The Youth Involvement In Gangs

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

According to the National Gang Center, "there is no single, generally accepted definition of a "gang." State and local jurisdictions tend to develop their own definitions. The term "street gang" is often used interchangeably with "youth gang" as well as "criminal street gang," with the latter explicitly denoting the element of criminal activity found almost universally in gang-related legislation" (National Gang Center, 2011). There are different types of gangs, for example: There are Delinquent Youth Gangs which are considered as groups of young individuals, juveniles, who "hang out" and do everything together. The group will identify themselves with similar clothing, hand signals, or colors. They have engaged in delinquent acts or undesirable behavior such as truancy, status offenses, or minor vandalism. Their behavior often warrants the attention of the local law enforcement, residents and school system; but they have not reached the level of committing serious crimes. Traditional Turf-Based Gangs are when groups of young people, juveniles and or adults, who have a known name and leader or leaders who identify themselves through clothing, hand signals, colors. Turf-Based Gangs usually associate themselves with a territory, which they defend against rival gang members. These gang members have engaged in such acts as vandalism (graffiti), assault, and in some cases homicide. Then there are the Gain-Oriented Gangs which are groups of young people, juveniles and adults. They are similar to the Turf-Based Gangs because they also have a known name and a leader or leaders. The individuals within this type of gang repeatedly engage in criminal activities as a group or individually for the sole purpose of economic gain. Gain-Oriented gang members will engage in offenses such as robbery, theft and the distribution and sale of a controlled substance. Lastly, is the Violent/Hate Gangs which are groups of young people, juveniles and adults with a known name and a leader or leaders. The Violent/Hate gang members collectively engage in criminal acts of violence towards groups or individuals, which is considered to be their primary motivation. Geographical turf, material and economical gain is secondary. The offenses that the Violent/Hate gangs commit are serious assaults and homicide.

Youth Involvement in Gangs

The 2004 National Youth Gang Survey issued data estimating the 41 percent of youth gang members were juveniles and 59 percent were young adults age 18 or older (Snyder and Sickmund, 2006, p.83). The age of membership of Youth Gang members is generally between the ages of 12 and 24 (Hess, 2010, p.200). There are many reasons why youth join gangs, some of these reasons are the same as why children would join other pro-social groups like 4-H and The Boy or Girl Scouts of America. One reason is the socio-economic background of the individual. Other reasons could be for attention, wanting to feel a part of something, peer pressure, financial gain, the feeling of being loved and accepted (something that they may not feel at home, and for protection. Gangs and their fellow gang members ultimately only care about three things which are, reputation, respect and retaliation. Having a reputation, or "rep", (as it is often called), helps gangs and their members earn higher status in their chosen gang and with their enemies. In order to gain higher reputations the individual will usually have to do violent things or break the law. Respect is something that is demanded from all fellow crew members, rival gangs and the community, there are no exceptions. Retaliation is an action that is taken when gangs or gang members feel they have been disrespected. The action of retaliation or (revenge) is a guarantee. Retaliation can range from simply bullying or a beating, all the way to homicide. Youth gang involvement isn’t something new within the United States. Gangs are known to have existed as early as the 18th-century. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was once trying to devise a way in which to deal with youth gangs which were roaming around and disrupting the city in 1971. Also, according to the National School Safety Center, officials in New York City acknowledged that they were having problems with youth gangs as early as 1825. These two examples openly show that youth involvement within gangs have been an issue for years. This is a prime example showing that the youth gang problem is not likely to go away any time soon or be eliminated easily or if at all.

Juvenile Delinquents and Status Offenses

A juvenile delinquent is a person who is under age, which is usually below the age of 18, who is found to have committed a crime in states which have declared by law that a minor lacks responsibility and thus may not be sentenced as an adult (Farlax, 2011). However, the legislatures of several states have reduced the age of criminal responsibility for serious crimes or for repeat offenders to as low as 14. Status offense is an offense committed by a juvenile that would not be a crime if committed by an adult. Some examples of status offenses are, truancy, running away, curfew violation, incorrigibility or endangering health and morals. Parens patriae is the legal theory from which the basis for status offenses derive from. The meaning of Parens Patriae is Latin for "parent of his or her country." The power of the state to act as guardian for those who are unable to care for themselves, such as children or disabled individuals, as stated in Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary (NOLO LAW For ALL, 2012). For example, under the parens patriae doctrine the judge has the right to change custody, child support or any other rulings which would affect a juvenile’s well being, regardless of what the parents feel is acceptable or agree to. In 1974 the movement of deinstitutionalizing status offenses was formalized through the 1974 Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act. This meant that juveniles who committed status offenses were sent to agencies outside of the juvenile court’s jurisdiction versus being held within the juvenile justice system. The power to enforce the diversion was given to the county or district attorney, who made the decision before the initial petition was filed. The implementation of diversion was done in part because many legislators felt in comparison to other crimes status offenses were minor in criminal nature, and the ideal that juvenile offenders were better off with their families or other outside agencies dealing with each individual case, instead of juveniles being formally processed into the justice system. The act of formally processing juveniles into the justice system for status offenses was thought to have an adverse effect, leading to labeling and further delinquent acts by juveniles, thus nullifying the entire purpose of rehabilitation.

After diversion there is the process of adjudication. Juveniles who were adjudicated for their status offenses are often then classified as children in need of Supervision (CHINS), also called persons in need of supervision (PINS) or minors in need of supervision (MINS), depending on which state the juvenile reside in. The Department of Justice estimated that in 1996, juvenile courts in states all over the United States have formally disposed of 162,000 status offenses, with 44,800 of those offenses being liquor law violations (Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention, 2000).

Conclusion

There are a significant amount of reasons as to why children join gangs. Some do not receive the proper amount of attention at home. Children search for that attention from gangs who show a false sense of love by giving the children street status and an identity of their own. In return the child shows complete loyalty to the gang. Many parents have no clue that their child is affiliated with a gang. To combat the growing problem of youth gang’s parents must become more involved with their child’s day to day activities. Parents must educate themselves on the warning signs of gang activity. Parents should have an in-depth discussion of gangs and the harsh realities of living a life as a gang member, for example an extensive criminal record, prison, and deaths of friends and family. There are many warning signs leading up to gang affiliation in which alerts parents of their child possibly being in a gang. Some of those warning signs are as follows: the use and possession of drugs, carrying and concealing weapons, withdrawing from known friends and family members, changing attitude from good to bad, tattoos and changing of appearance (gang colors).

Offender based criteria should be the factor which control the decision-making process, be it the decision to directly file or transfer a juvenile offender to adult court for prosecution or the decision as to what sanction should ultimately be imposed if a juvenile offender is convicted. Gangs actively recruit membership in their early-to-mid teens to carry out violent and heinous crimes as a way to prove themselves to gang leaders and to increase their individual standing within the gang’s hierarchy. Because many states mandate lesser penalties for violent juvenile offenders than adults, gang leadership often have juvenile gang members perform violent crimes towards others because there is less of an ability to prosecute them. While I strongly believe treatment, rehabilitation, youth gang prevention initiatives and after-school programs are important tools in addressing America’s gang problem, the ability to provide swift enforcement of violent juvenile offenders is necessary to keep our nation’s communities safe.