What is the best way to handle the problems of gangs?

What is the best way to handle the problems of gangs?

Contact government agencies such as your local law enforcement agency or juvenile authority. They may have a crime prevention or gang specialist who can give you valuable guidance. The Los Angeles Police Department has a number of programs which may be of assistance to families dealing with gang affiliated youths.

What is the problem with gangs?

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.

How do you avoid joining gangs?

In the meantime, to prevent youth from joining gangs, communities must employ multiple strategies and services, including:

1. Addressing elevated risk factors for joining a gang.
2. Strengthening families.
3. Reducing youth’s conflicts.
4. Improving community-level supervision of youth.

Why do boys want to be gangsters?

Many kids opt to join a gang in search of a way to obtain a certain level of status and authority. They perceive gang membership as being a way to elevate their status within a group, and see this as a way to gain respect and as a way to be more highly esteemed by their peers.

Is it possible to prevent youngsters from joining gangs?

To prevent youth from joining gangs, communities must strengthen families and schools, improve community supervision, train teachers and parents to manage disruptive youth, and teach students interper- sonal skills.

How can we prevent girls from joining gangs?

Strategies and programs aimed at preventing youth from gang-joining must address issues that are unique to girls and the contexts that can lead them to join a gang; such strategies and programs include the need to prevent sexual abuse, strengthen family relationships, provide them with safety in their neighborhoods.

How do gangs recruit members?

The influence of gangs has begun to spread with the use social media. Some research shows that gangs have used social networking sites to recruit rural members. Gangs infiltrating the military and the professional worlds have begun to worry law enforcement officials.

How do gangs function?

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. Many gangs use fronts to demonstrate influence and gain revenue in a particular area.

Are gangs legal?

The federal government currently does not have any particular laws against gang affiliation. However, it does prosecute known gang members under the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organization (RICO) statute. Thus, participation in a racketeering crime may also involve issues with gang affiliation or gang membership.

Are gangs still a thing?

Approximately 1.4 million people were part of gangs as of 2011, and more than 33,000 gangs were active in the United States. Many American gangs began, and still exist, in urban areas.

Can you be in multiple gangs?

x It is not uncommon for a gang member to claim multiple affiliations, sometimes involving rival gangs. For example, in Kansas City, MO, police may encounter an admitted Blood gang member who is also known in the St. Louis, MO, area as a member of the Black Gangster Disciples gang.

How many gangs are in the US?

More than 20,000 gangs consisting of approximately 1 million members exist in the United States; gangs are present in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories.

Why do youth leave gangs?

While the topic of gang desistance is relatively newer across the field of gang research, preliminary evidence indicates that youth are more likely to be “pushed” out of the gang life because of the very same factors that “pulled” them into the gang in the first place—fear of the consequences of violence and …

What are the special problems that youth gangs pose?

These issues include gang migration, gang growth, female involvement with gangs, homicide, drugs and violence, and the needs of communities and youth who live in the presence of youth gangs.