Gang Violence Essay Research Paper Today there

Gang Violence Essay, Research Paper

Today, there is a great concern about gang activity and youth violence. Every day, we can open a newspaper or turn on the evening news and see that another child or victim was killed in gang or youth related violence. Teenage crime and violence has existed for many years. Many people have become more aware of the violence committed by today’s youth because of the media coverage of the viciousness of these crimes. The public is also aware of the new breed of criminal and many people want to change the current juvenile justice system.. Juvenile gangs have existed for many years in America. In the past, gang members fought with fists, brass knuckles and sticks. Today’s gangs have arsenals of weapons, including sophisticated automatic weapons and they are prepared to use these weapons. The gangs usually come from the poorer areas of the inner cities, which was the case for even the earliest known gangs. Gangs and youth violence has always existed, but the increased interest and concern in their activities has emerged because of the increasing violence and death toll on our youth.

New York City was the first city to have serious problems with gang- related activity because it was the first stop for many new immigrants entering the United States in the late 1800’s. These immigrants came to America in search of a better way of life and for many the opportunity for a better life that was sought was not within their reach. The earliest gangs in New York City were Irish immigrants. The earliest known youth gang in New York was the “Forty Thieves.” This gang attacked well- dressed people who ventured into their neighborhood and attacked, robbed or pick-pocketed them (Oliver, 1995).

In the late 1800’s as more immigrants entered the United States more youth gangs were formed. The poorer neighborhoods became a breeding ground for these gangs. In New York City’s Lower East Side, “Mulligan’s Alley” became the center of gang activity and was the home to one of the most violent gangs, the ” Bowery Boys”, who fought turf wars with the other gangs. Some of these fights lasted two or three days. These early gang members were much smaller compared to today’s youth because of malnutrition. The average height was about 5′3″ and weight was usually between 120-130 pounds. Sometimes the memberships in these gangs were in the hundreds. The weapons commonly used by these gangs were brass knuckles, clubs, chains, knives, bricks and in some cases, an occasional pistol (Oliver, 1995).

As immigrants moved west and across America, other cities experienced youth gangs and juvenile violence. Jewish and Italian immigrants had difficulty with language barriers and adjustment in the new county causing an increase of youth gangs. By the beginning of the 20th Century, gun use was becoming common during these youth gang wars. The worst gang war occurred in New York City in 1903 between the “Eastmans” and the “Five Pointers”. When the war was finally over, there were 3 killed and seven seriously wounded (Oliver, 1995). Chicago was another city that had gang problems. These Chicago gangs were mostly white youth until African Americans started migrating north. The black youth started some gang activity because like other groups they discovered that urban living created many hardships such as poverty, lack of education and unemployment. In 1919 a violent racial riot between gangs broke out in Chicago. Most of the gangs were white immigrants in this riot but a few black gangs were now formed and participated in the riot mostly to protect their neighborhoods (Oliver, 1995).

Gangs participated in unionizing American factories. They were hired by both the workers and the factory union leaders. The union leaders hired the gangs to beat and sometimes murder strikebreakers. Factory owners hired gangs to guard workers who crossed the picket lines. Gangs were also used to injure or murder by hire for sometimes as little as two to ten dollars.

In the 1920’s there was a decrease in gang activity. Many factors contributed to the decrease in gang activity, but the main reasons were the police put many gang leaders in prison, immigration started to slow down, and opportunities for better jobs allowed recent immigrants to move out of the slums to better neighborhoods.

Today, we see an increase in gang activity. Some of these gangs are very structured and some are loosely tied together. Increasingly, we are seeing violence by large groups of teenagers that have joined together, sometimes not even knowing each other and a kind of mob psychology takes over, where there is sometimes a frenzy of violence (Lang, 1991).

In 1989, a “wolf pack” beat and raped a jogger in Central Park in New York

City, leaving her for dead after the attack.

In 1989, a sixteen year old black youth was beaten by a gang with bats in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, when he went to purchase a car.

In 1986, Howard Beach, Queens, eleven white youths beat and yelled racial

epithets at two black men that had entered their neighborhood. One black was

beaten by the group and the other was chased onto a highway were he was

struck and killed by a car.

In 1989 a Labor Day College fraternity and sorority party at Virginia Beach with

100,000 youths turned violent where shots were fired, stores were lo