Gang Violence
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[edit] Introduction
Gang Violence is a subset of a larger issue, Youth Violence.
The Department of Peace and Nonviolence will utilize the Best Practices of Partner Departments, identify roots causes of Gang Violence, and promote intervention programs that address these root causes.
Although this DOPN Modeling project was initiated in Nov 2006, within a month, it took on a new urgency after the tragic events in Denver on New Year's Day 2007 that apparently was the result of gang related violence.
Gang Violence is a term used to describe the violent acts of youth who are associated with a group - called a gang.
Team advisers indicate that terminology can be important.
- When a youth shoots another youth - it is an act of violence.
- When a youth who is a member of a gang shoot another youth who is a member of a gang, it is referred to as gang violence - but it is the same act of violence.
- When two youth go out "cruising," and one of them shoots a third youth from the car, it is often referred to as a "drive by" - but it is the same act of violence.
It has been suggested to the Metro Denver media that they report acts of gang violence simply as the acts of violence they are - without giving "credibility" to the groups.
- What's your opinion of this change in terminology?
[edit] Background
As background information, we provide excerpts from several experts in the field. Gangs and Delinquency in Developmental Perspective: Thornberry, Terence: et. al., 2003 Life in the Gang:Decker, Scott, 1999 The Youth Gang: Spergel, Irving, 1995 Understanding Street Gangs: Jackson, Robert; McBride, Wesley, 1986
[edit] DoE Resources that address Root Cause of Gang Violence
[edit] Why Do Youth Join Gangs?
So what is the draw for some adolescents to join a gang? The answers vary but researchers offer some insights, both from talking with gang members and examining their lives. Terrence P. Thornberry, a professor at the school of criminal justice at the University at Albany, State University of New York, conducted a 16-year-long study of high-risk youth living in Rochester. Thornberry and his colleagues followed the youth for several years, some of whom joined gangs and others who did not.
"It seems to me that there are two things that drive kids to gangs," Thornberry said. "It's where the fun and action is. They emphasize that their friends and cousins and siblings are in the gang. It's where the parties and the drugs are. A secondary reason is that the gangs offer protection from other gangs on the way to and from school. They see gangs as providing a variety of goodies to them -protection, fun, and excitement."
When Thornberry and others look at the backgrounds of gang members, they find that a variety of risk factors place adolescents at increased risk for joining a gang. Those risk factors include the following:
- Early involvement in delinquency, especially with violence and drug use
- Troubled family relationships
- Low attachment to school and poor grades
- Association with youth involved with gangs, including older siblings
- Living in neighborhoods with gangs
Click here for some common signs of gang membership.
The more of these factors in a child's life, the higher the probability he or she will join a gang. Hanging out with delinquent peers, school failure at the elementary level, and sexual activity at an early age in particular are among the stronger predictors of gang membership.
In Gangs and Delinquency in Developmental Perspective, Thornberry and his coauthors write, "Gang membership is clearly not produced by just a few risk factors. The accumulation of deficits appear to be far more important than individual risk factors in accounting for gang membership, however. Adolescents who experience deficits in none or only a few of the seven studied are not very likely to become gang members; adolescents who experience deficits in five or more domains are far more likely to be gang members. Indeed, 61 percent of the young boys and 40 percent of the young girls who have deficits in all seven domains were gang members."
Thornberry and his colleagues also note, "Youth are quite resilient -- at least in terms of the chances of joining a gang -- in light of low levels of risk. As risk accumulates, however, the likelihood of joining a gang increases substantially, a pattern observed for both males and females. It appears that youth can tolerate lower levels of risk or risk in a few domains and still avoid an increased likelihood of joining a gang."
Ref: http://www.ed.gov/print/admins/lead/safety/training/gangs/problem.html
[edit] The Continuum Perspective
Some researchers see membership in a gang as a trajectory in youth development that some adolescents follow. According to James C. Howell in Preventing & Reducing Juvenile Delinquency, A Comprehensive Framework (2003),
“the most important point to keep in mind in any attempt to define youth gangs is that such groups are an integral feature of the experiences of young persons during adolescence.
One way of viewing gangs is along an age-graded continuum of social and criminal groups that is anchored at one end by childhood play groups and at the other end by adult criminal organizations.
The following groups (and more) are represented along this continuum:
- Childhood play groups: harmless groups of children that exist in every neighborhood
- Troublesome youth groups: youths who hang out together in shopping malls and other places and may be involved in minor forms of delinquency
- Youth subculture groups: groups with special interests such as “Goths,” “straight edgers,” and “anarchists” (Goths are not known for criminal involvement, but some members of other youth subcultures have histories of criminal activity; Arciaga, 2001)
- Delinquent groups: small clusters of friends who band together to commit delinquent acts such as burglaries
- Taggers: graffiti vandals (Taggers are often called gang members, but they typically do nothing more than engage in graffiti contests.)
- School-based youth gangs: groups of adolescents that may function as gangs only at school and may not be involved in delinquent activity, although most members are involved in such activity
- Street-based youth gangs: semi structured groups of adolescents and young adults who engage in delinquent and criminal behavior
- Adult criminal organizations: groups of adults that engage in criminal activity primarily for economic reasons"
[edit] DoJ Resources that address Root Causes of Gang violence
[edit] DoHHS Resources that address Root Causes of Gang violence
[edit] DoL Resources that address Root Causes of Gang violence
There are least two areas where the Department of Labor (DoL) resources can be used in the Gang Violence reduction program.
1) through their efforts to provide meaningful employment to youth (who might otherwise be be inclined to seek fun and action by getting involved in a gang)
2) through their safe workplace environment program that reminds us to be concerned about the safety of practitioners who are involved in gang violence reduction intervention programs
