The Financial Cost of Crime to Society Suffered Because of Various Hispanic Gangs - Essay Example

Hispanic Gangs 13 March 2009 The rising rate of crime is a very serious issue which cannot be overlooked by any country. The rising rate of crime goes to show that the values instilled in children by their parents have been long forgotten. Each and every day there are numerous instances of crime taking place across the globe, No country is free from crime, it does matter where a person is, he/she is ought to witness a criminal activity be it on a small scale or for that matter on a large scale basis. Small scale crimes include petty crimes like robbery etc on the other hand large scale crimes include murders etc. This paper will throw light upon the financial cost of crime to society suffered because of various Hispanic Gangs. "According to a United Nations report posted by MSNBC, the United States is the leading country in financial loss due to violent crimes; the cost estimated around 45 billion dollars. During a time of recession, this information sheds more light on the impact crime has on our society. Combined with the very real struggle law enforcement agencies face to retain employees and maintain budgets, the report signals a very serious factor degrading our communities." (US Crime Affects Economy, 13 March 2009). Hispanic Gangs "There are about 500 Sureo Hispanic gangs in Los Angeles County representing over 50% of the gang memberbership. They are more geographically distributed throughout the region and are found in significant numbers in the San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, the Beach communities, Long Beach, Compton and South Los Angeles." (Hispanic Gangs in Los Angeles, 13 March 2009). The 18th street gang is very popular when it comes to Hispanic gangs in LA. The number of members of this gang range between 8000-15000 gang members. It is believed that this gang originated from the Clanton 14 street gang, the gang is further subdivided into 5 parts in order to ensure a better functioning of the gang. Most of the members belonging to this gang are of the Mexican origin and it was initially decided that only Mexican citizens would be allowed to join this gang, this was however altered later on. The gang does not have a central leader and it is fair to say that it is loosely structured. There is no leader to lead the gang and to take care of the smooth functioning of this gang. The members of this gang function individually; they however join hands when a rival gang attacks their gang. The members of this gang are easily identified by the tattoos on their body. Every gang member has the tattoo of no 18 on their body in order to make the identification process easier. "Some estimates of the 18th are as low as 8,000 members. The notoriety of the gang is based on four distinct barrios, three near downtown Los Angeles west of the Staple's Center and the 110 Freeway, and one in the West Adams area." (18th Street Gang in Los Angeles County, 13 March 2009). The no 18 is displayed with the help of a tattoo and it is usually in roman numbers. There is another tattoo that is mutually exclusive to this gang. Most of the members have the tattoo of BEST on some part of their body or the other. The word indicates that their gang is the best in the vicinity or may be the best in the world. The gang members have to follow strict rules in order to be gang members, they are restricted from making use of any hard drug like crack cocaine. If the gang members violate the rules of the gang, they are usually beaten up for 18 seconds for minor offences and executed for serious breach of the rules. The 18th street gang recruits young children and this practice is really bad in short term as well as long term. Thus this gang is often called Children's Army because of their practice of recruiting young children. The gang members expertise in drug trafficking, making illegal documents, exchange of arms and other serious criminal activities. US lead in terms of the financial loss incurred by a country because of criminal activities. There are so many gangs in the US which operate depending on the area which they are in; many a time gang wars take place to satisfy the egos of the members of various gangs. When a gang war or for that matter a crime takes place, it directly affects the economy of the country, this can be understood by an example, if a gang member attempts to kill a person in US, it will surely damage some property of either public or the private sector resulting in property damage, in addition to this the medical attention given towards the affected person will also be viewed as a financial loss to the economy because it was due to a senseless action, had it been because of a natural disaster then the case would have been different altogether but since it is because of a crime, it will also contribute towards the financial loss incurred by the economy of a country. Affect of Crime on the Salaries of Professionals From the above information it is very clear that US suffers the most from the criminal activities within the country. This also affects the salaries of professionals involved in dealing with the criminals. When the crime rate is high in a country, the government will be forced to train and recruit more policemen to deal with the situation and in this case again the country would suffer financial losses because of training and recruiting more policemen than actually required. The whole process of training and recruitment will cost millions of $ and hence the economy of the country will suffer. On the other hand if the crime rate is low in a country, the government need not spend so much on the salaries of policemen and the same money can be utilized to make sure that the economy of the country develops, in other words it can be spent on the welfare of the people. Same is the case with the salaries drawn by judges and other top officials who deal with criminals, higher the rate of crime in a country, the more financial losses the country will face. Conclusion The attributes of the 18th street gang were discussed in the paper; the paper also threw light upon the financial cost of crime. It becomes imperative to dismantle such gangs operating in the US. The country has suffered a lot in the past because of such gangs and will continue to do so if nothing is done about such dangerous gangs operating across the length and breadth of the country. The government of the US must take an initiative in order to dismantle such gangs in the country. This will ensure the progress of the country and the financial loss incurred by the country will also dwindle in the near future. References Hispanic Gangs in Los Angeles. In Street Gangs. Retrieved on 13 March 2009 from: http://www.streetgangs.com/hispanic/ US Crime Affects Economy. In Crime. Suite 101. Retrieved on 13 March 2009 from: http://crime.suite101.com/article.cfm/costs_of_crime_threaten_us_law_enforcement 18th Street Gang in Los Angeles County. In Street Gangs. Retrieved on 13 March 2009 from: http://www.streetgangs.com/18thstreet.html Read More