History of Gangs, Risk Factors, Statistics, Indicators, Reducing Gang Activity
in schools
By: Caroline L Hilk . Michael C Mensink
Historically, a gang has been defined as any collection of individuals who engage in illegal activities. While this broad definition has served its purpose within a historical context, the definition of a gang within the context of the twenty-first century has changed, and now necessitates greater specificity.
While many other types of gangs exist, such as outlaw motorcycle gangs and
prison gangs, of specific concern to those who work in
the field of education are youth gangs.
Youth gangs are defined by the following characteristics:
A
self-formed group
of three or more members united by mutual interests; using symbols to communicate; and
collectively involved in crime and in control of a particular facility, territory, or enterprise. While typically
comprised of juveniles or young adults, youth gangs may often be associated with adult gangs in the same area.
History of modern gangs
The
history of modern gangs can be traced back to the late 1960s, during the civil rights movement,
when drug culture was increasing in the United States
(U.S.). During the 1960s, groups such as the Crips
were formed by African American
youth within the city of Los Angeles
to protect their neighborhoods from racial violence. Although the group formed
with the intention of
working toward political change, by the mid-1970s the Crips had become a criminal organization that
committed robberies, sold drugs, and performed other
illegal activities. A rival gang called the Bloods
formed to challenge the Crips’
activities around Los Angeles during this
period. Many other gangs were also formed during this time, usually located in
impoverished neighborhoods within large cities.
During
the late 1980s, other cities
within the U.S. began to see an influx of gang activity due to both the expansion of Los Angeles
based gangs into other parts of
the country, and their emulation by other disenfranchised youth living in
impoverished neighborhoods.
Throughout
the 1990s, gangs such as
the Bloods and Crips continued to expand, gaining representation across multiple states and cities. Gang
culture also became glorified during this time period
due to the increased visibility of gang lifestyles
presented favorably in popular music
and media.
Risk Factors
Risk
factors that are predictive of gang membership are also highly correlated with delinquent
behaviors such as violence and/or drug and
alcohol abuse. These risk factors include a lack of economic opportunities and
social acceptance, availability of
drugs and weapons, and neighborhood
disorganization.
A
family history of drug
abuse, gang involvement, violence, and low socioeconomic status are also risk
factors for gang involvement and criminal delinquency.
In
addition, youth who are
struggling in school and have low academic aspirations are often drawn to the opportunities
that can be created by gang membership.
Negative labeling by teachers,
administrators, or parents can also lead youth at-risk to build alliances with
gang members.
Socially marginalized individuals may view
gangs as a safe haven in which they can
develop a sense of identity.
Individual
characteristics that often coincide with gang involvement include early use of
marijuana and/or alcohol, early sexual
behavior, or externalizing behaviors such as aggression and hostility toward
others.
The
more risk factors to which an individual is exposed, the more likely are his or her
chances of joining a gang.
Gang Statistics
Estimates
based on the results of the 2004 National Youth Gang Survey conducted by the
National Youth Gang
Center and the U.S. Department of Justice indicate that approximately 24,000
gangs and 760,000 gang members
are active across the U.S. within cities that have a population of 2,500 or more.
Since
1999, law enforcement
agencies have reported largely static rates of gang activity, with 79.8% of the law enforcement
agencies (from cities with more than 50,000 residents)
reporting some degree of gang activity during 2002–2004.
Twenty-eight percent of law enforcement agencies from smaller cities with populations from 2,500 to
49,999 also reported some degree of gang activity
during 2002–2004.
Most
of those affiliated with gangs are male, with only 6% of gang populations being female, as
reported in the 2000 National
Youth Gang Survey. Males also hold more primary roles in gangs, as
indicated by the 2004 National Youth Gang Survey that found females typically perform
assisting roles within criminal
youth gangs.
The
most common criminal activity of gangs is selling drugs. For this reason, many
gangs are associated with
organized criminal organizations for the purpose of drug trafficking and distribution. Individual gang
members are also often involved in a variety of other criminal activities such as vandalism, firearms possession,
assault, theft, drug distribution, and homicide.
Indicators
Maintaining
a sense of group identity is crucial to the cohesiveness of a gang, and as a
result many gangs adopt a set of symbols,
signs, colors, and styles of dress
that distinguish them from others.
Baseball
caps worn
to one side are sometimes a sign of gang loyalty. Jerseys and handkerchiefs, typically with specific
sports team logos or in particular
color schemes, may be worn by
gang members to show affiliation with a certain gang. Some gangs adopt identifying symbols that may
be drawn on notebooks and clothing or appear on
tattoos or in graffiti.
Although
any of these characteristics alone should not be considered as necessarily indicative of gang involvement,
multiple warning signs appearing in
combination should be viewed as potential
indicators of gang affiliation.
Youth
who become involved in gang activity may become more secretive about their money, friends, and
activities. Money from unexplained sources, friends
whom parents are not allowed to meet, or a drop in
school achievement may be warning signs of gang
membership.
Youth
who have frequent negative contact with law enforcement are especially at risk and should
receive some form of intervention,
as involvement in criminal activity
is the largest predictor of gang membership.
Reducing Gang Activity
A
disturbing trend within communities that face increasing gang activity is the
tendency to deny the existence
of a gang problem. The 2005 National Gang Threat Assessment notes that
gang denial and a lack of community response may be the greatest contributing
factors to increasing gang activity.
For
neighborhoods and
schools looking to address potential gang issues, community members must first acknowledge gang
activity as a problem. Potential interventions must be
evaluated, and a course of action then initiated in
conjunction with the school, community, and law
enforcement officers.
Research
suggests that a multi-faceted approach is most effective in reducing gang presence in a
community. A balance of prevention,
intervention and suppression is advocated by gang researchers. Prevention often takes
the form of community and parent
involvement, law enforcement programs for elementary students, and social and
extracurricular activities.
Parents,
school officials, and law
enforcement personnel can facilitate interventions by working to encourage and assist gang members who
wish to sever their affiliation with a gang.
Suppressing gang activity must be
carried out by law enforcement officers,
who target and prosecute high-level gang members to weaken overall gang
structure and presence within a
community.
However,
the role of school staff in reducing gang activity within a community should not be
overlooked. It is important for school personnel to monitor known gang members or affiliates who may be
interacting with students. Youth who may be pulled to become involved with a gang should be discouraged
from pursuing relationships with known gang members,
especially during their elementary and middle school years. Teachers, counselors and administrators should
be able to recognize graffiti, signs, and slang that
are related to gangs in the area. Schools
can be instrumental in
providing youth with positive social alternatives to joining gangs, such as sports teams and other
extracurricular programs.
Recognition
of indicators can
support prevention of gang membership starting as early as elementary school. Supportive teachers or school
staff may provide a critical link during interventions
with young gang members.
Suggested Reading
Egley,
A., Jr. & Ritz, C. E. (2006). Highlights of the 2004 national youth gang survey (OJJDP
Publication No. FS-200601).Peterson,
D., & Esbensen, F. (2004). The outlook is G.R.E.A.T.: What educators say about school-based
prevention and the Gang Resistance
Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program. Evaluation
Review, 28(3), 218–245.
Suggested Resources
Gang
Resistance, Education, and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) prevention program—http://www.great-online.org/:
The G.R.E.A.T. Program is a school-based, law enforcement officer-instructed
classroom curriculum. The program’s primary objective
is prevention and is intended as an
immunization against delinquency, youth violence, and gang membership.
National
Youth Gang Center (NYGC)—http://www.iir.com/nygc/: The purpose of the NYGC is to
assist policymakers, practitioners, and
researchers in their efforts to reduce youth gang involvement and crime by
contributing information, resources, practical tools, and expertise toward the
development and implementation of effective
gang prevention, intervention, and
suppression strategies.
References
C.
S. Clauss-Ehlers (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Cross-Cultural School
Psychology, DOI 10.1007/978-0-387-71799-9, Springer
Science+Business Media LLC 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment