Table of Contents
What role do gangs play?
Gangs are involved in all areas of street-crime activities like extortion, drug trafficking, both in and outside the prison system, and theft. Gangs also victimize individuals by robbery and kidnapping. Often, gangs hire “lookouts” to warn members of upcoming law enforcement.
Why is it important to learn about gangs?
Gang-involved youth are more likely to: Engage in substance abuse and high-risk sexual behavior. Experience a wide range of potentially long-term health and social consequences, including school dropout, teen parenthood, family problems and unstable employment.
What needs do gangs fulfill in our society?
Gangs provide social cohesion and status, two functions typically fulfilled by a functioning family. As gangs proliferate and last longer, gang members become parents and raise children who are at risk for gang membership.
How are gangs a threat to society?
Large, nationally affiliated street gangs pose the greatest threat because they smuggle, produce, transport, and distribute large quantities of illicit drugs throughout the country and are extremely violent. Local street gangs in rural, suburban, and urban areas pose a low but growing threat.
Gangs as a Social Problem. Gangs are a social problem because of the violence they cause in communities and because of the deleterious effects of gang membership upon its members. At the aggregate level, gangs commit more violence and more serious violence than other delinquent youthful groups.
Why do youth get involved in gangs?
For teens, recruitment into gangs is a complex issue, with every member joining for their own reasons. Gangs can provide a sense of security or belonging for some, a social community for others or access to drugs and alcohol.
What are some of the theories and perspectives explaining the reasons for the existence of gangs?
THEORIES OF GANG DEVELOPMENT
- Social Disorganization Theory.
- Strain Theory.
- Subculture Theory.
- Labelling Theory.
- Underclass Theory.
- Control Theory.
- Differential Association Theory.
- Social Learning Theory.
Why is gangs a social issue?
How do gangs affect the youth?
Consequences of gang membership may include exposure to drugs and alcohol, age-inappropriate sexual behavior, difficulty finding a job because of lack of education and work skills, removal from ones family, imprisonment and even death.
When did gangs become a problem?
The earliest American street gangs emerged at the end of the American Revolutionary War in the early 1780s. However, these early street gangs had questionable legitimacy, and more serious gangs did not form until at least the early 1800s.