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... o Star interview, in order to prevent gang entrance by borderline youths, the most preyed upon by gangs, schools need to be teaching the anti-gang message as early as grade three. Furthermore there need to be more youth centers in Canadian cities where students can spend time after school. Lastly he states that children, especially those in the inner city and poorer areas, must be aware that they have choices, and that their lives have not already been prescribed for them. Although Toronto, and Canada in general, has been prescribed as a ripe market for gangs, statistics show that crime among youths has gradually dropped over the past few years (See Figure A). These statistics show an excellent and encouraging trend in youth crime in Canada that will hopefully continue.
There are many factors contributing to this statistical trend. As discussed earlier, the government has realized that gang related crime in Canada is a problem, and they are taking measures to control it. The police have assigned special divisions to attack the problem of street gang crime. For example, the Street Crime Unit of the Toronto 42 nd division is dedicated to tackling the problem of youth gangs in the city.
The Units prescribed tasks are to be an integral part of the Community Response Unit, working in partnership with front line personnel, school liaison and other components of the Community Response Unit and to be responsible for monitoring and gathering intelligence relating to gang activity as well as dissemination of this information within the service. Furthermore, Street Crime officers are responsible for investigating youth crime in relation to violence and continue enforcement with specific attention to youth gangs, and Street Crime officers will continue a pro-active educational approach and be responsible for presentations in the schools and to community groups regarding victimization, youth violence, gang involvement and other relevant issues. Special units like the Street Crime Unit of the Toronto 42 nd division are taking the necessary steps to stop street gangs in their tracks and make a Canadian City like Toronto a safer place. A city like Toronto has taken many steps towards stopping gang violence. Task Forces have been created, and extra funding has been given to the Police to form other special units.
On a National level, on December 10 th, 1999 the Solicitor General of Canada and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada held the National Forum on Youth Gangs where a forum of 120 participants representing different organizations made there recommendations to the government. Even though there are so many people trying to stop this ever so present problem in Canadian cities, still children are joining gangs everyday. There are many reasons that youths give to join this street gangs namely, the socio-economic problems discussed at the beginning of this paper. In an essay by Jeffrey Hagan, the author comments on research that he did about gangs in the community stating that the data indicated that respondents felt that basic freedom of movement was curtailed in the community; students were not proud of street gangs but feared their presence, especially since almost one-fifth of the students had been the victim's of gang crime.
However, there are also many other reasons, like lack of identity, low parental involvement, lack of other things to take part in, like sports, security, money, a sense of belonging and finally peer pressure. There are many signs that a child may have entered a gang like drastic stylistic changes in clothing, wearing one color particularly often, a decline in grades and / or school attendance, unexplained money or possessions, tattoos affiliated with a group, and finally the appearance of graffiti on personal belongings. Although these reasons and symptoms may seem a bit stereotypical, they are unfortunately true. Although parents may feel helpless in stopping their children from joining gangs, especially if they come from a community where gangs run rampant, there are many precautions that can be taken.
Parents should always know their childs friends, establish clear guidelines at an early age in reference to behaviour, respect your childs feelings and try to involve them in community programs such as sports. One very important step that a parent can take is to screen movies and television shows that a child watches and the music that they listen to. For some incredible reason, the street gang life has been glamorized by Hollywood in trying to appeal to a younger generation, and some of the music that is available today is dangerous on so many social and psychological levels yet is ending up in the hands of children. However, if a child has already become affiliated with a street gang, there are many agencies that can help to both get them out and change their lives by putting them back on track. In closing, street gangs have become an all too present phenomenon in Canadian cities.
Their growth can be attributed to so many factors, social, economic, movies and television the list goes on. Canadian citizens must be enlightened to the fact that these organizations are not just committing small-scale crimes. Street gangs have infiltrated the lives of so many and caused so much harm that a greater deal of attention must be paid to this problem. Not only are they committing crimes, stealing, poisoning our children and our streets with drugs, funding terrorism in foreign countries, and making our streets unsafe to walk, they are killing the sons and daughters of a great nation. Bibliography Etter, Gregg W, Sr. , Common Characteristics of Gangs: Examining the Cultures of New Urban Tribes, (Journal of Gang Research, 1998, 5, 2, winter, 19 - 33. Kansas Newman Coll, Wichita) Fagan, Jeffrey, Guns, Youth Violence, and Social Identity in Inner Cities. (Crime and Justice, 1998, 24, 105 - 188.
Center Violence Research & Prevention, Columbia U, New York, NY) Hazelhurst, Kayleen. Gangs and Youth Subcultures. (Transaction Pub. New Brunswick, 1998) Plebanski, David James. Robin Hood or 'Robbin' the Hood? The Cognitive Convergence of Gang Impact on the Perceptions and Experiences of High School Students. (Dissertation Abstracts International, 1999, 60, 2, Aug, 554 -A.
Loyola U, Chicago. ) Ventakesh, Sudhir Alladi. The social Organization of Street Gang activity in an Urban ghetto. (American Journal of Sociology, 1997, 103, 1, July, 82 - 111. Society Fellows Harvard U, Cambridge MA) Solicitor General of Canada. National Forum on Youth Gangs. Dec. 9 - 10 th, 1999. web The Toronto Star, Beyond 2000: Toronto a ripe market for gangs.
Jennifer Quinn. web CI-GANG 22. html Press Release from High Commission of Sri Lanka, Ottawa. March 27 th, 2000. web march 2000. html The Globe and Mail April 6 th, 2001.
Tougher Gang Law may Mean Life Terms. Daniel Leblanc. P. A 4 The Star. Com. Gang Wars Leave Six Dead.
Michelle Sheppard. Oct. 24 th, 2000. web issues/ED 20001024 /news/ 20001024 NEW 01 b CI-SHOOT 24. html 42 Division, Street Crime Unit.
Rick Richardson. Last Updated March 23 rd, 2001. web Yablonski, Lewis. The Violent Gang. (The Macmillan Company, New York, 1963)
Free research essays on topics related to: street gangs, street crime, youth violence, youth gangs, movies and television
Research essay sample on Growing Problem Of Street Gangs In Canada
