Structural Theories and Street Gangs free essay sample

For example, Lil’Z knows that he does not have the ability to live a life as the people outside the slum are living; he is aware that he does not have the ability to achieve, principally, the monetary success and standard of society maybe because of his lack of education and the violent environment in which he lives in. Thus, he decides to accompany the Tender Trio and rub the motel with them in order to achieve the monetary success he wants, and eventually commit many crimes in order to get money. In City of Gangs, it is explained that one of the problem in Regina is that aboriginal could have a job if they wanted, but many of these people don’t have the ability to achieve this goal since they don’t have a resume or they don’t know how to fill an application form (City of Gangs, 2009). We will write a custom essay sample on Structural Theories and Street Gangs or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Thus, the young people on reserves are experiencing this inability to achieve norms and standards of the dominant society, and are joining gangs in order to achieve their goal, through illegitimate ways such as selling drugs or stealing. Differential Association theory is a theory that looks at the acts of the criminal as learned behaviors through social interaction (Adler, Mueller,Laufer amp; Grekul, 2009, p. 132). Gang members are setting criminal norms and values to its members, thus members are learning a criminal behavior, such as stealing, carrying a gun or using drugs. The members of street gangs are learning more definitions of actions favorable to violation of the law and this learning is passed down from generation to generation (Adler, Mueller,Laufer amp; Grekul, 2009, p. 32). The documentary City of Gangs clearly shows that the learning pattern of gangsters comes from learned behaviors through social interaction, and that is transmitted from the older to the younger since what they learned are the criminal attitudes and values of the gang. Sutherland’s theory of differential association is explained through nine propositions. The third proposition, which explains that the principal part of the lear ning of criminal behavior occurs within intimate personal groups. , is clearly discussed in the documentary City of Gangs (Adler, Mueller,Laufer amp; Grekul, 2009, p. 132). In fact, as mentioned in the clip, every day more kids are getting in gang since they are hanging out with gang families made out of drug dealers, pimps and fogs (City of Gangs, 2009). The fifth proposition is also shown in the movie. If a young is surrounded by people viewing breaking certain laws as acceptable or normal behavior, then he might be more likely to break those laws. As mentioned, there is a gang problem in Regina; the police reported many as 600 gangs in cities, constituted in majority of aboriginal people (City of Gangs, 2009). The problem is that there is a gang mentality that is embedded in the hearts and minds of aboriginal people (City of Gangs, 2009). The solution is to change that mentality to really educate their young people at young age (City of Gangs, 2009). The young aboriginal people are surrounded by people who are breaking certain laws, thus for them it becomes a normal behavior. One last proposition that is clearly demonstrated in the clip is the eighth one. In fact, violence is common in this part of town and it is a dangerous place to walk at night (City of Gangs, 2009). These kids and young people are dealing with these criminal situations every day, thus they are learning out of it, like learning anything else. All of the various processes by which humans learn can potentially be relevant. Economic and Community Structure We can use the social disorganization theory to address the idea that crime and criminal networks thrive in social disorganized neighborhoods. This theory explain that an area in which there is a disintegration of conventional values caused by urbanization, rapid industrialization and an increase in immigration may causes the development of high crime (Adler, Mueller,Laufer amp; Grekul, 2009, p. 160). Cultural deviance theory also combines certain parts of this theory since it explains how the different set of values of disadvantaged or disorganized neighborhoods contributes to criminal behavior (Adler, Mueller,Laufer amp; Grekul, 2009, p. 130). These theories can be explained with the movie City of God, since it addresses the idea of the context in which crime and criminal networks flourish. City of God is a slum in Rio de Janeiro, a lower class area, marked by poverty with low income group. It is evident that there is a weak community institution in the slum, which is lacking of agents of social control such as the police or even strong familial or friends relationships. It is mainly the people who live in the City of God that maintain order. Community Action Program There are many program aimed at curbing early involvement in criminal activity. The community, not individuals, needs treatment. Helping the community, then, should lower its crime rate (Adler, Mueller,Laufer amp; Grekul, 2009, p. 164). Sun Youth is an organization providing community support in the area of Montreal. They established a crime prevention program aimed at educating public and establishing a better cooperation among citizens. Among their programs, there is the Intervention Agents in School Environments, targeting mainly young students. Sun Youth agents are working full time in certain schools in order to prevent bullying and taxing and to resolve conflicts between students, which is related to Coordination and Community Cohesion, a major components of another prevention program in Vancouver Downtown (Adler, Mueller,Laufer amp; Grekul, 2009, p. 165). They are preventing such problems through group workshops on leadership, peer meditation, conflict resolution, socialization, or notions of racism, friendship, etc. through individual interventions, as well as by promoting the team work through recreational activities in group (Sun Youth, 2011). Being Critical of the Structural Theories of Deviance Previous studies exploring why a person joins a gang mainly focused on the theory of anomie, the social disorganization and strain theory as well as the criminal subculture (Sanchez-Jankowski, 1991, p. 295). However, Martin Sanchez-Jankowski (1991) is basing his ideas on the fact that many youth see joining a gang as a ration al decision to maximize self-interest. He argues that gangs provide individuals with a source of money, protection, entertainment, protective group identity, personal protection, and because some individuals see participation as a form of commitment to their community and as a way to resist living lives like their parents. He also explains and that becoming a gang member depends not only on the individual, but also on the gang, who decide who will join the gang or not. He explains that there are three types of recruitment. The first one is the fraternity type, in which members try to ‘sell’ their gangs by mentioning the advantages it has such as the parties it gives, the women who are available and the type of drugs they have. The second type is the obligation type, in which members are contacting people and persuading them that it is their duty to join the gang. Finally, the last type of recruitment is the coercive type, which occurs when the gang feels they need to expand their membership quickly.