3-28-04English The World Book Encyclopedia defines gangs as an informally organizedgroup of people. It usually applies to a group of men or boys who do actsthat are illegal or on the borderlines of being against the law. Althoughgangs may do things that are illegal and disrupt the public I think they domore than that. Gangs rip apart families, destroy friendships, vandalizethe community, and kill people.
Even though gangs do these evil accounts itcannot be stopped, and will not stop. The biggest problem that starts kids to have motives to be in a gangis discipline. Most of the kids that are in gangs are not disciplinedenough so many of them think that they can get away with it easily. Is thistrue? Of course not. Statistics say that between forty and sixty percent ofviolent crimes and drug activity are responsible from gangs.
Also in 1999there has been eight hundred forty one gang related fatalities reported. These facts show that the kids that are in gangs do not have the disciplineto care at all about their surroundings and just think of themselves. Another big problem that does cause these crimes are financing whichhas been related to the younger group of families than the older families. The younger group may have more financing issues but not by much. Twentypercent of the younger families vote that they do have problems because ofthis, while eighteen percent of those fifty and older said yes. This alsohas to do with the economic downturn also.
During the 1990’s while theeconomy has been booming the rate of all kinds of crime has been going downsays David Curry, a professor at the University of Missouri at St. Louis. He also states that, “The relationship between economics and crime is avery solid one. ” Former Pulaski County Coroner Steve Nawojczyk and is anationally known gang expert, agrees that, “when you have a downturn in theeconomy, crime goes up” and that drugs are more prevalent in a pooreconomy.
Steve’s most main concern is that if the economy dropping wouldcause community programs to lose funding and eventually disappear from thecommunity. Which would further cause even more gang problems. Steve saysthat, “I believes a gang’s ability to recruit members is mainly due topoverty, calling those most eligible for gang life members of the “5HClub,” teen-agers who are hungry, hopeless, homeless, hugless andhelpless. ” Richard McCorkle, author of Panic: The Social Construction ofthe Street Gang Problem, states that this will not only affect gangs, but amore bigger problem.
It would affect groups of men who don’t have money orhope and cause them to start doing crimes to get money. The next thing that would cause gangs to continue and never be fullygone is the rivalry between gangs. Being that most of these gangs are inclose distances of each other conflicts are most likely to happen. Thiswould result in killing and lead to even more killing just over littlethings such as drugs and claiming land. These gangs keep trying theimpossible going into extreme measures just to win even a gang war. These extreme activities that these gangs do also effect our economyin a sense that these gangs are making police departments use their budgetto fight gang related crimes and other illegal events.
Oakland PoliceDepartment is already ten million dollars over budget just to step uppolice enforcement efforts to reduce murder rates. These enforcements areset to target certain areas in Oakland known as hot spots, which are areasthat have the most crime and drug activity. As of March 21st there has beenalready twenty deaths in Oakland just in 2004. In 2003 there has been 114people killed and in 2003 113 people have been killed.
This has madeOakland one of the highest places to have murder rates in the nation. Eventhough Oakland has gone over the budget, affecting the economy, they haveto do so to keep gangs and other criminal activities under control becausethey do not have any other choice. Another cause for the rise in violence is many people that were injail are doing illegal activities again. In Rockford, one of the causes oftheir recent rise in violence, which has claimed 19 lives this year, is dueto “a lot of people that had gone to the penitentiary and are .
