Gangs throughout society

Juvenile gangs have been on the rise over the last few decades in the United States. Gangs exist in every state, where in the 1970s they existed in less than half of the states. Gangs are not inclusively in the inner city nor are they limited to a particular ethnic group of people. Homicides are more likely to occur in larger cities by 10%. This is partly because larger cities have more people and thus more opportunity for gang violence or retaliation. Youth gangs are moving into suburban areas and recruiting kids from playgrounds, schools or on the Internet at a rapid rate.

According to the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, youth gangs have about 772,000 members nationwide, with more then half of them being teens under 18. [1]Easy money is a lure for kids to join gangs. Kids as young as 5 or 6 are given signficant amounts of money and the promise of more to come if they join. Money is a powerful incentive for anyone, but to a child or young teen, it is practically irresistible.

Surprisingly, some gang members have outstanding family backgrounds and are successful students. But after the overwhelming amount of peer pressure, they join the gang. Most participants in gang crimes tend to be young, male, and either black or Hispanic. Many teenagers join gangs for several reasons. Gangs give lonely and troubled teens a feeling of belonging. Some teenagers are followers and join because their friends have done so. Teens involved with gangs committed 11% of all crimes. The rate of violent offenses for gang member was 3 times higher than non-gang delinquents. Our society needs more gang prevention programs in schools and invest in alternatives for children who are feeling lonely. Funds that are dedicated toward preventive programs can decrease the vast amount of gang related crime.

1. http://www.safeyouth.org/

2. http://www.justive.gov/