Gangs have always been part of
society. For as far back as Huckleberry Finn’s gang, society have ambivalently
tolerated and accepted gangs as part of the society. Social scientists have
debated as to the exact definition of gangs and so it has come to practice to
identify gangs by their characteristics and not by exact definition. Stereotypically
gangs tend to be exclusively racial and ethnical; and around 90% of gang
members are male (Burnett & Walz. 1995). Gang activities differ from gang
to gang and most of their activities are confined to their own locality.
However there have been some great changes in gang activities and confinement
over the recent years. For instance the Blood and Crips of Los Angeles now have
members from across the country.
The changes in gangs in the last
couple of years have created great impact on schools despite the fact that only
few number of young people, less than 10% in fact, join gangs and that less
than 2% of juvenile crimes are gang related (Burnett & Walz, 1995). The
impacts of gangs are nevertheless quite tremendous. Primarily, the widespread
violence in schools and the risk of suffering from violence in school are
attributed to gang presence in such schools.
Gang activities have also evolved
into a more complex and organized ones. Today serious crimes, from drug
trafficking to weapons trafficking, have become part of gang activities. These
they bring into the schools and into the community. California Attorney General
Bill Lockyer wrote, in his community response article on gangs that according
to the Los Angeles Police Department, last year, an 11% increase killings are
principally attributed to street and school gang violence (Lockyer, Bill,
2007). The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that schools with gangs are
more likely to have drugs available on school than those without the presence
of gangs (Burnett & Walz, 1995). Gang members have also made the schools as
their “turf” and not as an institution of learning.
Poverty is another factor in gang
membership and propagation. A youth living in poverty may have a feeling of
hopelessness stemming from the inability to meet basic physical and social
needs. This may then result into lack of self worth; which in turn the gang may
offer. Moreover gangs doing illegal activities, such as drug trafficking can
also provide cash for the needy youth and his family (Lees, Mary H., Dean, Mary
& Parker, Louise, n.d).
In formulating a gang control model it
is vital to take these important facts into considerations. It is quite obvious
that gangs have great impact on the schools and the society. It is also quite
evident that one of its root causes, especially those gangs involved in illegal
activities, is poverty. Generally gang evolution can then be traced as: born
from poverty, propagates in the schools and spills over the community; or in
some cases propagates in the community and spills over in the schools.
Nevertheless, these are the basic things to consider in creating an effective
model for gang control.
Since poverty is the root cause of
the problem, it is important to consider that children growing up in
impoverished communities see that the way to attain wealth is by doing illegal
activities. This is quite logical since their parents and neighbors often
worked on dead end, unrewarding jobs and those who prosper are those involved
in illegal activities. At a very young age, these children see gangs as a
profitable career alternative. Creating effective social program is an option
that is vital for this control model.
Since school is the breeding ground
or where gang spills over, the school must create a strategy that can address
the socio-psychological reasons why children join gangs. Education plays an
important part in gang membership. Educational programs that can uplift low
self esteem in children must be created. These may be in the form of sports
activities, school organized community project or school sponsored volunteer
works. Programs must also specifically target vulnerable students, not just the
gang members. School staff must be well informed and active in the programs.
Parent involvement must be encouraged. If possible the school must go find
jobs, by soliciting support from local organizations and businesses, for the
students in financial difficulties.
As
for gangs in the community, suppression plays an important part. According to
the Federal Bureau of Prisons report, gang membership increases one’s
likelihood of ending up in prison (Gangs, 2007). The local community must create programs for suppressing gang
activities. This may include soliciting more support from local police
authorities or conducting community patrol. This may also include educating
members of the community on recognizing gang activities and encouraging
everyone to report on seeing such activities.
In
creating a gang control model for state and local jurisdiction certain action
areas must be addressed (Gang Suppression, 1994). First is assessing the
problem. The presence of gangs in the schools and the community must be
established. Formulation of what are considered as gang problems must be
defined. “Sitting tight” or simply denying or ignoring the presence and threat
of gangs in the school would create more problems for the school and the
students. The gangs of today thrive on anonymity since this enables them to
operate in illegal activities, such as selling of drugs in the school premise
(Denial versus, n.d). The initial response of most schools, in trying to
preserve their images, is denial. However the longer the school denies the problem
the more ingrained the problem becomes. However it is also important to
understand not to overstate the problem because this will only give the gangs
more credit which elevates their status and notoriety in the school. Second is
the organization and policy development. Here the community must organize
itself to fight gang problem. The community must create committees that will
establish law enforcement, employment, rehabilitation strategies. Local
policies must be created and implemented. Here the state can address the issue
of poverty. State legislation may create job opportunities for the youth and
more career advancement opportunities for poor families. Third is the creation
of relevant programs. Specific programs such as targeting, arresting and incarcerating
of gang leaders and repeated offenders (Gang Suppression, 1994). Here specific
school designed programs can then be established. School programs may involve
local enforcements for suppressing crimes or local organizations which can give
these children rewarding part time after school jobs. Fourth is community
involvement. The community must be mobilized in such a way that schools,
parent, criminal justice agencies, local organizations get involved in policy
and program implementation. This is the actual implementation of all the
relevant programs. Fifth is proper staffing. The committee should have enough
staff which will work on all the aspects of gang problems. Staff should be well
trained in identifying gang activities and in doing proper intervention. Last
is funding. The community mobilization program must have the proper funding in
order for it to work.
In
conclusion, to be able to formulate effective suppression model it is important
to focus on not just one option of program. Gang community problem and should
be approached with both social and educational programs. At the same time
current violent activities should be addressed with effective suppression
programs.
Works
Cited
Retrieved 10 August 2007 from
http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/dt/V144/N01/04-poverty.01v.html
Burnett, Gary - Walz, Garry. 1995. Gangs in The
School. ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban
Education New York NY.| Retrieved
10 August 2007 from
http://www.ericdigests.org/1995-1/gangs.htm
Denial Versus Acknowledging Gangs,
n.d.
Retrieved 10
August 2007 from
Gangs. 2007. National Criminal
Justice Reference Service. Department of Justice
Retrieved 10
August 2007 from
http://www.ncjrs.gov/spotlight/gangs/Summary.html
Gang Suppression and Intervention:
Community Models. 1994. Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency
Prevention. Retrieved 10 August 2007 from
Lees, Mary H., Dean, Mary &
Parker, Louise. n.d. Why Do Young People Join Gangs? Focus
AS. Retrieved 10
August 2007 from
Lockyer, Bill. 2007. Gangs A
Community Response. California Attorney General’s Crime and
Prevention Center.
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