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With as much gang violence that occurs within the community today you can pretty much assume that the same can be applied outside of the community. It is thought that by taking these violent gang members off the streets the violence will lessen. This may be true in bettering the community but the violence will still continue in the prison systems. By presenting this paper I plan to review gang violence in the prison systems along with an explanation of the gangs themselves. Also, certain gangs will be discussed and thoughts on preventing these gangs will be presented The first thing Id like to present is the basic definition of what a gang really is. As society has stated, it is a group of individuals, ranging in size, that requires a name, symbols, a territory, and participation toward criminality.
Gangs that exist within prisons are just manifestations of street gangs and are beginning to show signs of the biggest threat for U. S. prisons. It is noted that some prisons are not even run by the staff due to the rise in the formation of prison gangs.
Control of the system becomes extremely difficult in times like this. Individuals join gangs for many reasons. Protection from others is one main reason along with the chance to be part of a family. Racketeering, black-markets, and racism also comes into the view of reasons for joining. Money can be a huge factor due to the illegal activities that take place within the gangs. Gang involvement has been formed into a business of guns, drugs, and money that tend to warp the mind of young individuals.
As gang members grow older their actions will usually end up with some punishment, for instance incarceration. A great amount of the gang members within the prisons have had a number of gang experiences on the streets leaving them already informed of the basic rules. It has been found that prison gangs are formed better then those on the outside. They tend to be low key, discreet, and even stealth like organizations.
Members will usually be watched over in examination of their actions. Questions dealing with the threat they put on others are looked at and seriously monitored. The idea of life-long membership is a huge rule with a lot of these prison gangs. The saying blood in, blood out is used quite a bit with these organizations, extending the leadership and membership beyond the prison.
Any action that breaks such rules usually results in the death of that member. Statistics have shown that prison gang involvement grows yearly from California all the way to Massachusetts. Noted in 1997, 147, 000 individuals in the prison system were involved in a gang. Also, between 1985 and 1992, the involvement of gangs grew two to four times.
Of the 143, 00 inmates of the Texas prisons system, 5, 000 of them have been identified as gang members and another 10, 000 individuals were to be under suspicion. In Illinois, it was stated that 60 % of the prison population were involved in some sort of gang activity. Finally, in New York there are 17, 741 inmates in the prison system and among those 550 are to be involved with the gang known as the Bloods and 345 are to be involved with the gang known as the Latin Kings. The population of these gangs are, again, on a rise and put the security of these prison systems at great risk. A few of the gangs that exist in the systems today are as follows: the Mexican Mafia, the Latin Kings, the Aryan Brotherhood, the Bloods, and many more.
The Mexican Mafia dates back to the 1960 s and are not the largest but one of the most influential and powerful of the gangs. The Latin Kings are a Hispanic group and can be found all over the United States, especially within California. The Aryan Brotherhood are formed of white males that are usually doing life sentences within prisons. They feel considerably strong about the oath of blood in, blood out and are known for not hesitating in killing off their own members. Lastly, the Bloods are originally from California who signifying themselves by wearing the color red constantly.
Not all of these gangs are at war with each other but the threat of conflict is continuously there. Studies have been done questioning how to stop these gangs from forming and the best means would be by preventing it. Isolation and lock-down can be issued in hopes of discouraging the gang members. Officers could also be provided with better training and information about prison gangs, meaning what to look for. The Nation Major Gang Task Force has aided in the information of gangs to the correctional system, preventing some gangs from getting stronger. This organization also provides techniques of gang management to correctional systems along with suppression of the gang involvement.
Some studies also say that by providing programs and activities for the members there is replacement of gang involvement. The main idea is to be able to think on ones own and feel less need for the group. Another form of prevention was an experiment done in Arizona that transferred gang leaders to other facilities in the country. By doing this, the idea is to make the individual feel more like a minority in the group on inmates.
An example would be putting a white supremacist in a more populated area of African Americans. Also with this technique control and organization of the gang is more difficult due to the time and distance involved. All of this information presents the problems at hand and possible resolutions. Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Prison Gangs Gang Involvement
