The Future of Youth Gangs

            The future of youth gangs seems continuous without an immediate end in sight, especially in impoverished areas since they have to worry about potential harm and injuries because of gang presence being forced to use aggression to fend off future violence. Often times when family members promote negative norms that the youth views as valid, results in them growing up accepting false and hazardous norms, causing the perpetuation of violent crimes in a community, which can lead to false ideologies being passed down from generation to generation. Many times the lack of motivation for the youth to aspire to do something positive in their life and continue going to school is missing, because of that consequently kids do not aim high with their life goals and settle for anything that is handed to them. When gangs exist in a community, they can seriously impact anything and everything especially neighborhoods, using them as recruitment centers and claiming some areas as gang territory. As a result of the gang presence, belonging to a gang at times is a type of self-protection employed by the youth in response to threatening environments and communities, resulting in and endless gang cycle without an end in sight.

Responses by the government to combat this problem have proven ineffective. Although law enforcement agencies have created tasks forces and other countermeasures to alleviate the gang problem, since each gang operates autonomously few prevention and intervention techniques have worked across the board. The California Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention Program (Gov.CA. Gov, 2011), which treats violent gang members like High-Risk Sex Offenders. High risk gang parolees are subject to special parole conditions that limit their ability to recruit children into gangs and limit their access to areas that have a strong gain presence. Offenders convicted of gang-related offenses will be evaluated for High Risk Gang Offenders (HRGO) status prior to release. Local law enforcement will be notified before High Risk Gang Offenders are released into their neighborhood in the same manner they receive notice of high risk sex offenders (Gov.CA.Gov, 2011). Program such as these are expected to aid in the eradication of gangs, and their violence. With all these measures in place, gangs, and the violence gangs cause continue to plague communities.

            It is important to recognize the community factors that contribute towards a culture of violence that range from: housing, the media, and educational system. Most of these at-risk youths grew up living in urban areas with high poverty and crime rates, because of this type of environment the youth frequently interact and are around violence which contributes to their negative behavior. These youths begin to adapt this violent behavior since they see it as a norm in their everyday life. They are surrounded by this type of environment and do not have other outlets around them that will teach them “acceptable behavior,” so they continue to act in unacceptable ways and internalize it as acceptable behavior which will eventually be taught to their kids. “Local street gangs, or neighborhood-based street gangs, remain a significant threat because they continue to account for the largest number of gangs nationwide. Most engage in violence in conjunction with a variety of crimes, including retail-level drug distribution” (National). Recognizing and accepting that the great majority of youths who join gangs most often than not come from low income communities can help to pinpoint the problem areas that would need the most help to try and reduce gang violence as well as gang membership and try to stop this cycle from repeating itself.

The future of youth gangs seems continuous without an immediate end in sight. Gangs have existed for hundreds of years, and will continue to exist in one form or another unless we dedicate the time and money that is really required to try and stop them. In order to ensure that the violence and negative aspects of gangs diminishes, we must focus on preventative measures and ensure that the youth stay away from gangs and help them aspire to do something big in their life and have high expectations for themselves. Stopping youth gangs and violence is not going to be an easy or quick task to do, but it is one that we must take very seriously if we wish to reduce the violence in America and ensure that the future generation grows up to be something big and make a difference in this world.

Sources:

Office of the Governor. Retrieved April 24, 2011 from www.gov.ca.gov

"National Gang Threat Assessment 2009." United States Department of Justice. Jan.2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2011.<http://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs32/32146/index.htm>.

Teenage Influences

            This world seems to be influenced and persuaded so much by what we see and hear on television that it leads us to act and behave in certain ways, especially the young and naïve teenagers of America. The future generation of this world is surrounded and bombarded by so much violence, that they are not only witnessing it in their community but in many cases  these acts are being perpetuated in the media such as movies, television shows, music videos, the news and even video games. Portrayed in today’s youth, we see how they tend to assimilate certain cultures and behaviors that they see on television. For example, certain hairstyles, clothing, and demeanors are directly drawn from the media. It is evident that teenage trends change very frequently with today’s society and can be said to be extremely influenced by what they see and hear in the media. Currently we see young males wearing Mohawks, skinny jeans, and colorful outfits; compared to the baggier outfits that were the trend years ago. If the media is strong enough to change physical trends for youths, than we can believe mental viewpoint will be altered as well, especially when violence is often a norm in today’s society and the media.

            American children watch an average of fours hours of television daily.  Television can be a powerful influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior.  Unfortunately, much of today's television programming is violent.  Hundreds of studies of the effects of TV violence on children and teenagers have found that children may:

• become "immune" or numb to the horror of violence
• gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems
• imitate the violence they observe on television; and
• identify with certain characters, victims and/or victimizers (1)

            The media tends to romanticize violence through the actions of media icons that make violence seem exciting and acceptable. For example, musicians talk about selling drugs, and killing people, and these youths do not realizing the illegalities of these actions and tend to mimic these actions because it worked for their “successful,” icons. Furthermore, the adventurous life style that is depicted on television could definitely be enticing for youths as well. Youths see repeatedly how gang members in movies are successfully evading police, and earn a lot of money, and eventually buy big houses, cars, which these youths start to believe that individual cases like these happen to all involved in this type of world. On television, they often see gang members going to jail, and coming out better off than they were before. These images are permanently embedded in a youth’s impressionable mind which influences them to focus on the romantic versions of these stories and disregard the painful truth. 

            Furthermore, often times family member are also a huge contributing factor for why a youth turns to a life of crime and violence. At the family level, it is important to recognize the dynamics, specifically parenting techniques, as it relates to violence. Family discipline practices, whether it is physical or verbal, is a major factor that contributes to a youth’s violent behavior. In some homes, physical abuse such as “Spanking,” is utilized to discipline children. This form of discipline is suppose to teach the child that they shouldn’t be doing certain things and that they should change their behavior or else there are consequences they must face. The problem with this form of discipline is that it sends a hidden message to the child which informs them that it is acceptable to engage in physical force in order to promote change. Research evidence has suggested that youth who have been physically abused are more likely to commit a violent crime later on in their life (Widom). Besides physical abuse, verbal abuse can also have a negative effect on the youth. A child that is constantly told that he/she is “bad,” or “not good enough,” will eventually begin to believe it. This mentality can take a toll on the youth which deteriorates self esteem and can also lead to violent behavior. It is crucial that parents interact with their children in a positive manner and are aware of their actions. 

            The disconnection experienced by the child/teen in the household is a major reason for youths to associate themselves with gangs. One of the main reasons for gang membership is the lack of parental guidance. These youths, living in broken families and bad neighborhoods, feel the need to find their own family closeness and protection since they can’t get it from their real family. The conflicts within the household are stressful for the youth, and it also creates a lack of family support that they receive from the gangs.  Some youths actually feel a stronger sense of belonging with their gang than with their real family. Their gang membership not only provides them with acceptance and support, but people to turn to when they feel threatened. Using gangs as a way to feel comfort and support, these youths end up getting stuck in this lifestyle which explains the gang’s influence on the violent behavior by the youth. 

References

"Children and TV Violence." American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.           Web. 5 Apr. 2011. <http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/children_and       _tv_violence>.

Widom, Cathy S. "Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse." National Criminal Justice           Reference Service. Web. 3 Apr. 2011. <http://www.ncjrs.gov/txtfiles/abuse.txt>.

Teen Drug Use

             

When it comes to drug use among teenagers education plays a huge factor, the more education one has the less likely one will use drugs like: cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana which are known to be gateway substances. Not all drugs are good or bad per se, but using drugs is not a victimless crime. For the most part people start using drugs at a very young age whether it is due to peer pressure or dissatisfaction with life, the truth is most people have at least tried a drug once in their life time. Too many Americans drugs are considered to be a threat to public safety and believe it has a negative impact on U.S. society. Numerous believe drugs are not a victimless crime and those who disagree are just closed minded and are unaware of the impact that drugs have on our youth. 

            As our future generation continues to grow and adapt to the new ways of life our youths are introduced to drugs at a much younger age, therefore the number of teenagers who have tried drugs has skyrocketed in recent years. “According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2009, 16.7 million Americans aged 12 or older used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed, an increase over the rates reported in all years between 2002 and 2008. There was also a significant increase among youth aged 12-17, with current use up from 6.7 percent in 2008 to 7.3 percent in 2009, although this rate is lower than what was reported in 2002 (8.2 percent)” (1). Unfortunately many teens that use drugs feel indestructible and immune while on drugs especially when it comes to any negative health affects or accidents that may occur. Teenagers are beginning to believe that drugs like marijuana are harmless and will not affect them in the long run when in reality drugs like marijuana will lead them to other drugs and eventually crime. “While some teens will experiment and stop, or continue to use occasionally, without significant problems.  Others will develop a dependency, moving on to more dangerous drugs and causing significant harm to themselves and possibly others. It is difficult to know which teens will experiment and stop and which will develop serious problems. Teenagers at risk for developing serious alcohol and drug problems include those:

• with a family history of substance abuse
• who are depressed
• who have low self-esteem, and
• who feel like they don't fit in or are out of the mainstream” (3)

            When the number of teens increases in the streets the odds they will be around drugs and gangs are much higher, especially if they are hanging out with the wrong crowd. There are millions of crimes that happen each year because of youth drugs and violence. “In 2007, law enforcement agencies in the United States made an estimated 2.18 million arrest’s of persons under age 18. Overall, there were 2% fewer juvenile arrest in 2007 than in 2006, and juvenile violent crime arrest declined 3%, reversing a recent upward trend” (2). It is unfortunate that the number of teens who have tried marijuana at least once has increased from previous years. According to the chart below in 2009 an outstanding 42% of 12^th graders have tried marijuana at least once in their lifetime.

Marijuana Use by Students - 2009 Monitoring the Future Survey

8th Grade 10th Grade 12th Grade Lifetime 15.7% 32.3% 42.0% Past Year 11.8 26.7 32.8 Past Month 6.5 15.9 20.6 Daily 1.0 2.8 5.2

Percentage of 8th-Graders Who Have Used Marijuana:

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Lifetime 19.9% 23.1% 22.6% 22.2% 22.0% 20.3%  20.4% Past Year 15.8 18.3 17.7 16.9 16.5 15.6 15.4 Past Month 9.1 11.3 10.2 9.7 9.7 9.1 9.2 Daily 0.8 1.5 1.1 1.1 1.4 1.3 1.3

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Lifetime 19.2% 17.5% 16.3% 16.5% 15.7% 14.2% 14.6% Past Year 14.6 12.8 11.8 12.2 11.7 10.3 10.9 Past Month 8.3 7.5 6.4 6.6 6.5 5.7 5.8 Daily 1.2 1.0 0.8 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.9

Percentage of 10th-Graders Who Have Used Marijuana:

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Lifetime 34.1% 39.8% 42.3% 39.6%  40.9% 40.3% 40.1% Past Year 28.7 33.6 34.8 31.1  32.1 32.2 32.7 Past Month 17.2 20.4 20.5 18.7 19.4 19.7 19.8 Daily 2.8 3.5 3.7 3.6  3.8 3.8 4.5

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Lifetime 38.7% 36.4% 35.1% 34.1% 31.8% 31.0% 29.9% Past Year 30.3 28.2 27.5 26.6 25.2 24.6 23.9 Past Month 17.8 17.0 15.9 15.2 14.2 14.2 13.8 Daily 3.9 3.6 3.2 3.1 2.8 2.8 2.7

Percentage of 12th-Graders Who Have Used Marijuana

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Lifetime 41.7% 44.9% 49.6% 49.1% 49.7% 48.8% 49.0% Past Year 34.7 35.8 38.5 37.5 37.8 36.5 37.0 Past Month 21.2 21.9 23.7 22.8 23.1 21.6 22.4 Daily 4.6 4.9 5.8 5.6 6.0 6.0 5.8

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Lifetime 47.8% 46.1% 45.7% 44.8% 42.3% 41.8% 42.6% Past Year 36.2 34.9 34.3 33.6 31.5 31.7 32.4 Past Month 21.5 21.2 19.9 19.8 18.3 18.8 19.4 Daily 6.0 6.0 5.6 5.0 5.0 5.1 5.4

            Understanding that drugs play a huge role in today’s society is crucial, the sooner we recognize and admit the problem the sooner we can reach out to our new generation and help them live a drug free life. In order to help bring down youth drug use and crime we must crack down on drug dealers, set up more neighborhood watches, create more after school programs, teach kids about gangs and drugs and set up more youth programs. Drugs are a threat to public safety and have a negative impact on U.S society and those who say drugs are a victimless crime are just plain ignorant, simply using drugs for recreational purposes in itself is a crime.

Sources:

"Marijuana - InfoFacts - NIDA." National Institute on Drug Abuse. Nov. 2010. Web. 5 Mar. 2011. <http://www.drugabuse.gov/Infofacts/marijuana.html>.

Puzzanchera, Charles. "Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention." Juvenile Arrests, 2007. Web. 12. Print.

"Teens: Alcohol And Other Drugs." American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. May 2008. Web. 6 Mar. 2011. <http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=Teens:

Alcohol and Other Drugs&section=Facts for Families>.

Teen Gangs

For years the United States of America ranked as one of the top countries with the highest crime rate around, many would argue that it was due to the increase of gangs. Gangs have expanded so rapidly and are considered to be much more dangerous and violent now then ever before. As reported in the latest National Youth Gang Survey, “Some 788,000 gang members and 27,000 gangs were active in more than 3,550 U.S. jurisdictions in 2007. As most gang members join between the ages of 12 and 15, prevention is a critical strategy within a comprehensive response to gangs that includes intervention, suppression and reentry". With our population steadily increasing every year, there is a demand for more programs that help the youth stay out of the life of gang’s and violence.

Generally the youth is so naive and easily persuaded that in many cases if the young men and women are simply around gang members or engage in delinquent behavior that is sometimes enough  to make them want to join a gang and live a lifestyle full of criminal activity. It is crucial to engage the youth in positive activities as much as possible since they tend to get in trouble and hang out with the wrong crowd when they have nothing better to do. Statistics show that peak hours for youth crime in California are during the hours of 2PM-6PM. Crime and drug use by youths is increased during these hours because of the lack of adult supervision. Since most guardians are at work during these hours, there is no way to regulate their children; thus leaving these children stranded in the community where they pick up bad habits and waste their time with the wrong crowd (fightcrime.org).

However, the youth join gangs for many different reasons. Some join gangs for respect, others for protection, some for money, and many simply because they know a friend in a gang. “A common public perception is that most youth are coerced into joining a gang. Quite to the contrary, most youth who join want to belong to a gang. Gangs are often at the center of appealing social action— parties, hanging out, music, drugs, and opportunities to socialize with members of the opposite sex. The gang may be appealing because it meets a youth’s social needs” (Howell). Regardless of what the youth’s reason for joining a gang is, a huge factor is due to parenting. When parents do not have structure in their home and let their kids do as they please without disciplining them for any bad action often those are the kids that tend to join gangs and turn to a life of crime and violence. Also when parents never show their kids love or if the kids feels that no one genuinely cares for them that tends to lead them into seeking that love somewhere else.

            Despite the number of gang members being extremely high, America needs to invest more time and money on our youth instead of prisoners and prisons. We should not wait for our young men and women to get to prison to try to help them out; we should be more proactive instead of being reactive. It is inevitable youth gangs and violence will always be around, but because most youth gang members join between the age of 12 and 15 we need to focus more on preventative strategies and try to help them stay out of the life of gangs and violence to help this world be a better place for everyone.

Sources:

"California Leads the Nation in After-School Investment | FightCrime.org." FightCrime.org | 5,000 Police Chiefs, Sheriffs, Prosecutors, and Violence Survivors Preventing Crime and Violence. 11 Mar. 2010. 

Web. 12 Feb. 2011. <http://www.fightcrime.org/page/californias-after-school-commitment-full-release>.

"Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative." Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Web. 14 Feb. 2011. <http://www.ojjdp.gov/programs/antigang/index.html>. 

Howell, James C. "Gang Prevention." Juvenile Justice. U.S. Department of Justice, Dec. 2010. Web. 19 Feb. 2011. <http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/231116.pdf>.