Youth Gangs Impact on Solutions to Gang Crime - Assignment Example

Social Problems and Issues assignmentt 3 2. How does the way we define youth gangs’ impact on solutions to gang crime? Introduction A youth gang is a form of sub-culture associated with radicalism especially in American region. This youth gang started in the 1950’s in the form of spinoffs (Barnes, 2013). They used to be appendages of the main motorcycle clubs. After the World War 2, the motorcycling activity became fancied by many people. It actually became an exciting hobby for many young people. The middle income and low income groups of people took part in the activities given the additional income motorcycling generates. This made many veterans to access the urban centers and taste every bit of bliss in the cities including drinking and partying. A bike rally in Hollister culminated in the formation of bike gangs. This was the first incident of bike gang which took part in a bloody riot. This riot led to destruction of property and other valuable in various restaurants and buildings, by drunken motor cyclists. This group caused mayhem without recourse and this has been replicated ever since. This sub-culture is prevalent in the use of cruiser motorcycles. The Children, the sub-culture thrives in various ideologies like resistance to the mainstream culture of motorcycles. In fact most of the youth gangs indulge in malpractices in order to satisfy their daily needs. These groups operate in deviance and anarchy given that they do not conform to any set rule and regulation. The gangs use their organizations in propagating their criminal activities. In this regard their criminality is camouflaged hence it becomes difficult to apprehend and completely eliminate this sub-culture. The gang is usually structures and has broad networks, which enhances its operations over large geographical regions. The criminal activities the gangs indulge in include drug-trafficking, violence, arms trafficking, abduction and piracy. There are many of these gangs in America, which usually constitute of various numbers of individuals. The most common of these gangs include the Bandidos, Sons of silence and the Hells angels. These youth gangs pose a threat to peace and order among the citizens. Goodman (2013, 47) asserts that the outlawed group manages to operate drug and weapon smuggling due to the broad network it has across the globe. In fact, there is interlinking of their activities with international drug trafficking organizations. The other motorcycle club is the riding club which is less associated with the intrigues of the bigger gang clubs. The vintage group of motorcycle clubs is concerned with ferrying of the high social class people including clergies, emergence blood runners and courier clubs. It is difficult to pursue the criminal gangs because they are friendly like anybody else and they have a broad social and criminal network. Even the intelligence services cannot yield much in pursuit of theses outlawed criminal bike gangs. Furthermore, the freedom they have enhances the commission of many criminal activities under cover. In addition, they are feared hence many people lack the guts of daring them. According to the New York Times, legally registered motor cycle clubs like the British motorcycle Federation have great influence in the civil society. They also abate the criminal activities of the gang groups under cover. Therefore, it had been hard to reform the motorcycle industry and get rid of the criminal activities propagated by the ill-minded motorcyclists. It has proofed impossible to destroy and discontinue the youth gang sub-culture. For instance, the federation was created with an aim of protecting the welfare often motor-cyclists. The youth gangs are part of the industry hence they have always been protected even when they have been on the wrong side of the law. Such legally recognized motorcycle organizations have posed a greater threat to the peace and harmony with regard to abatement of criminal activities. Bribery cannot be ruled out in such circumstances hence the sub-culture is bound to stay. The youth gangs have embraced technology and have established websites whereby they have broadened their network of operation. This has made it easy for involvement of many like-minded motorcycle organizations. The motorcycle clubs have also created badges and logos for identification online and I the general public. However, it is hard to associate the clubs with criminal activities given that they claim to pursue legal agendas like any other organization. Even today there are still active motorcycle gangs. These bike gang recruits members in almost every branch of its operations. The youth are the most prefer age set for recruitment especially the unemployed folk. This group is usually idle due to unemployment hence they will readily submit to any new assignment regardless of the peril involved. Nordheimer (2013, 57) posits that Intelligence bodies like the FBI acknowledge of the danger posed by theses gangs yet they have not succeeded in countering them because they are shielded by some legally operating motorcycle organization like the Hells angels boss, Sonny. However, the bike gangs have evolved over time to change their association with criminality. In fact, nowadays, most of the bike gangs are children who happen to be orphans. In this regard, reformations are underway to help in the rehabilitation of such students in order to enable them desist from indulging in the criminal activities. In the past, the bike gangs only consisted of mature adults. This made the gangs robust even in their attacks. In this regard, they were able to accomplish most of their atrocities scot-free. The stigma of this bike gang has always haunted them especially the gangs which have become extrovert after apprehension by law enforcers .their malpractices are unacceptable and a disgrace to the society hence their stigmatization is part of a solution to the youth gang menace across the globe. This is because stigma dissuades many people from indulging in the malpractices. Motorcyclists emanate from different walks of life hence there is a collaboration of many ideals and lifestyles in the motorcycling industry. Therefore association of the industry with criminal activities causes disarray and stigma among the innocent folk especially the motorcyclists. The youth club, the industry of motorcycling operates like one large family hence there is stigma and emotional break-down when a member is apprehended over deviance and criminal allegations. Crime pin maps reveal the prevalence of the bike gangs in particular regions, which having pins in it. This helps in tracing the regions with prevalence in youth gang related crimes. In this regard, these maps assist the police authorities in locating bike gang crime hot spots. The youth gang usually constitutes of criminals operating locally, nationally and internationally. This group controls very large entities illegally in a bid to obtain illegal and abnormal returns, and undue favors. The bike gang is an organized criminal group owing to the fact that this group has a wide network internationally and it was operating under the orders of a drug networks owning large enterprises. Indeed, every move of the bike gang is pre-planned and executed by the members who are willing to batter, murder and assault in a bid to receive financial gain especially from drug and weapon deals. The legally registered motorcycle organizations guarantee the acquittal of any motorcyclist imprisoned given that they work for the welfare of all their members. Wild Hogs (2007, 98) asserts that the youth gang usually organizes for the assassination of the sycophants, who may have intentions of exposing their activities like money laundering and drug deals. Furthermore, bike gang and their colleagues are sent on a mission to murder government officials who pursue them. This is done in order for have freedom of carrying out their activities. The bike gang does not want to be exposed to the public. Nordheimer (2013, 56) asserts that the model that best fits this bike gang is the causal model whereby a range of criminal activities are all correlated and co-ordinated. The occurrence of one activity is prompted by the activity that has already occurred. For instance, bike rally riot in Hollister culminated in the murder of many people and destruction of property. Furthermore, the rich-poor gap which prevailed during that time prompted the motorcyclists to go on rampage and wreak havoc. Moreover, bike gang members who proof to be disloyal are killed because of activities like spying. The bike gangs are best described by a theory describing an individual who has a weakness in interrelating, has short-lived attention span and never feels remorse upon committing evils like murder. A person in this category is anti-social, impatient, inhuman nervous and anxious on various outcomes. This implies that such a person can commit any crime yet, he or she cannot feel guilt of the offence. According to Barnes (2013, 53), a youth gang includes individuals who have come together from different backgrounds to form a group in which each individual is given a role to play in a bid to achieve the objectives of the group. These objectives include improvement of living standards, ensuring equitable distribution of financial, economic and social resources, and reduction of poverty in the society. This bike gang qualifies as asocial institution because it fits in to the definition of a social institution. In fact, the critical perspective in this regard is that this group forcefully grabs the extra idle resources that the rich are holding, in order to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. These are the resources whose benefits trickle down to the common citizenry. It is easy for this group to access the rich than for the suffering poor hence it serves the interest of the poor in society. Such criminals storm the residents of the rich and get away with anything that is of value through the use of their motor bikes. For instance, during the Hollister bike rally, mansions were literally destroyed. The traders were also disrupted by the rioting. This shows how wealth distribution disparity is an issue for the social institution. Youth gangs cause social disorganization, the total breakdown of the social structures and institutions of a nation, which leads to deterioration of the living standards of the citizens and disruption of peace and order. In this regard, people lack the basic needs due to lack of social institutions which could provide them with accommodation and rehabilitation. This is the reason for the assassination of government official s by some of the bike gangs. In addition, there are weak institutions in the US because the group has not been apprehended and provided with the necessities they require for rehabilitation. This is vital given that the only social problem which is the proximate cause for the bike gangs is poverty and inequitable distribution of resources. Therefore, the absence of rehabilitation enhances the propagation of these social and criminal evils by this bike gang criminal group. The business interest of this criminal group is the total control of the empires owned by the drug tycoons and the advancement of the drug business especially with the drug trafficking nations. Moreover, the group is interested in the money laundering business in order to reap the benefits which accrue from this business in the black market. In addition, the group has an interest in establishing a wider network both national and internationally in order to advance in the drug business. The group conducts itself just like any legitimate business through the transacting with common people. For instance, the bike gang participates in common business like any other organization. This looks a normal deal on the part of the civilian traders, whereas actually it is a criminal venture (Goodman, 2013, 28). In some instances, government corrupt officials provide funds for buying the drugs and the profits made are shared among the bike gang group members. The corrupt officials also assist in protecting the group members in case they are caught up by the police officers. These officials can also ensure the group is released in case it is locked up, in cell. Conclusion The bike gang has led to the loss of resources and collapse of economies through their man malpractices. Furthermore, the gang usually has a broad network across the globe hence giving the authorities hard time. The bike gang has evolved over time from occasional bike owner disarray to organized and financially stable bike gangs. . References Barnes, Tom. "Honoring Gettysburg Motorcyclists Band Together to Help Maintain Pa. Monuments." Pittsburgh Post – Gazette Sep 23 2012. ProQuest. Web. 4 Nov. 2013 . Goodman, J. D. "2 Bikers are Charged; Investigation Continues." New York Times Oct 02 2013. ProQuest. Web. 4 Nov. 2013 . "Drivers Wife Describes Fear of Angry Mob of Bikers." New York Times Oct 04 2013. ProQuest. Web. 4 Nov. 2013 . Nordheimer, Jon. "Danger, Real and Affected, Lingers at Bikers Jamboree." New York Times Mar 13 2000. ProQuest. Web. 4 Nov. 2013 . The Wild Angels. Dir. Roger Corman. Perf. Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern, and Diane Ladd. MGM Studios, 1966. Film. Wild Hogs. Dir. Walt Becker. Perf. Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, John travolta, and William H. Macy. Touchstone Pictures, 2007. DVD. Read More