Assessment on Gang Violence

Summary 

The main arguments in the article are intended to contradict the prior researches, which suggested that gang members who are involved in drugs selling do not lead in violence and that drugs dealing is unrelated to the state of the neighbourhood. Therefore, the article has two tests that aim to clarify the relationship between the disadvantages of the community, membership in gangs, drug selling and gang violence (Bellair & McNulty, 2009). The two points include that the members of a team who sell drugs in the neighbourhood are violent and the deteriorating state of the community plays a significant role in intensifying the activities of drug members in selling drugs and participating in violence. 

Gang members, who admit on selling drugs, might engage in acute violence in the community than gang members who are not involved with drugs. Besides, the gang members who are involved in violence may reside in the localities where there are low or high sources of income, propelling them to apply in selling drugs (Bellair & McNulty, 2009). Most streets that are economically poor tend to have more gangs involved in drugs and violence or gangs that sell drugs but do not include in power. The connection between gang membership and violence is expounded when the members turn violent when they defend their behaviour from police or other gangs. The members tend to be loyal to other members and would gang up and commit a crime to threaten their predictors. However, these points cannot validate the meaning of a gang since not all groups in the neighbourhood sell drugs (Bellair & McNulty, 2009). Besides, other views suggest that some youth sell drugs without being involved in any gang, and might cause violence on their own. Finally, the power made by many drug-selling units may fluctuate between being a member of a team to a sole drug dealer. 

Assessment 

The findings from the article indicate that more crimes in the neighbourhood occur regardless of the pervasiveness of drugs sold. Besides, the study suggests that gang members who involve in crimes and violence in their residents are not due to being involved in drugs. The study arose many issues, which resulted, to strong disagreement in the many areas. The first issue indicated that there was no reliable definition of a gang since many articles disagreed on the same (Bellair & McNulty, 2009). selling of drugs involved some gang members in non-affiliated teams while other members were engaged in well-coordinated and instrumental gangs. The issue of the effectiveness of units is well explained in specific data that is not qualitative or quantitative, and NLSY97 data could not offer the required data to validate the gang responsiveness for the study (Bellair & McNulty, 2009). More research is needed to validate the organisation of gangs, the occurrence of violence connected to drug selling gangs and the connection between poor localities and more circumstances of drug-related violence. The information from NLSY97 cannot be reliable because it is biased by using only one set of data from its primary source. Besides, the data is based on one study, which had few localities being involved in drug selling-gangs who commit violence. 

Reflection 

The article is very resourceful when identifying issues concerning assumption surrounding gang groups in an area. It contradicted the case of assuming that all gangs located in an area have everything to do with crimes and violence in the locality. The issue of drug selling and power in a locality is too independent of violence occurring in poor communities. Therefore, the resource can be used to draw a thesis and as a primary resource when writing a research on crime, happening in a particular residential area. Besides, the article can be used relevantly in recent times, to change the biased views of readers about drugs and crimes in a region. The author gives out sound and relevant information on how to appreciate that there are places where involvement of violence can be attributed to political and racial inclination. 

Reference 

Bellair, P. E., & McNulty, T. L. (2009). Gang membership, drug selling, and violence in a neighbourhood context.  Justice Quarterly ,  26 (4), 644-669.