Gangs
...criminal activities, including serious violent crimes, committed by youth gangs. The prevalence and seriousness of gang problems have fluctuated over time, with gang activity escalating during some periods and diminishing during others. The last three decades of the 20th century were characterized by a major escalation of youth gang problems throughout the Nation. Gangs have been adversely affecting the quality of life within our communities through their violence, drug dealing and other criminal activities. The lack of quality information and the misinformation that is available to the public greatly increases the gangs ability to succeed in their criminal endeavors and to recruit our children into the gangster lifestyle.
Gang involvement begins as early as elementary school. Children 7 and 8 years of age are being recruited to work for the gangs because gangs are aware of the difference in the punishment for youths in the criminal justice system. Todays youth are drawn into the gang culture for a variety of reasons, a need to be accepted, to be popular, to interact with other peers, protection, family, etc.
The definition problem is not trivial. How to define a youth gang is one of the most contentious issues in the field of youth crime. Policymakers, law enforcement personnel, social service agencies, researchers, and other groups have not been able to reach consensus on this issue during the past 25 years, and current efforts to reach this goal have thus far met with only limited success. (Miller, 2001). There is little disagreement among those who study or deal with gangs that the availability and widespread use of a uniform definition would be extremely useful for a variety of important purposes, but few are willing to relinquish and replace the definitions that
have become established within their agencies.
Prevalence of the Problem
In the...
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