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Preventing Gang Membership E. Fag 7-Mar-24 Objectives At the end of this lecture participants will be able to: Define the term gangs Discuss an overview of gang membership Describe some of the problems associated with gangs. Discuss strategies which can attempt to {a}manage {b} prevent gang developm...

Preventing Gang Membership E. Fag 7-Mar-24 Objectives At the end of this lecture participants will be able to: Define the term gangs Discuss an overview of gang membership Describe some of the problems associated with gangs. Discuss strategies which can attempt to {a}manage {b} prevent gang development Gang definition A gang is a social club for teenagers or young adults without a drive to contribute to society in a positive manner. Members often lack any sense of self-esteem, so seek out like minds and congregate in large groups. Scholastic vocabulary is limited so they communicate via cryptic hand signals. Gangs can be classified as a group of adolescents who are perceived to be a threat to society, are mostly recognized by their name and territorial power, and have been involved in numerous acts that violate criminal law procedures in North America. Structure of Gangs Gangs are typically defined as groups having the following characteristics: Formal organizational structure Identifiable leadership Identified territory Recurrent interaction involvement in serious or violent behavior In an effort to replace older adult gang members who are incarcerated, gangs often try to recruit youths. Youths often succumb to these efforts at early ages because of their vulnerability and susceptibility to recruitment tactics. Overview of Gang Membership Youth gang membership is a serious and persistent problem in many countries. For e.g., one in three of 2,500 local law enforcement agencies in the USA report youth gang problems in their jurisdictions. One in four high school freshmen report gangs in their schools. A large majority of youths who join gangs do so very young, between ages 11 and 15, and the peak ages for gang-joining are between 13 and 15 years old. According to James C. "Buddy" Howell, an adjunct researcher with the National Youth Gang Center in L.A. and an author on the subject of gangs. Each community needs to be aware of its own gang circumstances. Effects of Gangs on Society The consequences of gangs, and the burden they place on the law enforcement and health systems in communities are significant. Consider the impact of Violence. In the U.S., homicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults: it results in an average of 13 deaths every day among those ages 10-24. However, the number of violent deaths tells only part of the story: More than 700,000 young people are treated in U.S. emergency departments for assault-related injuries each year. Violence also erodes communities by reducing productivity, decreasing property values and disrupting social services. Now, consider the impact of gangs on violence and other crime. Youth involved in gangs are far more likely than youth not involved in gangs to be both victims and perpetrators of violence. In many U.S. communities, gang members (including youth and adult members of street, Outlaw motorcycle and prison gangs) are responsible for more than half of the violent crimes and, in some jurisdictions, gang members are responsible for 90 percent of violent crimes. The consequences of youth gang membership extend beyond the risk for crime and violence. Gang involved youths are more likely to engage in Substance abuse and high-risk sexual behavior and to experience a wide range of potentially long-term health and social consequences, including school dropout, teen parenthood, family problems and unstable employment. Possible Causes of Gangs Development Decker and Van Winkle (1996) view joining youth gangs as consisting of both pull and push factors. Pull factors pertain to the attractiveness of the gang. Gang membership can enhance prestige or status among friends, especially girls (for boys) and provide opportunities to be with them. Gangs provide other attractive opportunities such as the chance for excitement by selling drugs and making money. Thus, many youth see themselves as making a rational choice in deciding to join a gang: They see personal advantages to gang membership Social, economic, and cultural forces push adolescents in the direction of gangs. many Protection from other gangs and perceived general well-being are key factors As noted above, some researchers contend that the "underclass" status of minority youth serves to push them into gangs. Feeling marginal, adolescents join gangs for social relationships that give them a sense of identity. For some youth, gangs provide a way of solving social adjustment problems, particularly the trials and tribulations of adolescence. In some communities, youths are intensively recruited or coerced into gangs, they seemingly have no choice. A few are virtually born into gangs as a result of neighborhood traditions and their parents' earlier (and perhaps continuing) gang participation or involvement in criminal activity. Risk Factors for Youth Gang Membership Domain: Community- Risk Factors Social disorganization, including poverty and residential mobility. Underclass communities, Presence of gangs in the neighborhood. Availability of drugs in the neighborhood. Availability of firearms Lack of social capital Short, Cultural norms supporting gang behavior Feeling unsafe in neighborhood; high crime Conflict with social control institutions Family Family disorganization, including broken homes and parental drug and or alcohol abuse Troubled families, including incest, family violence, and drug addiction. Family members in a gang Lack of adult male role models Lack of parental role models Low socioeconomic status Extreme economic deprivation, family management problems, parents with violent attitudes, sibling antisocial behavior School: Academic failure Low educational aspirations, especially among females Negative labeling by teachers Trouble at school Educational frustration Low commitment to school, low school attachment, high levels of antisocial behavior in school, low achievement test scores, and identification as being learning disabled Peer Group: High commitment to delinquent peers Low commitment to positive peers Gang members in class Friends who use drugs or who are gang members Friends who are drug distributors Interaction with delinquent peers Individual: prior delinquency Street smartness; toughness Defiant and individualistic character Fatalistic view of the world Proclivity for excitement and trouble Locura (acting in a daring, courageous, and especially crazy fashion in the face of adversity). Higher levels of normlessness in the context of family, peer group, and school. Social disabilities Illegal gun ownership Early or precocious sexual activity, especially among females Alcohol and drug use Drug trafficking Desire for group rewards such as status, identity, self-esteem, companionship, and protection. Strategies for Management & Prevention Problem behaviors, hyperactivity, externalizing behaviors, drinking, lack of refusal skills, and early sexual activity Mental health professionals should be placed in schools to immediately identify children needing services and deliver or coordinate them. Aggressive and antisocial behavior during childhood is a risk factor for more serious crime, violence and gang involvement later in life: age of onset (earlier) is related to the severity of involvement Effective parenting and strong family functioning that include warm affective bonds, high monitoring and consistent discipline are protective against a variety of antisocial and problem behaviors, including involvement with delinquent peers and subsequent likelihood of gang membership and violence. Family-focused strategies prevent gang involvement by targeting important underlying risks for gang membership. Particularly for families living in high-risk neighborhoods, programs that help to build networks of social support and foster family-community ties can provide an additional protective factor to support healthy development and prevent youth involvement in gang and other types of violence. Early-childhood prevention programs, including those focused on pregnant mothers and families of young children, are currently among the most promising evidence-based prevention approaches. Practitioners, policymakers, and prevention scientists need to coordinate efforts for "scaling up" and disseminating evidence- based, family-focused programs. Increasing both the science and the use of evidence- based interventions will have a significant impact on the lives of children, families and communities. To prevent youth from joining gangs, communities must employ Multiple strategies and services, including: Addressing elevated risk factors for joining a gang. Strengthening families. Reducing youth's conflicts. Improving community-level supervision of youth. Providing training for teachers on how to manage disruptive students. Providing training for parents of disruptive and delinquent youth. Reviewing and softening school, "zero tolerance" policies to reduce suspensions and expulsions. Providing a center for youth recreation and referrals for services. Providing gang awareness training for school personnel, parents, and students. Teaching students that gangs can be dangerous. Providing training for school resource officers in mediating conflicts. A balance of prevention, intervention, and suppression strategies is important for success in any community. Prevention programs target youth at risk of gang involvement and help reduce the number of youths who join gangs. Ensuring that punitive sanctions target delinquent gang behaviors, not gang apparel, signs, and symbols. Providing tutoring for students who are performing poorly in school. Increasing adult supervision of students after school. Intervention programs and strategies provide sanctions and services for younger youth who are actively involved in gangs to push them away from gangs. Law enforcement suppression strategies and intensive services target and rehabilitate the most violent gangs and older, criminally active gang members.