Gangs Inflict Social Problems

Gangs are believed to be a type of human conflict in sociology. Some believe that gangs are a problem because they have been around within society and therefore it is assumed to be a problem. However some think that it is manufactured paranoia that is created by people who want to assert fear and panic to profit from such as to agencies and special groups. Knowing that Gangs inflict problems in society makes society believe that gangs are the roots of all problem, therefore it is a social problem, however this is argued to be contradictory as people themselves can create the problem by pinning it on what society has already agreed to be unacceptable. To understand the nature of gangs and to know if they are a social problem, you have to break

Most gangs include mainly male people who can range up to the ages of 12 to 25 years old. Gangs are commonly found in large cities, which either include a white dominant race or a black dominant race. They follow a consistent pattern of either being truants and come from unsupportive families. They can also be people who are unemployed and struggling to make means and therefore they result to gang activities. They are seen to be associated with criminal activity and violent behavior as well as prostitution and drug laundering including many other criminal offenses. Due to gangs being in transgressing behavior it can be viewed as a social problem. However gang related activities could be based on how you define the term. George W. Knox, the creator of the National Gang Crime Research Center, believes that it depends on who defines the term. Such as a politician, a researcher or a government official. A social scientists definition is said to depict gangs as “denotable adolescent group of youngsters ” (Malcom W. Klien, 1971) who engage in illegal behavior which follow an internal organization by adopting a gang name that claim control and defend their own territory against other rival territory and the rest of the general

But there can also be a forced alliance as many can be compelled to join or work for a gang under threat so they don’t have a choice and have to follow orders for the sake of their own lives. Much of whether gangs are seen as a social problem comes from perspective. Society is more prone to seeing gangs in a negative point of view because the social reality is not reaching the ideals and standards of people’s conception of a perfect world. Many external factors such as the media and personal opinions encourage a bad outlook on gangs. The media inflicts fear and depicts gangs to be a threat, which the community looks at in a negative view. The media’s depiction of gangs or any other example will either serve the purpose of the government’s viewpoint, public’s opinion or the genuine