Juvenile Delinquency and Criminal Gangs

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Man and crime have coexisted throughout history. Nonetheless, traditional patterns guiding the transition from childhood to adulthood have changed. Moreover, there are limited opportunities for young people to explore. For instance, unemployment rates have skyrocketed.

As a result, many youths are unable to cater for their basic needs. Poverty is, thus, one of the major causes of violent crimes. The proliferation of criminal gangs in my area of jurisdiction, as director of the county juvenile court, represents a nationwide problem. Therefore, all parties involved must redouble their efforts in dealing with juvenile deliquesces and other gang-related problems. This paper provides background information on the gang problem.

In the 1990s, the rate of crime rose in most parts of the world (World Youth Report, 2003). Most of these crimes were related to youths. In Western Europe alone, the rate of juvenile delinquency increased by 50%. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) (n.d.), about 33,000 gangs operate across the US today.

In addition, 48% of violent crimes are committed by gangs (FBI, n.d.). In some areas, the percentage is as high as 90%. It is also estimated that these gangs have 1.4 million members. Most of the groupings are well organized and use sophisticated strategies to run their illegal activities and control neighborhoods. Some of their ways of generating money include gun and drug trafficking, kidnapping and robbery.

Before preventive programs are designed, reasons behind involvement of juveniles in crime must be understood (World Youth Report, 2003). One cannot effectively deal with a problem without knowing its root causes. According to the World Youth Report (2003), sociologists believe that juvenile delinquents commit minor to serious offences. Therefore, criminal gangs differ in their modes of operation.

Consequently, gang problems must be solved by more than one strategy. For instance, some gangs commit status crimes. A status crime is a criminal offenses related to the age of a person (World Youth Report, 2003). Peer pressure is the main driver of status crime. Sociologists use such issues to connect youth behaviors with their surroundings in an attempt to explain their actions.

African American neighborhoods have the highest number of criminal gangs. This trend is associated with institutional discrimination. For instance, about one third of African Americans are born in poor neighborhoods. Furthermore, these neighborhoods are faced with innumerable social-economic hardships.

The number of African Americans who can be categorized as middle class by either income levels or education is low compared to other ethnic groups. Although their social-economic status is improving, African Americans sit at the bottom of the ethnic hierarchy (pear, 2013). Structural discrimination and lack of opportunities lead to disruptive internal behavioral patterns among African Americans. Some of these behaviors include prostitution and crime. On top, these behaviors have negative impacts on their socio-economic mobility.

Proliferation of criminal gangs is brought about by socio-economic problems. According to pear (2013), in the last two years, ethnic groups with low incomes experienced a steeper drop in their incomes than those with high incomes. Undoubtedly, African Americans were the most affected.

Accordingly, most gang members are African Americans. Nonetheless, criminal gangs traverse across ethnic barriers and their activities are diverse and complicated. Dismantling these gangs requires joint efforts from the community, law enforcers, courts and other stakeholders. In fact, everybody has a role to play if this problem is to be eradicated.