Gangs and gang violence are a concerning problem of modern America, which receives a lot of attention in modern literature and research. At times in 2019, the number of gangs and gang members tends to increase.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there are approximately 33,000 violent criminally active street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and inmate gangs in the United States today, comprising 1.4 million members (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2023). They are often well-organized groups who use violence to control areas and commit illegal money-making activities. These activities include robbery, human, drug, and weapon trafficking, prostitution, and fraud (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2023).
A gang, according to Valasik and Reid (2022), is an active group of three or more persons whose principal activity is the conduct of criminal actions or the intentional violation of policy. Gangs have a common name or a distinguishing mark, color, or symbol. Carson and Hipple (2020) in their research established a close connection between gangs and violence. However, findings show that law enforcement agencies classify incidents as gang-related based on the nature of their activities (Carson & Hipple, 2020). This means that the actual number of gang crimes may vary.
Several studies show that the burden of violence varies markedly by gender, race, location, and other socioeconomic and demographic factors. Bottiani et al. (2021) found that gun homicides among black boys and young men (aged 15–24) were many times higher than rates for any other demographic group. Structural racism and historical racial spaces have been identified as the main cause of these inequalities. Hollis (2019), while exploring the relationship between traditional socioeconomic indicators with the criminal activities of criminal gangs, also revealed some patterns. These studies led to the suggestion that such factors may not only be associated with gang violence but also be its predictors.
Considering the urgency of the problem, more and more studies are focusing on researching different methods of gang deterrence. In particular, Corburn et al. (2022) come to the conclusion that methods targeted at decreasing gang violence are progressively shifting from the domain of police competence to community-based programs. Such programs have a whole set of various measures aimed at preventing involvement in gangs and reducing their impact on society. They may include street outreach workers’ activities as violence preventers and adult mentors who may assist persons at the epicenter of gang violence in making decisions and improving their life chances.
Howell (2022) in his work analyzes and compares complex programs to deter gang crime and concludes that an effective program must be multi-level. It should include measures to prevent young people from joining gangs, coupled with targeted prosecution and law enforcement crackdowns on the most violent gang members. Howell (2022) emphasizes the need for supervision and outreach services for adolescent gang members. The analysis of this literature leads to the fact that mentoring is worth studying as a separate aspect of gang violence regulation.
Various authors agree that this can be an effective tool both to prevent gang entry and as an intervention to deter existing gang members who are not prosecuted and have not yet committed serious crimes but are at risk. However, this literature does not give sufficient attention to such interventions, and they are considered only superficially. Current research looks more deeply and comprehensively into mentoring in the context of gang violence deterrence and, in particular, its role in preventing gang growth.
References
Bottiani, J. H., Camacho, D. A., Lindstrom Johnson, S., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2021). Annual research review: youth firearm violence disparities in the United States and implications for prevention. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, 62(5), 563-579. Web.
Carson, D., & Hipple, N. K. (2020). Comparing violent and non-violent gang incidents: An exploration of gang-related police incident reports. Social Sciences, 9(11), 199. Web.
Corburn, J., Nidam, Y., & Fukutome-Lopez, A. (2022). The art and science of urban gun violence reduction: Evidence from the advance peace program in Sacramento, California. Urban Science, 6(1), 6. Web.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.). Crime in the U.S. FBI: UCR. Web.
Hollis, M. E. (2019). Disaggregating gang activity: an exploratory study of the socio-demographic context of gang activity. Crime, Law and Social Change, 71(4), 441-458. Web.
Howell, C. J. (2022). What works with gangs: A breakthrough. Criminology & Public Policy. 17(4), 779-782. Web.
Valasik, M., Reid, S.E. (2022). Taking Stock of Gang Violence: An Overview of the Literature. National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan (NPEIV), 2045-2065. Web.