Gangs and Juvenile Delinquency

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Introduction

There is much that can be said regarding the topic of gangs and juvenile delinquency. This piece of work gives an in depth discussion of the various issues associated with gangs and youth crime with respect to what have been discussed by various authors.

Summary of the main arguments and findings presented in Hallsworth and Silverstone’s paper

Crime is an aspect that has raised concern among individuals, groups, and organizations especially due to its increased rate among the juveniles and the adults. Juvenile delinquency is the engagement of children and youthful offenders in criminal activities (Clark 1991).

From the article ‘that’s life innit: A British perspective on guns crime and social order’ by Hallsworth and Silverstone, there is a lot that can be depicted in regard to gangs and youth crime. The following are the main arguments and findings that the authors have brought out.

Research in this paper indicates that there has been an increase in the rate at which young people (or the youth) are engaging in criminal activities over the recent past. Some of the factors attributed to the increase include; peer pressure, emulation of people and the desire to copy and be like them, poor upbringing for example where the parents or caregivers do not offer guidance towards good behaviour, poverty due to unemployment and lack of education among others. The rate at which young people engage in lethal gun-related violence in the United Kingdom is on the rise and the consequences are too harsh to an extent of raising concern among various responsible individuals and groups. For instance, more than 80 people were reported dead over the last two years (Hallsworth and Silverstone 2009).

Hallsworth and Silverstone argues that although there have been a lot of violence, the main source is not quite clear and people live by speculations that the violence is linked to the emergence of a gun culture and gangs. This is however deemed to be an inadequate argument. Although there could be some truth in the argument, there is need to have a critical analysis of the situation in an effort to come up with factual conclusions.

A major argument of this paper is that much ought to be done in order to come up with the main issue facing security in the UK and that use of gun culture or gang culture excuses does not solve the problem. While gangs are a reality, they are not involved in most of the illegal shootings that are experienced but rather the truth is far more complex. Most gun users had been previously involved in gun related incidents such as threats, shots or injuries.

Apart from experienced professional criminals, there are also the ‘on road’ offenders who involve young people from barred backgrounds and who, as a means of survival or revenge, have decided on street-level criminology. ‘On road’ is a name that is given to the home of inhabitants of a volatile street world. The young men strive to earn a living through violent means. The research shows that it should not be assumed that violence experienced in the UK comes from gangs as this would imply that crimes originate from a world with recognizable social order. The authors also points out that the issue of gearing response to gun crimes around gangs is a negative move that contributes to further stigmatization of the most vulnerable.

A conclusion that can be made from Hallsworth and Silverstone’s work is that the significance of gangs is largely overstated in the UK. The right actions are not taken since the system is geared towards tackling imaginary gangs. To solve the gun issue in the streets, the root cause of the shootings should be discovered to come up with strategic measures.

John Pitts and Gangs

There are various perspectives and understandings that are associated with the concept of gang. In this section, I will give an insight into the views of John Pitts particularly with respect to the definitions he provides for the term ‘gang’ and the kind of gangs he claims to have discovered.

Although the concept of gangs seem known by many, a distinct definition seems hard to arrive at. This is because it is a concept that is surrounded by varying issues (Croall 1998). Despite the fact that there may be considerable number of gangs with respect to membership, the groups vary in terms of activities they are involved in. Some gangs are considered to be more harmful than others based on the kind of activities they engage in. The degree of harm linked with a given gang activity could be gauged through the consequences faced by the victims. For instance, according to Pitts (2007), a high level of harm is equated to serious offences such as rape, attempted murder, actual murder as well as commission of serious assaults.

Gangs are difficult to define. However, in London, the definition formulated by Hallsworth and Young (2005) has gained a lot of application in most agencies and institutions. According to these authors, a gang is defined as ‘A relatively durable, predominantly street-based groups of young people who see themselves (and are seen by others) as a discernible group for whom crime and violence is integral to the group’s identity’ (Hallsworth and Young 2005).

From Pitts paper, there exist other definitions of a gang as depicted by other authors or interested parties in the field of criminology. The following are some of the definitions:

According to Ruggierro & South (1995), it is a group of persistently associating people who have identifiable leadership and internal organization. The group usually has control over some territory and engages in violent and illegal behaviour in an individual or collective manner.

A gang could also be termed as any ongoing organization consisting of three or more individuals involved with various activities. The members of a gang engage in criminal activities either individually or in a collective manner (Chin 1995). It could also be termed as a group that uses violence or threat in a manner that fosters a criminal activity. This however excludes terrorists and football hooligans.

In general terms, a gang is looked at in terms of different influential characteristics for instance structure, durability, territoriality, and criminality (Muncie 1999). Some of the crimes associated with gangs especially those involving the youth offenders include, possession or use of drugs, supply of drugs, disorder, low level assault (ABH), serious assault (GBH), kidnap, murder or manslaughter, possession or use of a knife, possession or use of firearms, vehicle crime (TWOC), burglary or theft without violence, robbery or street crime, fraud and money laundering, criminal damage, graffiti and anti-social behaviour among others (Muncie, McLaughlin and Langan 1997).

Some of the gangs that Pitt has identified particularly with respect to Waltham Forest include Beaumont, Piff city, Priory court, Red African devils, Drive, Boundary, Canhall, Brookscroft, Higrams park, New world order, Asian auto theft, Polish gangs and Hackney Over ground commuters. All these gang types are similar in regard to the intention of formation but differ in terms of establishment or the period they have been in existence, the members and the subgroups in the gangs, their location, and territory of operation (Pitts 2007).

Pitts’ work shows that the concept of gangs is relatively wide and complex and requires some efforts to get a deeper understanding and thus come up with effective strategies of dealing with it for achievement of a long term solution.

Varying Perspectives

In general terms, a gang can be termed as an organized crime group where the members involved gather power to perpetrate criminal activities. Violence, use of specific languages, signs and symbols, and colours as a form of identity and recognition are the key aspects of a gang.

According to Lyman and Potter (1997), there are many reasons that motivate people in joining organized groups like the gangs. Some of them are; identity -where the people would like to be recognized as powerful people like the soldiers or warriors, recognition – where they gain a superior status that they feel could not have been acquired elsewhere, money and power- since they expect that the gang will be able to help them attain all their needs and therefore satisfy their desires, source of love – as they consider the gang to provide family love, maintenance of discipline that is made possible by their leaders through the stipulated rules and regulations, and finally as a source of belonging where the members take the gang as their family and they associate with it through the various activities they do as one. The gang culture is however associated with other general factors of dissatisfaction and disappointment in life matters for example unemployment, lack of education opportunities, rejection by parents and family members, and poor upbringing where they lack somebody to guide them towards positive living among others (Short 1997).

As earlier noted, different perspectives could be observed from different authors and schools of thoughts in regard to the concept of indulgence of children and youths into criminal activities particularly gangs. To get an in-depth understanding of the gang concept, this assignment will consider different views that have been brought out by various responsible individuals and groups. Much emphasis will however be on the views of John Pitts and Hallsworth and Silverstone as depicted in their papers.

There are both similarities as well as differences with respect to the perceptions of gangs and all that is associated with them as seem in Pitts and Hallsworth and Silverstone’s papers. For John Pitts, organized gangs form part of what he has termed ‘the new face of youth crime’. In this statement Pitts finds organized gangs to have played a critical role in shaping the overall nature of youth crime. Organized gangs have been associated with a lot of issues that have made the problem of youth crime very contentious thus necessitating a lot of efforts to be taken to solve the whole issue. Although the issue of gangs is not new, the fact that many young people have resulted into it is an issue that has raised concern among various responsible parties. Indulgence in various criminal activities by the members of the gangs some of the being quite serious is also a disturbing issue (Maguire, Morgan & Reiner 1997).

Hallsworth and Silverstone’s have a different view in regard to gangs as it can be depicted in their description of life ‘on road’. Here, it is clear that firearms may be used in the context of a territorial fight between gangs. However, they are also used by individual members for reasons that have no relation to their gang belonging. As opposed to group life being organized in ways that produce violent outcomes as many have presumed; Hallsworth and Silverstone state that the social disorganization of the street world appears to be the problem. The ‘on road’ are the young, vulnerable, and disorganized who use guns in a less rational and predictable manner (Anderson 1994).

The young people are traumatized by the violence they witness and experience in their life. Faced with the a situation where they have an aspiration to achieve much but they lack opportunity, the young people result in criminal activities, for instance, dealing with drugs. Violence of any kind is considered crucial, as a way of survival in the ‘on road’, Hallsworth believes that in the violent street world, gangs could mitigate the problems if only they were as prevalent as people imagine (Hallsworth 2005).

On both occasions it is evident that gang issue is complex and ought to be handled in a more strategic manner to avoid confusion and unnecessary cost. However, while John Pitts sees organized gangs to have changed the perspective of youth crime, Hallsworth and Silverstone take it as a concept that have been there for long and the way forward lies in development of strategic measures of solving the specific problems that are observed rather than working on assumptions or imaginary conceptions (Curry and Spergel 1988).

From the above discussion it is evident that a lot can be said about the issue of juvenile delinquency and indulgence of the youths in gang activities in particular. The different definitions and perspectives are meant to make the understanding of the topic easier through provision of a wide range of ideas that help in comparing and contrasting of the information to come up with an effective conclusion.

Reference List

Anderson, E., 1994. The Code of the Streets. The Atlantic Monthly:81–94.

Chin, K., 1995. Chinatown Gangs. New York, Oxford University Press.

Clark, C.S., 1991. Youth Gangs. Congressional Quarterly Research 22:755–771

Croall, H., 1998. Crime and Society in Britain. London, Longman.

Curry, G.D., and Spergel, I.A., 1988. Gang Homicide, Delinquency, and Community. Criminology a26:381–405.

Hallsworth, S., 2005. Street Crime. UK, Willan Hallsworth, S. and Silverstone, D., 2009. ‘That’s Life Innit’: A British Perspective On Guns, Crime And Social Order. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 9; 359

Hallsworth, S., & Young. T., 2004. Getting Real About Gangs, Criminal Justice matters 55 12-13

Maguire, M, Morgan, R & Reiner, R (Eds).1997. The Oxford Handbook of Criminology, 2^nd edition. Oxford, Clarendon Press.

Muncie, J. 1999., Youth and Crime: A Critical Introduction. New York, Open University Press

Muncie, J., McLaughlin, E., and Langan, M. (Eds).,1997. Criminological Perspectives, ed. New York, Open University Press.

Pitts, J., 2007. Reluctant Gangsters: Youth Gangs in Waltham Forest. [Online].

Ruggierro, V. & South, N., 1995. Eurodrugs: Drug Use, Markets and Trafficking in Europe. London, UCL Press.

Short, J., 1997. Poverty Ethnicity and Violent Crime. Boulder CO, Westview.

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