Essay Sample about Gang Violence: The Crime Of The Streets

📌Category: Crime, Government, Law enforcement, Social Issues, Violence
📌Words: 1040
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 28 March 2022

Intro: Hello my name is Ashley and I think you’re really going to find some interesting information about organized crime specifically gang-related and the effects it has had on families surrounded by this environment. Organized crime is a wide variety of enterprises that are set up to go through illegal activities. I am specifically focusing on one of the bigger sides of organized crime: Gangs. You may wonder how gangs have anything to do with American Identity, but you will be surprised at how much these two (topics) are related. Organized crime was just beginning to rise in the 1920s right after they announced the prohibition act of the United States. Gangs and Mafias saw this as a huge opportunity for business and making money, so they began selling narcotics, alcohol, human trafficking, and gun violence. Police were severely outnumbered and outgunned most of the time making it difficult to stop all of these unfortunate events. Many families tried staying strong throughout these times, but most fell into the life of a gang member, which later on would begin a war within neighborhoods and only broaden organized crime in America. In my lecture I will talk about what organized crime consists of, gangs in America, the war between gangs and the police, the effects it has on families, and the immediate and long term impacts that gang activity has on America and families. 

Main Body: Organized Crime is a broad spectrum of illegal activities, it can go from selling drugs to human trafficking and selling women to other gangs to create allies within their communities. The main source of organized crime however is drugs, human trafficking, murder, and gangs. The streets are very dangerous for anyone who lives anywhere close to them. There is always murders and gruesome acts of violence and for children to see these scenarios happen, it is very hard to wrap your head around. It is very hard to get by with just the basics of life in these areas, people have a hard time finding jobs with good pay, so, involving themselves in even selling a little bit of drugs like weed can bring them a lot of money at the time. Crimes like selling drugs and weapons would bring money in and out of the community, which in a way gangs would argue they were helping their communities out and making life better for them helping them feel as if they are really part of the community. They were contributing to those who lived in their area, therefore, they did their part in helping out. 

Gangs date back to the 1920s with infamous groups such as the Crips, Bloods, and the 38th Street Gang, all based in California. Most gangs in the 20's were just consisting Hispanic and African American guys. They lived in poor parts of California and did not come from bright pasts. Gangs first were formed as a group for protection of their neighborhood, although as time went on, more gangs were created and being the bigger boss was always a thought. Someone always wanted to be stronger, better, more elite than the rest. The police were forced to take a course to learn about gang activity and the pattern of gangs and how to spot a gang member if you were to come across one out on the streets. Gang members were always being recruited left and right. Often a member would join for the money or for the drugs.  They would get recruited and be forced into a life completely unknown to them once initiation was over. Once you’re in, there's no going back. A lot of the time, members would choose this life to find a home and family because they never had that and those who did joined to provide for their families, since they knew no other way to make fast money. Gangs are infamous for their initiations. You have to commit a crime or kill a rival gang member and there are kids as young as 13 who are the ones doing these deeds. Gangs are known for getting young boys to join and turning them into fearless men, but this is not the way to go about a young man’s life, therefore, families tried their hardest to steer them away. 

 

Many families that were hispanic or black who lived in America really struggled in the 20's and 30's because they lived in hot zones for a lot of criminal activity. Families had a low income and were just trying to get by and keep their children out of danger, they did their best to provide for their families, but sometimes their best just was not enough. A lot of teens and young adults would feed into the freedom that gang members would show them as it brought money into their homes and it brought a sense of safety for their future and a sense of belonging to something important. As many know, once you are in a gang, there is no getting out of a gang, so when they realize how brutal and dangerous life is, they often want out, but they stay for obvious reasons. Many families try to live normal lives and hope to find any form of happiness, but with this new lifestyle, it is hard to adapt to your environment and your surroundings. Families are often broken up because of situations that occur and because there are so many deaths that happen yearly. It is a very disheartening experience for them. 

The war between gangs and the police is still very much ongoing to this day and getting more dangerous than ever before. The death count gets higher every year and gangs recruit even more and more every time they go back out on the streets. They make good business and their cash flow is very high. In doing so well with their money, their ways of getting cash were not so pleasant. They would sell drugs, sell women, guns, and would often murder anyone who crossed them the wrong way or betrayed them. The police tried to think outside of the box in order to end some of these small gangs and sometimes they would come just in time before anything happened, but 9 times out of 10, gangs were always 2 steps ahead of them. They always had more guys than them, they had more weapons and means of safety than them, the police stayed outnumbered and outgunned. There were police dying left and right and members of gangs as well. This war just continued to be more bloody and more brutal than ever before and still now, times have not changed and members are getting smarter than ever before.

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