Introduction
Gangs have proven to be quite notorious in the propagation of violent crimes as well as rings of other illegal activities. Despite the decline in violent crimes in the country over time, the USA still faces challenges from these organizations that are in certain cities, suburbs, or rural areas. Murders and other crimes make these gangs even more fearsome and dangerous to the general public. The presence of gangs in the streets pose dangers to the citizens. Additionally, the transnational webs of gangs make the organizations harder to deal with and the law enforcement agencies face difficulties trying to counter them. With the rising concern about gangs with central operations outside the country, transnational crimes pose greater challenges. There are laid down and working operations and procedures meant to deal with various aspects of gangs and they have been relatively successful but more effort is required. Gangs continue posing such huge hurdle to security organizations as they disrupt normal activities in the country.
Gangs Present
The number of gangs in the USA is alarming. There are 33,000 gangs in the USA which range from prison gangs, motorcycle gangs as well as street gangs. They manifest violent tendencies in the communities where they operate and gain from the chaos they cause (Federal Bureau of Investigation, n.d.). Street gangs commit crimes in their neighborhoods, ranging from robbery, assault and prostitution to various types of trafficking as indicated by the National Gang Report. Motorcycle gangs have evolved from just being about bar brawls into being sophisticated organizations that have membership from motorcycle owners. Gangs such as Hells Angels and the Bandidos have membership across various countries (Gottschalk, 2016). Prison gangs, as the name suggests, have operations in prisons, running from male prostitution to various forms of trafficking even when behind bars. The use of violence works for them as they undertake sophisticated and organized activities. Underneath all of these, the gangs conduct illegal activities from which they make money. This keeps them going as they avoid the law enforcement agencies. Activities such as robbery, prostitution, human trafficking as well as gun and drug trafficking are central to the operations of gangs in the USA.
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Most Notorious Gang
Gangs ranking has various factors and the trouble caused to the public and law enforcement are more influential. The MS-13 gang has ranked high by both factors. It has been linked to murders in various parts of the country and ranks high among the most violent gangs in the country. Additionally, it is listed by the National Gang Report as one of the major Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. Started in Los Angeles in the 1970s, the gang is now located in El Salvador and conducts operations across the country. Having around 10,000 members, the gang has recently been on the limelight with the immigration issues being more controversial. The gang sends members into the country for a series of its largely spread activities. Economic activities that the gang has engaged in have been targeted by various law enforcement agencies following a declaration by the USA treasury that it is a transnational criminal organization. Due to the fact that it is located overseas, it is also challenging to counter its effects in the country as well as disrupt activities, unless they are done abroad.
Most Effective Strategy to Counter Gangs
Strategies that aim at addressing the core problem which is the existence of the gang are the most effective. The Transnational Anti-Gang (TAG) Task Forces is aimed at achieving this objective. It is an initiative that strives to counter transnational gangs from their sources and put an end to the webs of crimes propagated across countries. Some of the most notorious gangs such as the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and 18th Street gangs have such profound effects and even growing rise in the USA (Federal Bureau of Investigation, n.d.). They, however, have their roots in other countries, especially in Central America (Stoll, 2017). From there, they propel their activities, having their logistical capacity and central operations away from the USA government. These include drug trafficking which is a major activity for the gangs since it generates a lot of money. In the National Gang Report, prison and street gangs engage largely in drug trafficking for revenue. Therefore, the problem of drugs is immense since it even leads to alliances between gangs. TAGs countering gangs abroad that propagate operations to avail drugs in the country becomes effective in managing the situation. The USA’s government TAG initiative aims to have operations directed at the center of these gangs and addressing the problems they bring along at the core. This is one of the most effective ways of dealing with crimes, especially those associated with gangs.
TAG achieves its objectives by targeting the sources of the gangs. A successful disruption of the gangs’ activities from their countries of origin such as Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador would effectively undermine their activities in the USA, rendering the gangs ineffective. The two aforementioned gangs, MS-13, and 18th Street have been targeted and strategies have been laid down to counter their activities so as to ensure that the USA is safe. Transnational gangs are the reason that crimes such as drug trafficking and human trafficking are highly prevalent in the USA. Additionally, younger recruits are targeted by these gangs, which puts the youths at risk and this calls for better ways to deal with the gangs (Pyrooz, & Sweeten, 2015). Addressing the problem from the core by having teams abroad as TAG forces is evidently the best way to deal with the gangs that are present.
Conclusion
In the acts of countering gang activities, the FBI has done an incredibly wide array of operations. The programs in place have been aimed at intelligence activities, disruption, as well as proactive measures, all of which are necessary. The trends can be seen to indicate that the law enforcement agencies continue to apprehend gang members as well as their leaders, convicting them of their crimes and ridding the society of such individuals. Over the years, since the 1990s, the country has seen a reduction in violent crimes and this indicates some positive trend in the management of these organized crimes. Long-standing cases of gang-related violence are being resolved by arrests made as well as convictions. As the law enforcement agencies continue to work together with the criminal justice system, the operations continue to yield fruits.
Indeed, the FBI, in conjunction with other agencies and forces, has shown a great deal of effort and success in curbing the challenge of gangs. However, it is essential to note that the trends do not indicate the elimination of gangs entirely, but only arrests of leaders and members who are later replaced. For effective management of this scope of criminal activities, operations should be directed at the total disruption of gangs and the elimination of the organizations. Another vital note is that when arrested, these gang members meet in prison, which is known to be another place that gangs thrive. Most of the gangs in the country engaging in drug trafficking do so at the demand of the same. As a result, the government should employ better strategies at addressing the demand and disrupting channels used to avail the drugs to the public. All in all, there need to be better ways of countering these gang activities.
References
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.). Gangs. [online] Available at: https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/gangs [Accessed 24 Apr. 2019].
Gottschalk, P. (2016). Maturity Levels for Outlaw Groups: The Case of Hells Angels MC.
Pyrooz, D. C., & Sweeten, G. (2015). Gang membership between ages 5 and 17 years in the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(4), 414-419.
Stoll, D. (2017). Gang Wars of Central America: What Anthropologists Have to Say. Latin American Politics and Society, 59(4), 121-131.
