Gangs: Delinquent Youth Subculture - Research Paper Example

Gangs – Delinquent Subculture Gangs – Delinquent Subculture Origin And History The Delinquent subculture of gangs in the regions of United States started in different areas of United States during different time periods. According to Curry an increase in number of gang members have especially been witnessed during 1880s, 1920s, 1960s and 1990s (Curry, 1998). The history and the emergence of youth gangs in the region of the United States can be traced back to the period of 1783 after the end of the American Revolution had taken place (Franzese, 2006). There is no clear information about the members of these youth gangs. According to Rubel, these youth gang members mostly comprised of Mexicans who had migrated to the region of United States and may have developed a gang due to their difficult lives in America (Rubel, 1965). It has even been recorded that gangs started surfacing in major regions of United States such as New York during the period of 1800s when the Industrial Revolution was gaining pace (Franzese, 2006). As industrialization started to spread throughout the United States and attracted more and more immigrant populations, increase in number of gangs was witnessed in larger metropolitan areas such as Chicago (Franzese, 2006). The United States has witnessed an upsurge in the number of gangs and the gang members especially during the periods in which huge number of immigrant populations has travelled to the United States. Gangs have even emerged as a result of hostile activities that have been carried out against the ethnic groups they represent. In early periods of 1900s, Chicago witnessed an increase in the number of African American gangs and gang members as a result of the hostilities they were facing at the hands of the White American gang members (Franzese, 2006). Later during the period of 1950s the African American gangs started becoming prominent on the streets of the Western regions of the United States (Franzese, 2006). These gang members could easily be witnessed in the regions where mostly those families resided that did not have access to proper economic opportunities. The Southern regions of the United States were the last in the race to experience the issue of gang related activity. Gang activity in these regions emerged and escalated between the periods of 1980s and 1990s (Franzese, 2006). Gang members and related activities are quite prevalent in the United States even in the years of 21st century. According to 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment, more than 1.4 million individuals are working with different gangs of United States and can be witnessed on the streets as well as prisons of the United States (FBI, 2015). Delinquent And Illegal Activities The youth gangs in the region of United States are involved in various illegal activities. These activities are both violent as well as nonviolent in nature. One of the most serious crimes that youth gangs are indulged in is aggravated assault. Youth gang members who are indulged in this devious act tends to attack another individual with the intention and the purpose to cause injury to the body of the victim and most of the times such an attack is conducted with the assistance of a deadly weapon. Siegel has cited a research in which victims of crimes suggests that out of the total crimes they had experienced, 6 to 10% of those crimes were committed in gang manner and these crimes included aggravated assault (Siegel, 2009). Another major crime that youth gang members are quite frequently involved in is the sale and distribution of drugs. A research was conducted by Bilchik during the period of 1999 in order to identify the level of youth gang member’s involvement in drug trafficking. To conduct the research a total of 2630 police officials were surveyed and these police officials reported that youth gang members are responsible for selling 43% of the drugs that are being sold within their jurisdictions and the research even helped in identifying that the average age of drug sellers can be categorized as low age (Bilchik, 1999). The respondents in the research even suggested that sales of drugs was the main work of youth gang members, while managing as well as distribution of drugs was not their part of offence. A third illegal act in which youth gang members are involved is recognized as burglary. When youth gang members are involved in the act of burglary they tend to break in to an individual or family’s house in order to perform criminal activities such as theft. According to Doyle 32% of the burglaries that took place during the period of 2012 were conducted by youth gang members (Doyle, 2012). Psychological Explanation For Existence Of Gangs There are various biological, sociological as well as psychological theories that can help in understanding why gangs are formed and why the youth of the society want to become a member of such groups. One theoretical explanation of the existence and formation of gang can be derived through the theory of hierarchy of needs theory that was postulated by Abraham Maslow. He states that individuals as various needs and an individual may choose to act in a particular manner in order to satisfy those needs. In the context of gangs, different gang members have different needs and in order to satisfy these needs they may indulge in gangs and deviant behaviors. Maslow states that these needs include the need to satisfy the desire to consume food, to be protected, to have friends and people with whom gang members can relate, to attain a higher reputation in the eyes of others and the need to attain what an individual has always aimed at attaining (Shelden, 1997). This theory provides immense insight regarding the motives that drive an individual to become a gang member. The relationship between these motives as well as individuals joining and forming gangs has been well researched and the causal relationship between these variables has been found to be true. A study was conducted by Walker-Barnes in order to identify the reasons that 31 female students believed were the reasons due to which females indulged in gangs and gang related activities. The researchers identified that 72% of the females become a member of a particular gang because they have a need to develop friendship (Walker-Barnes, 2001). This suggests that these females have a need for belongingness as suggested by Maslow and that directed them to become a gang member. The researchers even stated that 76% of those who were surveyed stated that females become a gang member because by doing so they gain access to money making opportunities (Walker-Barnes, 2001). This suggests that females are motivated by the need for satisfying hunger and thirst and that is why they join a particular gang. By earning money they can pay for the expenses of food and water which in turn will satisfy their need of hunger and thirst. Society’s Response To Gangs In order to solve the problem of gangs in the American society, all the stakeholders of the society including government, parents as well as educational institutes need to work towards stopping the youth from becoming a part of gangs (Friedrichs, 2015). The solutions that can help in preventing the youth of the American society from creating and joining gangs is dependent on the causes that motivate individuals to form and join gangs. For example: many of the individuals who join gangs are those who feel left out and have desire to be associated with friends and family members. If these individuals are provided with proper family environment and are loved by their parents and family members then they can be stopped from becoming a part of a gang. Webb cites a case of boy named Robert Sandifer and states that kid was only eleven years when he was shot dead and he was indulged in a gang (Webb, 1999). The problem that he faced was that he was never able to find love and he experienced domestic abuse at the hands of his own mother. This suggests that if parents provide appropriate amount of love and care to their children then they can easily stop their children from becoming gang members. Other than parents, schools and educational institutes can even play an important role in stopping as well as helping students in distancing themselves from gangs. Educational institutes can especially target the need for security that motivates a young individual to become a gang member. The youth in the present day schools of the United States are highly victimized by various violent activities that are conducted against them by other school students. These activities may even include school bullying as well as psychical and mental harassment. In order to avoid being harmed by violence, various children within a school form gangs to safeguard themselves. Due to this it has become quite essential for schools to counter the amount of violence that is taking place within school settings. According to Sharkey, schools need to protect students from violence in order to stop students from developing and joining gangs. Sharkey states that schools need to develop a plan for the safety of school children so this plan can counter various situations and scenarios of violence being carried out against school students. References Bilchik, S. (1999). Youth Gang Drug Trafficking. National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Retrieved 17 February 2015, from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/178282.pdf Curry, G. D., & Decker, S. H. (1998). Confronting gangs: Crime and community. Los Angeles, Calif: Roxbury Pub. Co. Doyle, J. (2012). Under-18s commit a quarter of all crimes: Young offenders responsible for more than a million crimes in just one year. Mail Online. Retrieved 18 February 2015, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2150187/Under-18s-commit-quarter-crimes-Young-offenders-responsible-million-crimes-just-year.html FBI,. (2015). 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment. Retrieved 17 February 2015, from http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/2011-national-gang-threat-assessment Franzese, R. J., Covey, H. C., & Menard, S. (2006). Youth Gangs. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher, LTD. Friedrichs, M. (2015). Gangs: Problems and Answers. Web.stanford.edu. Retrieved 18 February 2015, from https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/ganginterv/gangsproblems.htm Rubel, A. J. (April 01, 1965). The Mexican-American Palomilla. Anthropological Linguistics, 7, 4, 92-97. Sharkey, J., Shekhtmeyster, Z., Chavez-Lopez, L., Norris, E., & Sass, L. (2011). The protective influence of gangs: Can schools compensate?. Aggression And Violent Behavior, 16(1), 45-54. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2010.11.001 Shelden, R., Tracy, S., & Brown, W. (1997). Youth gangs in American society. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Pub. Co. Siegel, Larry J, and Joseph J Senna. Essentials Of Criminal Justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. Walker-Barnes, C., & Mason, C. (2001). Perceptions of Risk Factors for Female Gang Involvement among African American and Hispanic Women. Youth & Society, 32(3), 303-336. doi:10.1177/0044118x01032003002http://www.sagepub.com/martin/Walker-Barnes.pdf Webb, M. (1990). Coping with street gangs. New York: Rosen Pub. Group. Read More