Gang Violence
... According to Rodgers, the age of children in gangs is steadily decreasing with ages averaging between thirteen and fifteen years old. These young gang members, called “peewees” or “wannabees”, are asked to perform favors for the older gang members such as, watch for police, or deliver packages that contain drugs, money or weapons. In return the “peewees” receive expensive gifts or money from the older gang members. Escaping from being involved with a gang is no easy process. Gang membership can lead to truancy and dropping out of school. Making it very difficult for a gang member to give up a lucrative lifestyle of selling drugs, to work for minimum wage or not even get a job at all (Rodgers). Drug trafficking is a major reason why gangs are prominent, and it is also what can eventually lead to the violence between two rival gangs. Ten to eleven year old children are often involved in gang-related drug trafficking (Rodgers). They can serve many different roles that are all very important such as, spotters or runners. “Spotters” watch for police through the neighborhood and can earn up to $100 per day, “runners” can earn up to $300 per day while they keep the street corner drug dealers supplied with drugs from a hidden cache (Rodgers). Authorities indicate that dealers in a particularly good market like New York City, can make up to $3,000 per day (Rodgers). With most of the gang involvement happening in impoverished neighborhoods, it is easy to see that someone who feels as if they have nothing, would gladly accept $3,000 a day. An overwhelming number of single mothers with children live in impoverished neighborhoods where unemployment routinely exceeds twenty to fifty percent. In these neighborhoods almost 100 percent of the children live under the established federal poverty level (Rodgers). The majority of gang involvement comes out of these neighborhoods because of the family’s lack of money. Most youth gang members live at home with their families, and some parents actively support gang involvement by their children (Rodgers). Rodgers explains why some parents support their children’s gang involvement in his article “Children in Gangs”, “The combined factors of intimidation on the one hand and some financial support on the other eventually result in tacit collusion on the part of these parents”. “Studies implying the disorganizational theory have suggested that there is less social control, both formal and informal, of youth groups in poor urban neighborhoods and that this lack of social control relates to an increased influence of delinquent peer groups” (Tolan). In the article “The Developmental Ecology of Urban Males’ Youth Violence”, Patrick Tolan states gang involvement will eventually lead into interaction and involvement with violent peers. According to table four in Tolan’s article, as neighborliness decreases, gang membership, individual violence, and peer violence increase. As the extent of neighborhood problems increases, gang membership, individual violence, and peer violence follows increasing as well. With a large percentage of children coming from homes of single parents, youth maltreatment is not uncommon. “Youth maltreatment and gang involvement” by Kevin Thompson states “Once consequence of maltreatment may be participation in groups that embrace similar methods for handling conflict. One such group is the youth gang”. Young people joining gangs and resort to gang violence because of the way that they are treated within the family. The relationship between maltreatment and delinquency receive far ...