of the gangs and the needs of the communities.