Criminal and Social Justice Theories, Capstone Project Example

Abstract

Although crime control and the due process values usually exist at once in the U.S. criminal justice system, during certain periods and models takes main concern over the other. Generally, when crime rates are high, the public insists that law-keepers should“get tough on crime”, and the criminal justice system responds by favoring crime control values. When crime rates are in decline, law-keepers allow the court system to favordue process values. As in the beginning of 2011, however, the crime control/due process balance is in a flux. There are gangs throughout the country and internationally. Their presence often leads to a crippling effect of fear and sometimes to denial. It is denial and fear that are causing problems in communities. Unless or until each community learns to deals with those effects, they will continue to see arise in gang violence in schools, communities, and in prisons.

Literature Review

Qualitative research on gangs has provided some insights into the similarities and differences in various types of gangs. James Diego Vigil (1988) and Joan Moore (1978), for example, have paintedthe unique struggle of Chicago gangs for the past 30 years. Sheldon Zhang (2001)has illuminated Chinese gangs in America, which are rarely studied. Although he did not specifically implicate African American gangs, Elijah Anderson’s (1999) book Code of the Street is relevant to discussions regarding how attitudes and behavior may be affected by urban life.

Quantitative studies, however, have been employed to understand the extent and characteristics of gang memberships across the United States. Nationwide, quantitative studies are rare. One of the renowned is the National Youth Gang Survey (NYGS), conducted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention(OJJDP) (2008), which surveyed a representative model of law enforcement agencies about the gang problems in their jurisdictions. These data have been used to inform the prevalence of gangs and gang members, the areas in which they are common, and the demographic of gang members. In addition, researchers also have attempted to collect national data on gangs.

Egley et al (2010), for example, collected data from hundreds of police agencies in gang cities across the United States to under the formation of gangs. Media depictions of gangs often include an emphasis on gangs as organized, long-standing, hierarchical groups with established syndicates that spread across the nation. Their study did confirm “traditional” gangs, which are most often, captured by the media, as large, age-old, hierarchical gangs with a wide range of gang member ages. However, they also concluded that this type of gang formation only characterized 11 percent of the gangs that were reported across the country.

The most common formation of gangs were groups that had no formal organization (no subgroups), had less than 50 members, had been in existence for less than 10 years, had no pattern of territoriality, and had members around the same age. This gang formation accounted for 39 percent of the gangs reported (Egley, et al, 2010). A larger proportion of gangs were rather loosely structured groups of youths. Research also has shown that these types of gangs are more fluid than traditional, highly structured gangs. It is not rare for these forms of groups to dissipate to their own. This research also has shown that a majority of street gangs in the United States are not highly structured organizations, which makes the likelihood of successful criminal syndication unlikely. This isnot to say that well-organized, criminal street gangs do not exist. They do, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Similarly, the notion of a transnational gang is also not the common gang structure.

Introduction

It is anaxiom to say that if crime played any role in the birth of modern America, then it must have been punished, or one would not make the association. Nevertheless it is perhaps a statement worth making. This is a period when the whole business of law-making changed over the industrialized world. The law enforcement agencies wereadopting new technologies, rationalizing, and standardizing. Perhaps because of its wild repute, perhaps because of its fascination with crime and the criminal, this is shown most clearly in America. It is glaringly demonstrated by the central nature of the figures of policing. The roles of America law-keepers are iconic across popular culture – from the legendary posses of the West; to the good “ol boy” Southern sheriff; to San Francisco, Chicago, and New York’s Finest; to Eliot Ness’ Untouchables (Kinnear, 2009, p. 10-15). So are the names of Alcatraz, Sing Sing, the Tombs, and San Quentin. It is impossible to imagine the immigrant colonies of Gilded Age New York without picturing the Irish cop on the street corner thwarting the activities of the Italian and Jewish gangs of street kids(Kinnear, 2009, p. 16). Popular images of the gangs of the 1920s always seem include a reference to the brutality of the regime in San Quentin or Alcatraz or the incompetence of the local police (p. 16). The images of the South seem invariably to include a chain gang in the background. Across the nation, the forces of law and justice were as indicative of the progress of the nation as the prairie sod-house and the skyscrapers of New York and Chicago (p. 16). By suggesting that there are different degrees or types of gangs, such types suggest that different types of gangs pose different problems and require different solutions.

Legal Positions

Gang members commit a substantial amount of crime, which has been shown using both self-reported and official measures of crime. Studies have consistently shown that gang members commit more delinquency than non-gang members (Travis, 2011, p. 445). They also commit more violent crime than non-gang members. In one sample of youths, for example, approximately 30 percent of the youths reported gang involvement, but reported committing 68 percent of all violent crimes and 86 percent of all serious offenses reported by the entire youth sample (Travis, 2011, p. 446).

Researchers have examined whether gang members are more delinquent and thereby seek out other people like them, or whether entrance into the gang increases delinquent behavior. Longitudinal research conducted by Pollock (2011, p. 243) on gang offending shows that it is a bit of both. Gang membership increases serious and violent offending in an individual who is an active member, but even after a member leaves the gang, their reported offending is still higher than non-gang members (p. 250). They are more delinquent than delinquent youths who have non-gang delinquent friends. Pollock (2011, p. 250) also shows that non-gang youths who associate with gang friends are more likely to offend than non-gang youths who do not have gang friends. In sum, involvement or association with gangs significantly increases participation in criminal behavior.

Thesis Statement

Their presence often leads to a crippling effect of fear and sometimes to denial. By suggesting that there are different degrees or types of gangs, such typologies suggest that different types of gangs pose different problems and require different solutions.

Gang Concept in the USA

Aside from a broad focus on youth groups, the definition of a gang has been debated since the earliest qualitative work on street gangs. In short, interested parties have not been able to come to a consensus regarding what characteristics of gangs are common enough to be shared among all gangs, but specific enough to distinguish gangs from any other group. This is particularly challenging when decades of research shows that most youths who engage in crime do so during adolescence, and usually in groups. So, what distinguishes a group of delinquent friends from a street gang?

Types Of Gangs In The Usa

Some authors have identified different types of gangs. Sociologist Mike Carlie (2011)asserts that gang initiation is an urban rite of passage for at-risk youth to be formally inducted as a gang member. Prior to initiation, the inductee often memorizes basic gang principles, codes of conduct, hand signals, and symbols often reached to as “knowledge”.He (2011) described the most common initiation strategies utilized by nationally based gangs are subdivided into the following categories: assault, homicide, sexual relations, larceny, and nonviolent methods. Taylor (1990) offers a typology of gangs based on the motivational factors underlying the gang behavior. While some gangs center on protecting territory, others may exist to make money for its members. Using types of gangs negates the need for a single definition.

Statistical Information

Thecomplete statisticsin the United States are unknown, with available figures being little more than wild “guesstimates”. A March 1998 article in the National Institute of Justice publication noted that more than 16,000 gangs “with at least half a million members” exist (Barrows &Huff, 2009). According to the OJJDP (2008, p. 1), there are 26,500 gangs in the United States, with approximately 785,000 members. Police departments across the country reported high levels of gang involvement in auto theft, assault, burglary, vandalism and graffiti, and illegal drug sales. According to a research conducted by the National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC), criminal gangs are held liable for 80 percent of the street crime in America (NGIC, 2009, p. 8-9). Another most recent estimate indicates there are nearly 28,000 gangs with about 774,000 members (Egley, et al, 2010, p. 1).Although one does not know the exact extent of gang participation, what one does know, however, that gangs are so common, and they exist in all 50 U.S. states.

Legal Implications

Many states do not legally define a gang, and those states that do have a definition do not often use the same definition. As legal ramifications for gang membership have become more severe, courts have demanded an unambiguous definition of a gang to protect the constitutional rights of gang members. One example that has withstood court challenge defines a gang as three or more people with the commission of crime as their “primary” activity, and that have a common name, or identifying symbol. The influence of street gangs increased at alarming rate, menacing neighborhoods, communities, and terrorizing the helpless (Carlie, 2002).

Gang members are the most likely to own guns and recruit youths who already own guns, and are more likely to carry guns that are non-gang youths (Decker, 2007). There is evidence that possession of guns and weapons is a better explanation of victimization than gang membership. Whether or not youths belong to gangs, those who carry firearms are more likely to be crime sufferers than those who do not(Spano et al, 2008).

Many gang members use and sell drugs, and that the sale of drugs is an integral part of some organized gangs. The degree to which gangs are involved in drugs, however, is highly variable. Recent research, conducted by Bellair and McNulty (2009), suggests that gang members who sell drugs engage in more violence than those who do not sell drugs. Despite these findings, there is no doubt that conflicts over drugs and sales territories do escalate to violence.

The FBI goal is to collect, analyze and disseminate intelligence to support law enforcement efforts to identify gang hierarchies and to more effectively direct law enforcement resources to crush gang organizations. States also began developing gang legislation to combat gang at the state level. Law enforcement and schools joined prevention programs: D.A.R.E. added a gang lesson; G.R.E.A.T. was developed to deal with gang prevention. The G.R.E.A.T. middle-school program taught by local law enforcement officers is the only gang prevention programs that ahs been evaluated by rigorous methodological standards and found to be promising or effective. When the program underwent a curriculum redesign that was fully implemented in 2002, a new evaluation of the program started in 2006 and continued through 2010 (FBI, 2011). Short-term results from the evaluation of the revised program have shown that program participants report lower rates of gang membership and delinquency. Information is presently being collected to find out if the program has long-term effects.

Recommendations

Direct law enforcement action is only one way to combat crime. Another way is to deter criminal behaviour by enacting laws that raise the “cost” of committing a crime at first hand. Four U.S. States – California, Florida, Indiana, and Missouri – have recently passed legislation making those individuals involved in gang-related murders eligible for the death penalty(Egley, et al, 2010).

Jurisdictions can also pass legislation to control criminal behavior that may not be criminal in it but can lead to future crime. Several communities have“antiloitering” laws that permit police to disperse groups of people on public sidewalks and arrest those who raise specific suspicions. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, struck down a Chicago ordinance that prohibited citizens from grouping “with no apparent purpose” because it gave police officers too much freedom to decide whether a suspect’s purpose was apparent or not. Such laws are too similar in spirit to an operation like Super Mano Duto(Egley et al, 2010).

Finally, sometimes the criminal justice system turns to supplementary areas of the law for help. For instance, many members of MS-13 and other predominantly Hispanic street gangs have violated U.S. immigration law by entering the nation illegally. Thus, FBI officials can use the “immigration hammer” to detain these suspects without providing that they have committed any crime. Then, instead of going through the costly and time-consuming process of a criminal trial, authorities can simply return the gang members to their homelands. Certainly, this policy has negative ramifications for countries such as El Salvador, which once again must deal with an onslaught of hardened criminals. It may also have an impact on the fight against terrorist. American and foreign officials fear that groups such as Al Qaeda will seek out MS-13 and other gangs from Central America and Mexico. After all, many of the gangs’ members have made successful clandestine cross of the U.S. border and might be willing to help others do so for the right price.

Conclusions

Although these have been a great deal of interest and research in gang activity, no single, generally accepted definition of a gang has been developed yet. As Decker (2007) identifies a number of factors that are most common to most definitions. These elements are a group, symbols, communication, permanence, turf, and criminal behavior. Gangs are also more common in poor, disorganized areas of the community. While there is no shortage of motivation to combat the problem and numerous programs and policies have been designed, there have been very few success stories. The results of gang policies and programs may seem disheartening. The fact is that few stories that target gang prevention, intervention, or suppression have been found to be effective. This is large part because most policies, especially suppression, have not been evaluated for effectiveness. Those that have been evaluated have not been tested with enough methodological rigors to make causal statements about program effect; that is, they cannot eliminate the possibility that a non-program related factor was the actual cause of the observed.

References

Anderson, Elijah (1999). Code of the Street. New York: Norton.

Barrows, J., & Huff, C. R. (2009). “Gangs and Public Policy: Constructing and Deconstructing Gang Databases.” Criminology & Public Policy, 8(4): 675 – 703.

Bellair, Paul E. and Thomas L. McNulty. (2009). “Gang membership, drug selling, andviolence in neighborhood context.” Justice Quarterly26:644-669.

Carlie, M. (2002). Into the Abyss. Retrieved 10 17, 2011, from A perspective on Gangs: http://people.missouristate.edu/michaelcarlie/Orientation/perspective.htm

Chesney-Lind, Meda, &Irwin, Katherine.(2008). Beyond Bad Girls: Gender, Violence, and Hype.New York, NY: Routledge.

Decker, Scott H. (2007). Responding to Gangs, Guns and Youth Crime: Principles from Strategic Problem Solving Approaches. A White Paper presented at the Institute for Governors’ Criminal Justice Policy Advisors of the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Seattle, Washington, March 8-9, 2007.

Egley, A., Jr.,& Howell, J.C., & Moore, J.P. (2010). Highlights of the 2008 National Youth Gang Survey. Fact Sheet.Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office ofJustice Programs, and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

FBI. (2011). Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 10 17, 2011, from Gangs: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/vc_majorthefts/gangs.

Kinnear, Karen L. (2009). Gangs: A Reference Book. ABC-CLIO. 10-20.

Miller, Jody. (2001). One of the Guys: Girls, Gangs, and Gender. New York, NY: Oxford University.

Moore, Joan W. (1978). Homeboys: Gangs, Drugs, and Prison in the Barrios of Los Angeles. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

National Gang Intelligence Center. (2009). 2009 National Gang Threat Assessment. Crystal City, VA: National Gang Intelligence Center, 8-9.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (2008, July). Highlights of the 2006 national Youth Gang Survey. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice.

Pollock, Joycelyn M. (2011). Crime and Justice in America: An Introduction to Criminal Justice. Elsevier.

Spano, R., & Freilich, J. D., & Bolland, J. (2008). “Gang membership, gun carrying, andemployment: Applying routine activities theory to explain violent victimization among inner city youthliving in extreme poverty”. Justice Quarterly. 25,381-410.

Travis, Lawrence F. (2011). Introduction to Criminal Justice. Elsevier. 446-450.

Thrasher, Frederic M. (1927). The Gang: A Study of 1,313 Gangs in Chicago. Chicago: Universityof Chicago Press.

Vigil, James Diego. (1988). Barrio Gangs. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Zhang, Sheldon. (2001). “Chinese Gangs: Familial and Cultural Dynamics,” in C. Ron Huff (ed.),Gangs inAmerica, 3^rdEdition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.