Examples Of Involvement In Gangs

struggling with their self-worth and identity, the acceptance and respect from their peers are extremely important. This sense of belonging that the gang provides is what the gang members are missing within their own families who mostly have troubled family history. In many cases, these peer groups draw their solidarity on the shared characteristics of being disadvantaged or discriminated against on factors such as race or social class. Being an active member of a group with common interests allows individuals to feel a sense of status and importance that they do not otherwise feel in the larger community (Thornberry and Krohn, 2001, p. 289). Involvement in gangs also leads to experimenting with high-risk behavior such as drug and alcohol abuse

Snyder and M. Sickmund, 754 out of 100,000 Black youth were in custody, compared to 190 per 100,000 of White youth. Hispanic and Native American youth also experiences disproportionate arrest and incarceration. There is an ongoing debate about whether race differentials also involve bias in policing and juvenile justice processing which may be especially true for racial profiling, random strip search and drug arrests (Snyder and Sickmund, 2006). In these examples, it is clear that the system-blame approach is applicable to the unequal treatment of juveniles based on race, with law enforcement, the juvenile justice system and the media being parts of the “system.” Society’s attitude toward crime in general has become harsher especially when the young perpetrators are minorities and belong to the lower social classes. The media tend to be a source of bias judgement and exaggeration of actual events that Americans has come to favor more severe punishment of young

Discovering the behavior causes behind a juvenile delinquent can often lead to a rehabilitation plan to reform the offender. Many schools and communities offer mentoring programs. One of the first organizations to provide this type of service are the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America. In a mentoring program, a juvenile is assigned an adult who acts as both a friend and a teacher. The mentor is someone who is a community role model to whom the teens can turn when they need help or simply talk to about problems. Individual and family counseling can also be helpful in dealing with the challenges of living in a crime risk environment. Parenting classes are also effective for teaching positive discipline methods for guardians of troubled