Module 5 - Case Gang Violence (CASE) - Essay Example

Gang Violence (CASE) Number: Introduction There has been an increase in the number of gangs in the past one decade a factor that has resulted to an increase in number of periodic crime. The City of Los Angeles is one of the gang capitals in the country whereby studies show that the city has over 450 active gangs with a membership of about 45,000 individuals. Worrying statistics have shown that there were more than 16,398 violent gang crimes in Los Angeles whereby 491 homicides were reported, nearly 7,047 felony assaults commited, approximately 5,518 robberies and just under 98 rapes were also recorded.

Narcotic trade is termed as one of the main attributes of the dramatic increase in these illegal gangs which recruits even minors. According to the report that was released by the Review of Homicide Crime Statistics Criminal Justice Center in the year 2005, about 43% of all the homicides committed in Los Angeles County were accounted for by gangs (US Department of Justice, 2007). Getting imprisoned is one of the prime risks that children who join these gangs are subjected to. Children who are members of gangs commit various types of crimes such as homicide, robbery, assaults, and rapes as well as drug trafficking of which all these crimes are considered as capital criminalities.

Such practices can make them spend much of their lives behind bars if not lifetime imprisonment. Other risks include making children become victims of their rival gangs, a factor that poses them to assaults or even getting murdered. The inherent violence associated with gang graffiti (body drawings gangs use as a symbol of marking their territory) is of great concern because when a neighborhood is marked with graffiti indicating territorial dominance, the entire area and its inhabitants become targets for violence.

Everybody irrespective of where they are be it the streets or in their homes is fair game for drive-by attacks by rival gang members because rival gangs identifies everyone in a neighborhood as a potential threat. Adults and parents have a crucial role of learning about gangs so that they can remain aware of what is going on around with their children. This enables parents to easily identify early warning signs in the kids their children associate with and also helps them teach their kids correct information when the opportunity is presented.

Having information about those gangs on various aspects such as reasons why children join then, type of people their children associate with, characteristics of children who are members of these sects, and the type of practices they engage in among other crucial information would help parents a lot in assessing the risks their children are posed to (Vigil, 2002). After accessing the situation, parents should use all means possible to deter their children from joining these groups and help them withdraw in case they had already been hooked up.

Parents must advice their children both boys and girls because both genders are subject to gangs. There are plenty number of sources from which parents can get information about these gangs that torment members of the public. Among these sources include websites or generally online materials, local officials or authorities and from members of the society among other numerous sources (The Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles, 2007). Parents, guardians and the society in general have a responsibility of preventing young boys and girls from joining these criminal gangs (Franzese, Menard & Covey, 2006).

This can be accomplished by ensuring that they regularly advice their children appropriately, digging deeper to know the type of children they are associating with, building support systems for children who are already members, helping children build self-esteem because loneliness and low esteem are key factors attributing to children join gangs, as well as helping them in their risk areas. Getting them involved in alternatives activities that would keep them busy and have fun such as hobbies and sports would also play crucial part in protecting children from joining gangs.

They should also discourage them from wearing gang colors, having graffiti, helping them make friendship with people of good character as well as helping the authorities in eliminating the illegal sects from the society would also be effective approaches of protecting the innocent children (VPI, 2014). ReferencesTop of FormBottom of FormTop of FormFranzese, R. J., Menard, S. W., & Covey, H. C. (2006). Youth gangs. Springfield, Ill: Charles C Thomas. The Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles ( (2007).

Fact Sheet: Gang Violence. Retrieved  2014, from http://www.ph.ucla.edu/sciprc/pdf/GANG_VIOLENCE.pdf U.S. Department of Justice. (2007). Highlights of the 2007 national youth gang survey. Retrieved May 1, 2014 from http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/225185.pdf Vigil, J. D. (2002). A rainbow of gangs: Street cultures in the mega-city. Austin: University of Texas Press. VPI (2014). Why Young People Join Gangs and What You Can Do. Retrieved  2014, from http://www.violencepreventioninstitute.

com/youngpeople.html Bottom of Form