Adolescent gangs in the United States are defined as a self-formed association of peers that have similar characteristics. The characteristics include having recognizable names and symbols, leadership, territorial location, a meeting pattern that is regular, and a collective mandate of carrying out activities that are illegal. The prevalence of adolescents joining the gangs varies with localities. Research carried out in the urban youths has postulated that between 14% and 30% of the adolescents at some point in their lives join these outlawed gangs. The average age of individuals joining the adolescent gangs is about 12 and 24 years of age. However, it has been found out that the membership of the adolescent gang is expanding both at the lower and upper limits of the age gaps. The adolescent gangs in the US have been a major problem that has threatened not only the security of the country but also the future of the lives of individuals who engage in the menace.
Features of the Gang Members
The adolescent gang members are closely related to drug abuse and violence in the United States. Decker et al . (2012) pointed out that some of these young individuals are not only engaged in the use of these illicit drugs but also their trafficking. Their use of drugs and involvement in the shipment of these drugs is a source of violence among these adolescents. The sources of this violence can be postulated to emanate from the competition that arises from the supply and distribution of the drugs. Their involvement in the drug business and the subsequent violence is a major threat to the national security hence putting the gangs on the police radar. It is also critical to note that the gang members have a definite jurisdiction and route of operation and in some cases are involved in the bribery of police officers who in turn assist them in carrying out their illicit businesses.
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Homicide Patterns of the Adolescent Gangs
One of the most important characteristics of the adolescent gangs is the periodic spurts. Other features include peaking, surging upwards, and retreating to higher plateaus. Most of the homicides experienced with these gangs are usually as a result of confrontations between gang members, conflicts over recruitments, and emotional and impulsive defense of an individual’s identity as a gang member ( Densley, 2012). Other sources of violence and subsequent homicide might result from the protection of the turf and territorial expansion. Other might depict the aggressive nature when defending the honor of the gang while other forms of wars are due to the drug wars.
The confrontations involved in the gangs follow a unique pattern that is almost predictable. An adolescent gang that is still loosely composed might be subjected to a threat from another gang. Such a gang would, therefore, develop cohesion in readiness to any violence meted against them. The threat that causes cohesion among a gang can either be real or perceived. Most of these gang members exhibit a certain degree of being paranoid with others so that they do not fall into any unwarranted trap. Once the gang experiences a potential or imminent threat, there follows a mobilization process where they assemble their troops in readiness for retaliation. The next step is an escalation of activity. The events can either be in the form of a rapid de-escalation or a violent activity that might include robbery, homicide, and rape among other forms of violence. The adolescent gangs are associated with homicides in the country due to the violent nature of handling matters. Cloward and Ohlin (2013) asserted that the homicides could be due to the killing of a disloyal member, murdering of a constituent of the rival group, or other forms of homicides carried out to further a cause that would assist or influence the existence of the gang in a positive way. It is also important to note that some of the homicides involved the killing of law enforcement agencies including police officers who might in one way or the other act as a stumbling block in their operations.
Relationship between the Gang Involvement in Drug Trafficking and Homicides
There is a relationship between the involvement of the adolescent gang in the drug business and the violence which ultimately results in homicides in the US. The homicides are likely to occur because of the existence of the drug markets which have been personalized by certain gangs. It is also important to note that tone of the major characteristics of the gangs is the existence of designated routes and territories. Once a given gang appears to be interfering with a territory or a gang known to belong to the other, there escalates violence which leads to deaths among people. In the year 1994, Chicago and Los Angeles accounted for more than 1000 homicides that were gang related.
The Rise of the Females in Gang Related Activities
From the close analysis of gang activities today, it has been concluded that the activities are not only a preserve of the male as the number of females tend to increase by the day. Although there lacks a historical data to make comparisons, it can no longer be ignored that most females are now part of these illicit adolescent gangs. As the number of adolescent gang rises in the United States, the overall effect is that the number of females also increases in the particular groups. However, it is still important to note that the number of males in these female gangs is overwhelmingly large that they cannot, whatsoever, be compared with that of the females.
Effect of the Adolescent Gangs
One of the major effects that have been largely associated with the gang members is the prospect of violent activities in the country. An example of an adolescent gang group known as the Rochester gang group was reported to have committed 68% of the violent activities reported to have been committed by adolescent groups. Other negative effects of the gang members include robberies as witnessed in Seattle where it was reported that adolescents were responsible for committing up to 85% of the robberies that occurred there. Other serious offenses include homicides as earlier stated. Causing civil unrest and national insecurity is another major effect of these groups given the fact that most of them are armed and therefore dangerous to the general public. The gangs are also responsible for destroying the social and economic well-being of the US in various ways. Since the gangs are largely composed of adolescents who fall between the ages of 14 and 24, the country is deprived of young and able men and women who would have otherwise played an important role in the development of the country. The named aged is also a school going age hence affects the education system of the country leading to high illiteracy levels ( White, 2013). Crime and unlawful use of weapons is already a major problem in the US. Therefore, the indulgence of these particular adolescent groups into the gangs only serves to worsen the already poor security situation in the country. Research carried out has also shown that the adolescents in a gang are much more vulnerable to commit illegal activities than those who are not involved in the gangs. Therefore, this puts the gang at the pinnacle of illegal and outlawed activities in the country.
Gang Migration
The gang migration has been postulated to one of the major causes of adolescent gang groups in the US. In the country, most gangs begin in the localities and cities before spreading to other regions of the country. Shelden et al . (2012) asserted that most studies have however proven the fact that most of the gangs are homegrown, but the trend that is experienced currently is the movement of the gangs to other regions where they form collaboration with others hence leading to a force with increased effects. The effect of gang migration is normally the elevated levels of criminal activities that include thefts, violent activities, and robberies.
Ethnic and Racial Composition of the Gangs
According to Franzese et al . (2016), the composition of the adolescent gangs in the US during the 19 th century was primarily made up of Jews, Italians, and the Irish. However, according to the recent survey carried out by the law enforcement agencies, a majority of the adolescent gang members are the blacks with a whopping 48%. They are followed closely by the Hispanics who boast of 43%. The composition of the whites and the Asians are considerably low with 5% and 4% respectively.
In conclusion, the adolescent gang groups remain one of the biggest security threats in the country. The groups are mainly composed of teenagers and people slightly above the age of twenty. Their effects in the country are considerably high including theft, civil unrest, homicides, and drug trafficking among others. The increase of the gangs in the country is also related to gang migration which leads to their illegal effects. In curbing the adolescent gangs in the country, there needs to be a collaborative approach where the parents and security agencies combine to ensure that young individuals are modeled to obey the law and those who are already involved should be charged and given corrective measures.
References
Cloward, R. A., & Ohlin, L. E. (2013). Delinquency and opportunity: A study of delinquent gangs (Vol. 6). Routledge.
Decker, S. H., Melde, C., & Pyrooz, D. C. (2013). What do we know about gangs and gang members and where do we go from here? Justice Quarterly , 30 (3), 369-402.
Densley, J. A. (2012). Street gang recruitment: Signaling, screening, and selection. Social Problems , 59 (3), 301-321.
Franzese, R. J., Covey, H. C., & Menard, S. (2016). Youth gangs . Charles C Thomas Publisher.
Shelden, R., Tracy, S., & Brown, W. (2012). Youth gangs in American society . Nelson Education.
White, R. (2013). Youth Gangs, Violence and Social Respect. Routledge
