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Nicole Torres
Intro to Sociology
27 October 2016
Gangs
Criminal gangs are known as an organization or association that collectivity, or
individually, engage in criminal activities. Gangs are usually established at a local level,
although few gangs are known nationally. Although gang related crimes have not shown a
dramatic increase within the years, gangs still prove to be threats to their community and
communities around them. Gangs are contemporary crimes because there are still many high
functioning gangs in society and around communities all over the United States. Young people
are usually the target demographic of criminal gangs and tend to suffer because of their
association with gangs. There are numerous ways that the local and federal government try to
end gang violence and gang participation around the world.
Gangs are commonly described as a group of people that can be openly hostile and can
exhibit manipulative behavior, as stated by the Violence Prevention Institute. The original way
gang violence was conducted was usually at a street setting where territories or areas of land
were fought for, but that kind of gang violence between rival gangs died out. The most common
ways of gang related crimes are more concerned with drug, sex, and material possessions.
Another way gangs tend to present themselves is their lack of fear and respect against authorities.
In some occasions, gangs can be related and the relationship of a family can be anchored with a
certain gang. For example, an older sibling can be an active member in a gang and their younger
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siblings are slowly being set up to be recruited by the same gang because of the decisions of their
older sibling.
The National Gang Center survey presents a graph to the readers showing the number of
gangs that have accumulated throughout the years, ranging from 1996-2012. The graph states
that in 1996, gangs were at an all-time high, estimating a little bit above 30,000 gangs. Although
the estimated number of gangs began to decrease at the beginning of the millennium, the year of
2004 broke the pattern of decreasing gang statistics. As the estimated number of gangs decreased
to as low as 20,000, the number began to rise toward 25,000 in 2004. Once the year of 2005,
estimated around 27,000 gangs, the number stabilized and halted the dramatic increase and
decrease of the estimated number of gangs. In the recent years, although there was no substantial
increase with the number of gangs, the number did increase slightly in 2009, which resulted in
