How Do the Responses of Correctional Staff to the Gangs Contrast or Compare to Those of Law Enforcement? Essay Example

Gangs are known to carry on criminal activity through force, terrorization, and they threaten violence and total disruption of an institution. Operating and secrecy, gangs’ potential for destructive activity are recognized by most correctional officials. Correctional officials feel there are some effective plans to win this war; these events are not being widely put into practice. In the meantime, gangs are utilizing weaknesses in the correctional system, including abusing legislative provisions intended to protect religious rights. Police organizations work together with correctional officers in bring calm to the community by creating specialized units that address specific issues of law enforcement like hate crimes, repeat offences, and domestic violence (Winterdyk & Ruddell, 2010).

It is said that authority of gang control by correctional officers’ is weakened by courts because prison administrators have been confined to case law. Therefore, it is important for correctional administrators to develop strategies on gang control that meet precedents of the federal court (Winterdyk & Ruddell, 2010). The importance of such precedents is providing information to correctional researchers, which aid in evaluation processes. This response is similar to those of law enforcement agents and thus, they can collaborate with correctional officers in promoting awareness among gangs and members of the public in order to control the increase of repeat offences. This response applies to both parties because the issue raised affects gangs and law enforcer. Consequently, it is vital for these parties to share ideas and implement strategies that work well with their issues in order to avoid wasting resources (Fleisher & Decker, 2001).

Another response is the isolation of gang leaders, which is practiced by many correctional facilities as it limits the influence on main-line population inmate. Surveys conducted reveal how more than half of correctional officers believe in isolation policy because communication breakdown weakens the solidarity of group gangs (Fleisher & Decker, 2001). Through transferring gang leaders among institutions and or circulating them between prisons is a version of achieving control strategies. Apart from the above mentioned strategies, correctional agencies have managed to use databases, which track gang activities and prison gang members. In order for information collected to be accurate, correctional agencies and law enforcement ensure that communication is effective.

Prison gang management strategies also involve the use of alternate programming like movies, homework, discussion, and sessions. This strategy is well embraced among correctional officers because it gives them an avenue of airing their views and opinions. They also share ideas on how they want their officers to handle their problems. However, alternate programming is expensive and therefore, it is paramount for correctional officers to adapt to collaboration. This creates strong solutions to persistent and difficult prison gang problems. In addition, the collaboration creates programs that increase the likelihood of gang members’ to remain crime free after leaving correctional institutions (Fleisher & Decker, 2001). Law enforcement also applies this strategy and has managed to reduce the chances of catching the same culprit involved in a crime.

Correctional officers also apply strategies that match with community initiatives, and are designed to leave them feeling part of the community they left many years ago. To gangs, technology is still the same as it was years back, but it certainly has changed. The high-tech innovations introduced by many companies, organizations, and institutions have left them alien and will tempt them to engage in unlawful activities. However, these programs act as a guide to giving them specialized training and education that meets their entry of employment (Winterdyk & Ruddell, 2010).

4- Compare and contrast gangs from two ethnic groups in terms of membership, criminal activity, violence, and relationship to their own community.

Among Hispanic gangs, membership is issued in order to manage the numbers and coordinate the group. This enables gang leaders to promote organization in the group and thus, they conduct activities on a timetable basis and hence, chances of messing up are minimal. Most Hispanic gangs work with relatives and compete with other gang members from the same race in order to achieve the highest seat. They also do not hold regular meetings because they work together in bringing truces. Violence among the gang is mostly associated to the youths because they discipline those members of their gang that have failed to meet their targets. In addition, the are young and aggressive in doing things, therefore, gang leaders use their energetic skills to do their duty deals. Criminal activity among the youth is also prevalent and; therefore, gang leaders are able to promote their activities with the help of the energetic youths. The relationship existing between Hispanic gangs and the community is cordial because gang members promote peace in the community. They assist law enforcement personnel in bringing to books those who engage in criminal activities as a way of reducing competition from other gangs in the community. As compared to the black American gang, number is not an issue, but performance.

African-American gangs have existed since the World War 2. Their subcultures and systems have spread from the central cities to the smaller cities and inhabited areas where there is inadequacy of social, economic and educational support from the authorities. These gangs have evolved into predatory groups who engage in trafficking of drugs and other criminal gain. The black gangs have integrated themselves into the community by ensuring that they offer services that government authorities seem to have neglected. They have developed into the mainstream music in terms of rap culture in order to defend and grow their illegal and criminal activities. Nowadays, rap music has been identified mostly with the gangs especially from the different sides of the country.

The violence within the black gangs is very high due to their perception of being the population who are considered second rate. In most of the cities, a black youth is considered to be connected to a gang more than any other ethnic group. Also, they are deemed to be more prone to criminal activities than the white gangs. In most prisons within the cities, black inmates are many compared to their Hispanic counterparts due to most of them engaging in violent criminal activities.

Black youths sustain connections to their gang groupings than any other ethnic group. Community agencies do not have the capacity to reach out of these gangs thereby not able to lure the youth from joining these gangs (Weisel et al., 1999). These youths must learn to survive on the street through joining semi organized gangs. The main characteristics of the black gangs emphasizes on economic survival and increase in criminal opportunities, for example, drug-trafficking on a street level.

References

Fleisher, M.S. & Decker, S.C. (2001). An Overview of the Challenges of Prison Gangs.

Corrections Management Quartely, 5 (1), p. 1-9.

Winterdyk, J. & Ruddell, R. (2010). Managing prison gangs: Results from a survey of U.S. prison systems. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38, p. 730-736.

Weisel, D.L., Nugent, H., Spelman, W., Ayres, M.B. & Capowich, G.E. (1999). Addressing

Community Gang Problems: A Practical Guide. Bureau of Justice Assistance.