(Institute/University/College)
Introduction
In the study of Freng (2001), the factors of racial background as well as ethnic origins have long found an association with criminal conduct. Even from the years that slavery was practiced in the United States, debates and arguments on the inordinate representation of minorities either in conflict or in the custody of one element of the criminal justice system have been proffered as to whether this overrepresentation is the result of bigoted policies being implemented by the authorities or are these instances only proffer that these minorities are genetically inclined towards criminal conduct. In addition, since ethnic and racial factors have been studied have been used in attempting to expound tendencies to engage in criminal activities, these theories have also been used to explain why certain ethnic and racial groups form a higher ratio in terms of gang composition.
Historically, members of the early gangs were mainly composed of “white” immigrant groups such as the Irish and other European émigrés. Withal, by the middle of the 20th century, the composition of the gangs in terms of ethnic components began to diversify, with gangs having a high concentration of other ethnic minorities from Asian, Hispanic, and Native American demographics. At present, there is data that there are predominantly “white” in composition. Moreover, newer gangs tend to have a more multiracial structure, drumming the participation of the factor of racial and ethnic origins as a major element in gang membership.
Furthermore, though there is a relatively large amount of literature on the relation of gangs and race and ethnicity, there is little information as to whether race is a programmable element-whether race will automatically qualify as an element to looking for membership in gang. In this light, one must consider the possibility that more studies be conducted as whether certain characteristics in a racial demographic contributes to a higher concentration in the roster of gangs (Freng, Taylor, 135).
The factor of race is one characteristic that is regarded to have a high correlation to criminal conduct. The general conception is that African Americans and a number of racial minorities are overrepresented in criminal statistics. Given the numbers, it shows that the African American demographic commits a large percentage of crimes in the United States that is completely disproportionate to their number in the overall population. Consider this factor; though African Americans comprise 15 percent of the population in the United States, these accounts for roughly four out of 10 of the arrests for violent crimes. Controlled tests showed that when the factor of race is regulated, race does not appear to be a significant factor in the statistics for arrests; it is a significant factor in determining whether the person will be incarcerated (Brown, Esbensen, Geis, 2015, pp. 133-134).
In the 2013 data of the US National Gang Center, the number of gangs grew exponentially, registering around 20,000 in 2003 to more than 30,000 in 2011; these gangs count on more than 780,000 gang members among their rosters. Though the United States has seen a general decline in overall rates for capital crimes, this decline was not seen in the rates for gang violence; instead, the rate for this statistics has remained relatively unchanged in the past years. Moreover, the literature shows that the ethnic and racial membership rates in gangs have remained relatively unchanged in the past few years. Female gang membership in recent years saw an increase in numbers, though males have been generally held to be joining in larger numbers than females (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2014, pp.1-2).
Though there are no primary factors that can be attributed to with regards as to why individuals join gangs, almost one out of two gang members were found to be from the Hispanic/Latino minority; three out of ten were African Americans, one out of ten are “white” with the remaining number from another racial or ethnic minority. Nonetheless, though the data shows that majority of the members of the gangs come from the Hispanic/Latino minority, this statistic is mainly dependent on the perception of the police and other law enforcement agencies (Herbst, 2013, p. 9).
Discussion
Even with the advancement of the literature in the subject in the past decades, the data does not show a standard definition as to what actually comprises a gang. The diversity in the comprehension of the term displays the wide digressions among the jurisdictions in the country. For example, some jurisdictions deny that there are gangs in their areas while others consider less violent forms of juvenile delinquent groups as gangs (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2014, pp.1-2). Nonetheless, Schmidt (2014, p. 82) offers a definition as to the parameters of a gang. According to Schmidt, a gang can be considered as an “association of three or more people with a common objective, with identifying marks to differentiate them from rival groups, and with a set of policies and regulations designed to control the conduct of the members of the group.
One of the most persistent challenges facing researchers as to the issue of gangs and its attendant issues is the absence of an accurate depiction of what a gang actually is. In the work of Decker and Kempf (1991), attempts at arriving at a definition considered three possible sample groups; juveniles confined in a facility, law enforcement officers, and policy developers on a task force for gangs. The authors concluded that the three sectors consistently digressed on the accurate depiction of what comprises a gang, or the members of the gang or what can be considered as an activity of a gang. However, there is one area that the groups did agree on; the prevailing definition of gangs tends to be anchored on the depiction that is given by the media. In the context of the police, the police followed an extremely narrow definition that tended to soften their dangerous nature (Brown, Cokeley, Cramer, and Crich et al, 2011, p. 2).
In this light, it can be stated that there is a growing dilemma in assessing the factor of race and ethnicity in the area of gang membership. There are a number of issues that are actively contributing to this problem. In the work of Freng and Taylor (136), it was deduced that gangs are not commonly populated by members of racial minorities and the numbers of “whites” in these gangs are steadily growing. Two, the racial integrity of gangs are changing with the rise of “mixed race” or “multi-race” gangs. Here, the advent of “intra-ethnic” rather than “inter-ethnic” conflicts would be higher. For example, rather than seeing conflicts between say African American and “white gangs,” what will be seen in increasing frequency are “battles” between rival Hispanic/Latino gangs. Lastly, the media had a powerful role in framing gangs as a minority issue that are mainly centered on the nation’s barrios and ghettos. Though an inordinate amount of gang members are from the youth, this rejects the proffer that there are also a significant number of youths that do not join gangs.
Much of the literature posits that the digressions in the statistics of racial and ethnic minorities joining gangs can be due to the action that the comprehension the belief that the number of racial/ethnic minority members is reflective of the racial/ethnic make-up of a certain community. For example, gang members in areas where “whites” are the predominant class are expected to be prevalently white; in communities with substantive Hispanic/Latino populations, it would be expected, using this tenet that the gang membership in these areas would come from this population. In the report of the National Gang Center, the overall gang membership for whites is at 9 percent; however, the number jumps to 17 percent in rural areas and in small counties where the predominant population demographic are “whites.”
In the same thread, areas with significant Latino/Hispanic or African American populations would be perceived to be with gangs that have a high membership mix coming from the two prevalent populations. Hence, as much of the data collated from urban areas, these are the samples that are depicted in the research. These again fuel the misrepresentative nature of the current studies centering on the thesis that gangs are solely to be regarded as a minority concern (Freng, Taylor, 136-137).
The common perception is that gangs are commonly linked with males and that the females in the gangs mainly provide a complementary or supplemental function. In addition, the media has also portrayed gangs to be phenomenon solely common among minorities with members of the prevalent class in society virtually non-existent in these groups. Again, the problem in establishing the existence of a gang in a jurisdiction is dependent on the definition that is adopted in the ascertainment of the problem. For example, one study conducted by Esbensen and Winfree (1998) in an urban center among 8th grade students examined the racial and gender compositions of gangs in their jurisdiction. The researchers found that one out of four members in gangs were “white” and nearly four out of ten members in gangs were females (Brown, Esbensen, Gies, 2015, p. 123).
There are instances that the actions of the police and other law enforcement agencies in the area of gang control are solely based on the race of the individuals in the gangs. The police will often champion is narrow and flawed view on gang membership; the rationale here is that by opting to hold on to this policing slant, this will minimize any encroachment as to the policies and methods being practiced by the police in their activities towards gangs. Nonetheless, civil rights organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) focus solely on the use of the police in their gang-related policies. These groups however conduct this action to call attention to an “injustice” being committed by the police against racial minorities (Wilson, Petersilla, 2011).
Here, one of the most significant challenges that must be addressed is to accurately gauge the reasons why youths opt to join gangs. The act of joining a gang, in the work of Decker and Van Winkle (1996), is the product of a series of “push and pulls” on a person. The “pull” factors on the person refers to the attractiveness of the gang to youths; being part of a gang can improve the social status of a youth and even the reputation of a person with members of the opposite sex, give a “thrill” to the youth, and even become a lucrative form of “work” if the gang engages in illegal narcotics trading.
Aside from the financial and social benefits that gang membership gives these youths, societal, economic and other considerations can fuel the youth to join gangs; protection and the defense that these gangs can give the marginalized youths from the rival gangs in the area is also a potent reason why youths join a gang. Furthermore, the lower economic status of these youths can be “remedied” by the gangs as well as mollify the need of these youths for a sense of “belongingness” within the community these are located in (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2014, p. 3). Though there are no universal remedies that can resolve the issue of race and gangs, policies must be developed to focus efforts in this area such as reducing gang related violence and gang recruitment. By identifying the sectors that are most vulnerable with regards to gang activity, authorities can deploy programs designed to “pull” the youths away from the gangs and “push” them towards more productive and socially beneficial avenues (Brown, Cokeley, Cramer, and Crich et al, 2011, p. 8).
References
Brown, R., Cokeley, K., Cramer, R., and Crich, H, et al (2011). Gangs and gang activity in America: A prevention report. Criminology and Criminal Justice Capstone Report Paper 2 pp. 2-8
Brown, S., Esbensen, F., Geis, G (2015) Criminology: explaining crime and its context. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge
Esbensen, F. (2010) Youth violence: sex and race differences in offending, victimization, and gang membership. Philadelphia: Temple University Press
Freng, A. (2001) “A comparative analysis of race and gang affiliation: is race a marginalizing factor?” Retrieved 16 April 2016 from <http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI3022627/
Freng, A., Taylor, T.J. “Race and ethnicity: what are their roles in gang membership?” Retrieved 16 April 2016 from <https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/243474.pdf
Herbst, E. (2013) “The likelihood of gang membership: immigrant generational differences among Hispanic youth” Retrieved 16 April 2016 from <https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=bgsu1377696883&disposition=inline
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2014) “Gang prevention” Retrieved 16 April 2016 from <http://www.ojjdp.gov/mpg/litreviews/Gang_Prevention.pdf
Schmidt, L.M. (2014) Gangs and law enforcement: a guide for dealing with gang-related violence. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas Publisher
Wilson, J.Q., Petersilla, J (2011) Crime and public policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press
