Gangs Case

The book I read was called Gangs by Peggy Daniels. I choose this book because I didn't know much about gangs and I wanted to know more information about gangs. I learned many things from this book. I learned about what a gang is, where gangs are found, who joins gangs, and why children and teens join gangs.

Gangs are defined as a group of people who act together to commit crimes. The type of crimes may be different for each gang, although many gangs are involved with illegal guns and drugs. Organized gangs are not new. They have been around for centuries. The earliest recording of a gang is that of rebellious children mentioned in 2 Kings 2:23-25 of the Bible. In the late 1800s to the 1960s, neighborhood gangs included fighting and thrill seeking for youths. In the 1960s, the membership numbers of African American, Puerto Rican and Mexican American gangs rose to an all- time high. With this increase, levels of violence worsened (Daniels 15). Having easy access to weapons and firearms made a lethal violence the standard.

Gangs are found in every state in the United States. Gangs are functioning in cities and towns of all sizes, including suburban and rural areas. Gangs exist in almost half of all the high schools in the country. Gangs can also be found in one-third of all middle schools in the country. There is also an estimated twenty-five thousand different gangs in the United States (Daniels113). Gang activity is related to community size. Schools that have enrollment of 1,000 or more were about 4 times more likely to relate gang activity then those with enrollment of less than 500. There are also international operations, one of the most serious international gang in the United States today is the gang called Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13. This gang was organized in Los Angeles in the late 80's, and has grown to cover from 16 states in the United States and in to Central America (Daniels 71). This gang keeps growing and moving. When the MS-13 gang starts feels heat in one state, it moves to another state.

All kinds of people join gangs, but most gang members are urban teenagers and young adults. Researchers have found that certain types of teens are more likely to join a gang than others. It is difficult to predict with certainty who will join a gang, those who are at risk of becoming involved with a gang often meet several; of the following criteria:

* Live in a neighborhood where gangs are present

* Have a parent or family member who is in a gang

* Has an unstable family life with little or no positive adult supervision

* Has few or no positive adult role models of their own ethnicity

* Feel a lack of safety in their neighborhood, school, or home

* Experience violence, crime, drug use, and/or sexual activity at a young age

* Do poorly in school and have no goals for