Evaluation of Social, Political and Ethical Issues on Gang Violence

Evaluation of Social, Political and Ethical Issues on Gang Violence

Social Issues

Violence is regarded as one of the acts which damage society on many fronts. Through the creation of distrust and instilling fear, violence is considered as a prominent societal problem. Gangs have used force in operating procedure for gaining power and regulating sales of drugs. Gang violence expands the issues in the community and is very common in low-income places and ghettos where there is recruitment of underprivileged children. Economic hardships are experienced by families having children aged 18 and below. Being united as a gang is one of how oppressed persons overcome prejudices because gangs provide members with a sense of belonging and protection. Many inequalities fought by gang members develops from racism and from the idea that they come from minority groups (Gebo & Sullivan, 2013).

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

In the USA, there are high values on being considered "white." The inequality claims develop from benefits which the society attaches to disparities between people and members of gangs. The primary means used by gangs in lashing out against these types of inequality is through violence. Violence is the standard operating procedure for gangs. Violence is regarded as a culture because gangs provide members with a false sense of importance and power because of the impact it has on youths. Social issues of violence include its effects on society, where juveniles are told they belong to part of a false group. The solution to the social problem of gang violence is cutting off gangs' lifeblood through stopping recruitment. Youths have to be shown different and respectable ways of life, and offering more finances to schools for anti-gang programs is essential to handle this issue (Rahtz, 2017).

Political Issues

After the mass killings of people in Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and other cities in the USA, there has been a call for National Guard to police these cities. There are many things which can be done to bring to an end to urban violence occurring in the towns in the USA. Youth and community advocates and politicians seek ways of stopping urban crimes in the short and long terms. The solution to gang violence should rest on the provision of more jobs for the youths. Summer jobs programs provide teenagers with work skills and experience, which subsequently keeps them out of trouble and the streets (Axelrod, 2015).

This program will not only assist in helping stoppage of crime in the short term but provide the youths with necessary training and experience for adult careers. Also, there should be strengthening of gun laws. On a yearly basis, illegal guns are shipped into urban areas, which are then used in fuelling inner-city violence. People have to support legislation for keeping guns away from hands of youths in cities. There should be changes in the culture of violence in cities in the USA. Pressure should be put on activities on radio stations, record labels, and TV channels to bring to an end the promotion of rappers encouraging gangs and gang violence (In Gebo & In Bond, 2014).

Ethical Issues

Social conditions are defined by governments as social problems when they spend money on them. This is the case with gang violence among the youth. Regardless, what is clear over the years is that the problem of gang violence is not one which money can be thrown into to address and just disappear. There are given ethical issues which have to be addressed in trying to assist the youth gang members in separating them from these types of contrary lifestyles. The moral question of integrity comes into the picture. A specialist in youth gang violence needs to have the integrity to avoid being involved in part of gang violence and to foster trust by juveniles which people work with (Howell, 2015).

Honesty is crucial for social agencies and the police in the prevention of juvenile gang violence since it is necessary for professionals in psychology to be intermediaries between client and law enforcement. The second ethical issue is that of justice. The principal goal is helping clients escape the life of gangs, while the secondary objectives are avoiding the gang violence to offer truth to every member of the family. The final ethical principle is that of fidelity and responsibility. Fidelity is crucial since when one lacks loyalty, there would not be any trust. Accountability is vital for helping clients arrive at solutions to their problems and developing skills which would help them to cope (White, 2013).

Available Resources

The available resources which are essential for this research as mainly primary and secondary sources. Primary sources used include interviews, questionnaires, and surveys. These help by providing firsthand information on the subject. The secondary sources include information from websites of agencies, scholarly books which touch on the topic of gang violence, blog posts, and journal articles.

Annotated Bibliography

Preventive interventions to reduce youth gang violence in low- and middle-income countries. (2015). doi:10.4073/csr.2015.18

This article by Angela et al., (2015) focuses on the preventive interventions which are relevant for reducing the involvement of the youth in gangs and gang crime in middle and low-income countries. These approaches are applicable in the United States of America which explains why this source is an important resource. I like the article because it provides a background analysis of the concept of gang violence, supports it with a literature review and then provides the suggestions needed to handle this problem. This is an important resource for the completion of this task.

References

Journals

Carson, D. C., & Esbensen, F. (2017). Gangs in School. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 154120401773967. doi:10.1177/1541204017739678

Cottrell-Boyce, J. (2013). Ending Gang and Youth Violence: A Critique. Youth Justice, 13(3), 193-206. doi:10.1177/1473225413505382

Gebo, E., & Sullivan, C. J. (2013). A Statewide Comparison of Gang and Non-Gang Youth in Public High Schools. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 12(3), 191-208. doi:10.1177/1541204013495900

Preventive interventions to reduce youth gang violence in low- and middle-income countries. (2015). doi:10.4073/csr.2015.18

White, R. (2013). Gang Interventions. Youth Gangs, Violence and Social Respect, 151-177. doi:10.1057/9781137333858_9

Books

Development Services Group, Inc, & United States. (2014). LGBTQ youths in the juvenile justice system.

Hess, K. M., Orthmann, C. M., & LaDue, S. E. (2016). Management and supervision in law enforcement.

Howell, J. C. (2015). The history of street gangs in the United States: Their origins and transformations.

In Gebo, E., & In Bond, B. J. (2014). Looking beyond suppression: Community strategies to reduce gang violence.

In Information Resources Management Association. (2017). Violence and society: Breakthroughs in research and practice.

Blog Posts

Axelrod, T. (2015, March 6). Gang Violence Is on the Rise, Even as Overall Violence Declines [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/03/06/gang-violence-is-on-the-rise-even-as-overall-violence-declines

NATIONAL GANG CENTER. (n.d.). Measuring the Extent of Gang Problems [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/survey-analysis/measuring-the-extent-of-gang-problems

Rahtz, E. (2017, June 8). The psychological impact of gang violence [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/the-psychological-impact-of-gang-violence-77267

Sanburn, J., & Johnson, D. (2017, January 30). Violent Crime Is On the Rise in U.S. Cities [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://time.com/4651122/homicides-increase-cities-2016/

Youth gang involvement: What are the risk factors? [Web log post]. (2018, January 31). Retrieved from https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/yth-gng-nvlvmnt/index-en.aspx

Movies

Ayer, D. (Director). (2008). Street Kings [Motion picture]. USA.

Palma, B. D. (Director). (1983). Scarface [Motion picture]. USA.

Scott, R. (Director). (2007). American Gangster [DVD]. USA.

Singleton, J. (Director). (1991). Boyz n the Hood [DVD]. USA.

Stone, C. (Director). (2001). Paid in Full [Motion picture]. USA.

Newspapers and Magazines

Development Services Group, Inc,, & United States. (2014). LGBTQ youths in the juvenile justice system.

Wash, C. (2011, November 10). Gangs are good for society. The Guardian.

Saunders, P. (2016, June 16). Understand Chicago, Understand Rising Urban Crime. Forbes Magazine [Chicago].

Rodriguez, J., & Martinez, R. (2017, March 18). The Gangs of L.A. What ever happened to the "gangbanger"? The New York Times.

Ferguson, B. (2017, April 7). Gang violence is contagious. The Guardian.