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Why Teens Join Gangs

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There 's cycle of gun violence amongst young Black males in Oakland, California, there were 557 murders in Oakland earning the city the label of being the second most murderous city in California after Compton. In communities of color, teens are caught in a cycle of illegal activities involving gangs, drug trafficking, and deadly acts of violence associated with high emotions, retribution, and revenge By making people aware can create possible solutions to decrease gun violence in the young Black male demographic group. Gang involvement is on the rise and the main targets are youth and teens. Phycologytoday.com writer Raychelle Cassada Lohmann explains how “It 's an invasion that 's causing a war on the very streets we walk during the day. …show more content…

Writer Raychelle Cassada Lohmann goes in depth to why teens join gangs “ 1. To Belong - These teens feel that they are misfits and have no place in the world. Gangs tap into these insecurities by promising the teen a family[..] 2. To Make Money - Gangs are an illegal money making industry. Teens can make a quick buck for dealing drugs, stealing, selling stolen goods, and even trading weapons.[..] 3. For Protection - In socioeconomic challenged neighborhoods and areas with high crime rates, teens often join gangs in order to survive. Gang members "have each other 's back"...”. Teens joins gangs to feel in the need of someone to take care of them or to look up to.When growing up in lesser communities or being poor they Also to get fast money. Some do it for protection so they won 't be jumped or be bullied because of their …show more content…

This article published on April 2010 written by professor John A. Rich of health management and policy at Drexel University in Philadelphia, who is an expert in health problems, and in men’s racial disparities. Dr John Rich’s explains how “Many of the participants described a life where, if they are insulted or disrespected, they are encouraged to react violently or become targets of continual violence themselves […] The meaning of disrespect is central to recurrent violence since it creates the pressure that many young men feel to retaliate. Any young man who understands the meaning of being a “sucker” will perceive that retaliation functions to shield him from physical danger” by being taught and pressured into it they always feel the need to get even, This bad habit will lead to trouble at school, and eventually trouble with law

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During his time studying these boys, he found that most cases of conflict were resolved without the use of weapon(s), but rather with “harsh conversation”. This observation highly contradicts the typical view of gang members who are commonly stereotyped by their local community and justice system in Oakland. Rios describes how the boys “Conversations often involved references to guns as analogies for resolving conflict and demonstrating manhood”. The fact that most conflicts are dealt with in non-violent ways, highlights the negative role

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How well Wes Moore describes the culture of the streets, and particularly disenfranchised adolescents that resort to violence, is extraordinary considering the unbiased perspective Moore gives. Amid Moore’s book one primary theme is street culture. Particularly Moore describes the street culture in two cities, which are Baltimore and the Bronx. In Baltimore city the climate and atmosphere, of high dropout rates, high unemployment and poor public infrastructure creates a perfect trifecta for gang violence to occur. Due to what was stated above, lower income adolescent residents in Baltimore are forced to resort to crime and drugs as a scapegoat of their missed opportunities.

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Watching the documentary, Crips and Bloods: Made in America, I learned that white people never gave black people in America the chance to succeed because they were constantly targeting them. I learned that people who grow up in south California really have no choice but to join a gang and result to violence because if they don’t they will not survive. Kids who are born in this part of LA are born into drug dealing families, broken homes, or to parents who are working multiple jobs just to make ends meet. These children have no guidance and no one to show them the right way of life. They join gangs so they can feel protected and like they belong somewhere in this world.

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Why do gangs like the greasers, Socs, playboy and Ventures fight with each other? Some kids join gangs for protection and family and sometimes just for a fight. In the article called “ Rest in peace Doc” it’s about a boy named Doc also known as Desi. This boy had lost his family in an accident and him and his brother have the gang as a second family because the real family had left.

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There is a number of reasons that range from simple to complex, on why teenagers join gangs, and we can help by finding solutions to their specific problem before they choose to join one. To help someone get out of a gang, we as a society need to show there’s more out there in the world that they could do that will make a positive impact. Teenagers have different reasons to join gangs depending on their life situation. Everyone in the “Greasers” in The Outsiders had different reasons to be part of the gang. “We were used to seeing Johnny banged up-

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Also ”gangs offer protection and governance in places where established institutions fail, and that it makes sense for prisoners to join them,” (Skarbek). This is the main reason people join gangs they are forced to in order to insure their safety. The reason the leaders of the gang allow people to join and keep the safe is explained here ”Gangs can trade far more effectively than lone inmates. Prisoners listen when they threaten violence; members can ease trade from the outside after their release. Consumers, in this case buyers of drugs, benefit too.

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In the city of Nashville, Tennessee juvenile violence and gang-related crimes continues to rise, and nearly fifty percent of gang members are under the age of eighteen (Sanders & Moore, n.d.). Furthermore, in 2005 gang prevalence became immediately apparent in Nashville, and in 2011 gang-related crimes increased by approximately twenty-five percent state wide (The Tennessean, 2012). Additionally, from 2005 to 2011 the entire state of Tennessee had a one hundred and ten percent spike in gang related incidents (The Tennessean, 2012). Gang-related incidents have become so significant in Nashville that the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department’s Specialized Investigations Division has developed a continuing initiative labeled Operation Safer

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Chicago has had its ups and downs in the cities violent history, but early 2016 to present has been an exception. Chicago increased in homicides by 59 percent in 2016 and it has only become worse since then with a 29 percent increase in just the first few months of 2017 (Asher, FiveThirtyEight.com; Ford, The Atlantic). It is obvious that something needs to be done, but so far there have not been any major changes made or drastic measures taken in order to improve Chicago’s current state of being. Right now, the three most predominant causes are Chicago’s Police, Chicago’s many gangs, and firearms, hand guns in particular. If the city wants to make any improvements whatsoever then it needs act decisively on gangs and guns, start using different

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This paper draws on existing sociological research in identifying a number of theories used in explaining the formation of gangs. The theories discussed are social structure theories, social conflict theory, and social process theories all of which highlight elements of strain in different forms as they relates to gang formation. According to Merton, (as cited in Schneider & Tilly, 2004) structural theories significantly emphasize the role of social and economic structures as the causes of delinquent behavior and tend to treat criminal behavior as the result of the undesirable and dysfunctional structures (P. 3.).

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Some teens become gang members because they feel a sense of belonging and protection. Therefore, the community should focus on building strong relationship and positive role-models. Other critics claim adult prison is not appropriate for juvenile offenders and should find better alternatives. Mooney, C. (2013). Teen Violence: Teenage Problems.

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For example, some of the gang members would do some things just to earn the respect of some other gang member. Some people do violence in order to impress their friends or feel a sense of love from them. Some people just join to be cool or to feel a sense of sense that they don't get at home. If you ask some gang members they will tell you that they never really want to cause violence but some things

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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.

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Youth violence in America Kimberly Grooms Liberty University February 3, 2018 Topic Sentence There has been rampant violence among the young men and women across all states in USA Thesis statement The increase in the violence among the youths has been associated with several changes in the social and the political formations. The formations encourage the youths to take strong stands against issues they do not love especially if they feel that they are victimized. Urgent actions should be taken to avert the rising crisis and enhance sanity amongst the youths.

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Weak family ties, single parent households, multiple transitions within a family, and poverty/financial stress are all potential influences for youths to join a gang (Howell & Egley, 2005). Family risk factors can also include parents refusing to give their children the proper education or lack of discipline at home (Howell & Egley, 2005). Family members that are in gangs can also influence their children to join a gang themselves (Herrenkohl et al. 2010; Lahey et al. 1999). Risk Factors Related to School. Thornberry et al.

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Most gangs are made up of young males that are of a similar background and have a desire of acquiring

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