Race and ethnicity are not necessarily inseparable from gang formation and gang crimes. Nevertheless, they are closely connected to this social phenomenon and addressing race and ethnicity would be beneficial for controlling activities of local crimes. From this perspective, there are several arguments, which would be helpful for supporting the statement that race and ethnic-specific strategies might contribute to solving the problem of gangs. First and foremost, ethnic and race-specific strategies might be valuable for gaining an understanding of the reasons for joining a gang. For instance, creating alternatives for youth with the focus on their background might prevent them from becoming involved in gang activities, which are commonly the only way of getting in touch with people of the same race and ethnicity (Walker, Spohn, & Delone, 2012). More than that, recognizing ethnic and racial specificities of gangs might be helpful for apprehending the frequency of some crimes, which are culture-specific. In this way, targeting them might as well contribute to addressing the challenge (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d.). Finally, in some cases, it is racism that leads to the formation of gangs. It means the implementation of ethnic and race-specific strategies contributes to the integration of minorities into a community, thus minimizing risks of their crime activities (Walker et al., 2012).
Racial and Ethnical Neutrality of Law Enforcement Strategies
Based on the arguments provided above, law enforcement strategies should incorporate racial and ethical specificities. It means that neutrality should be avoided. Nowadays, the focus is commonly made on investigating the nature of crimes, not cultures (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d.). However, this approach is beneficial for reducing crime rates in the short run and does no contribute to solving the gang problem in the long run due to the existence of heavy stereotypes in the modern society. Therefore, neutrality aggravates the problem of racial and ethnic gap because of labeling and stimulating them to get involved in particular activities, which are sometimes illegal.
Police Department Dilemmas
There are numerous dilemmas connected to the issue of controlling gang crimes. The first one is related to the choice of strategies aimed at preventing youth from joining gangs. In this way, police departments might either select race-specific strategies or ignore the role of ethnicity and culture in gang activities. There is one more dilemma connected to this one. In case of choosing a culture-specific strategy, it is critical to train police department staff to deploy them properly. It means that police departments face the challenge of choosing what should be given preference to – collaboration and efficient strategy for minimizing risks of crime activities or saving resources (Pollock, 2014). Moreover, there is a dilemma of valuing social order and guaranteeing the safety of citizens. From this perspective, police department staff should choose whether they want to use violence against gang members in order to protect other members of society or seek other ways to prevent gang activities (Hess, Orthmann, & Cho, 2013).
Discrimination as a Result of Ethnic and Race-Specific Strategies
Without regard to a strategy chosen for controlling gang activities, in most cases, it will result in discrimination. There is a belief that the major feature of the criminal justice system is institutional discrimination. This phenomenon is related to the gap between people with different socioeconomic background. It is often seen in the level of income and current employment. In this way, those who are employed or have a source of constant income commonly get away with crimes instead of being sentenced to imprisonment (Walker et al., 2012). Nevertheless, this concept is system-wide and does not necessarily refer to gangs. That is why it might distort reality. On the other hand, there is a concept of contextual discrimination, i.e. viewing each situation or context separately. In case of studying gang formation, contextual discrimination is more relevant because race and ethnicity are viewed as particular contexts, which make people susceptible to becoming involved in crime activities (Bumgarner, 2015). It as well contributes to prejudice and failing to react to some cases and make judgments adequately.
Theories of Crime for Explaining the Prevalence of Gangs in the U.S.
The first theory for explaining the prevalence of gangs in the United States is known as anomie approach to determining the causes of crime involvement. According to this theory, people become engaged in offending patterns due to the lack of income and educational background. In this case, those who belong to lower classes are more susceptible to joining gangs. The issue is severely aggravated if people witness gang operation from the early childhood and believe that it is a normal framework of developing social relations. In addition, the prevalence of gangs can be explained by subcultural theory. According to it, gangs are subcultures with their particular laws and lifestyles. So, becoming a part of it might be desirable under certain socioeconomic conditions. Finally, there is a labeling theory. This one is the most related to gang activities because people with particular backgrounds are expected to act in a particular way. For instance, racial minorities are often depicted as violent, while the whites are shown as victims of crimes. In this case, minorities are subconsciously isolated from the community. Due to the lack of other options, they might end up in gangs (Gabbidon & Green, 2016; Walker et al., 2012).
References
Bumgarner, J. (2015). Profiling and criminal justice in America. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio.
Gabbidon, S. L., & Green, H. T. (2016). Race and crime. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Hess, K. M., Orthmann, C. H., & Cho, H. L. (2013). Police operations: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.
Pollock, J. M. (2014). Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
U.S. Department of Justice. (n.d). Youth gang programs and strategies. Web.
Walker, S., Spohn, C., & Delone, M. (2012). The color of justice: Race, ethnicity, and crime in America. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.