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1 The Problem of Violence between Members of Street Gangs in New York City Student’s Name: Institutional Affiliation: Course: Tutor: Date:

2 The Problem of Violence between Members of Street Gangs in New York City Part One: Seriousness The problem of violence between members of street gangs in New York City has continued to be serious over the past decades. Despite making efforts in fighting gangs and violent crimes that they are engaged in, some parts of the city still experience high rates of violence (Mangual, 2019). Various parts of the city have experienced serious crimes caused by crews, gangs, and formal youth groups. Members of these gangs can be found in almost every block or building in the affected areas. Today, gangs account for an average of 35% of homicides in New York City (Mangual, 2019). They are also responsible for about 50% of shootings in the city. There are still many powerful street gangs in New York City in current times. Folk Nation is one of the most dangerous gangs in the city. In 2018, over 50 members of this gang were on the most wanted list of the New York Police Department (Gotham Gazette, n. d.). The Irish Mob is another powerful gang. It is a group of contract killers and enforcers, who are part of the larger Italian Mob. There are many other powerful street gangs in New York including the 5 Mafia Families, Albanian Boys, Irish Hoods, Polish Mob, Latin Kings, and Hells Angel MC among others. Many incidents of stabbing, shooting, and killing has taken place in recent years in New York as a result of the activities of these gangs. Within the first 11 months of 2020, there were over 1,412 shootings that involved various gangs (Chapman, 2020). Data provided by the New York Police Department indicated that there has been a 96% rise in shootings over the past one year before 2020. In the same 11 months of 2020, there were 1,760 deaths resulting from the

3 violence by the various gangs (Chapman, 2020). The New York Police Department indicated that the number of fatalities doubled in just one year. There have also been hundreds of incidents of stabbing in various parts of the city. According to New York City’s gang database, over 99% of gangs are composed of people of color (Khan, 2018). African Americans represent 65% of the members, non-white Hispanics represent 24%, while Black Hispanics represent 10%. By 2018, about 17,441 individuals were part of different gang groups (Khan, 2018). Over 1,460 gang members in the city are below the age of 18 years. The average age of the gang members in 27 years. Evidence has shown that the scope of the problem is growing. In current times, there has been a rise in gun violence among the gangs (Chapman, 2020). The rise in gun violence is more than what has been experienced over the past years. As a result of this, detectives from the New York Police Department have launched campaigns against gun violence. Part Two: Relevance of Theories Different theories of crime can explain why individuals join gangs and engage in criminal activity. Biological theories are based on the assumption that certain individuals are born to be criminals (The Scottish Center for Crime and Justice Research, n. d.). These individuals are psychologically different from those who were born as non-criminals. Biological positivism as put forth by Cesare Lombroso indicates that criminals are atavistic (The Scottish Center for Crime and Justice Research, n. d.). This implies that they are primitive or possess characteristics of remote ancestors. Lombroso indicated that the brains of criminals are not fully developed. For example, they have receding chins and sloping foreheads. The other biological factors that are used in determining criminals are biochemical conditions, neuropsychological conditions, and genetic inheritance among others.

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4 `Sociological theories of crime are based on the assumption that it is determined by external factors of an individual. Such factors include peer groups, family, and the community among others (The Scottish Center for Crime and Justice Research, n. d.). An example of a sociological theory that best explains this view is the social disorganization theory. In this theory, Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay indicated that patterns of crime are characterized by different factors including socio-economic disadvantage, poor health, poor housing, and transient populations among others (The Scottish Center for Crime and Justice Research, n. d.). These theorists concluded that crime results from the characteristics of a neighborhood and not the individual. The other sociological theories include the broken windows theory, routine activities theory, and defensible space theory. Many other theories can explain why certain individuals engage in crime. The strain theory, as put forth by Emily Durkheim, indicate that social norms can lead to individuals engaging in crime (The Scottish Center for Crime and Justice Research, n. d.). The difference between the cultural goals and the structural means of achieving them leads to the development of criminal activity. For example, if there is no employment for achieving wealth, one can resort to crime. The subcultural theory is based on the assumption that lower-class individuals who aspire to rise to the middle class, may be frustrated by the existing conditions, and as such, resort to crime (The Scottish Center for Crime and Justice Research, n. d.). The social control and rational choice theories can also explain the existence of crime. Part Three: Criminal Justice Solutions The New York Police Department has implemented various measures to reduce gang- related criminal activities in the city. The department has directed its resources to parts of the city that have recorded high cases of shootings (New York City, 2020). By increasing foot patrols in

5 these areas, the NYPD has deterred crime and engaged closely with the community to identify high-risk areas. The department has enhanced the investigations of shootings in the city (New York City, 2020). More detectives have not only been hired, but they have also been provided with investigative resources to ensure that individuals that are involved in shootings incidents are brought to book. The department has created the Community Affairs Bureau to support areas with the highest needs (New York City, 2020). Through this bureau, community affairs officers have been deployed to areas that have experienced increased violence. Apart from this, the department has worked with community partners to identify some of the ways in which youths can be prevented from joining gangs. As a result of such measures, gang-related violence has reduced in the current year. Gang databases has been one of the effective ways that has been used in dealing with gang-related violence in New York City. The gang database is a secretive file of the NYPD that provides a list of names, social media accounts, ages, addresses, and further personal information about gang members (Khan, 2018). However, the NYPD has been criticized for failing to create a set of conditions or characteristics for identifying the gangs. By 2018, there were over 42,000 New Yorkers in the gang database (Khan, 2018). Another criticism that has been lodged against the gang database is that it is based on racial bias. For example, 65% of New Yorkers in the database are African Americans. The NYPD has been accused of including erroneous data in the database. The inclusion in the database impacts individuals’ access to recreation, housing, schooling, and naturalization among others. Therefore, the effectiveness of the database is yet to be determined due to these criticisms. Part Four: Alternative Approaches

6 The problem of street gangs is widespread across the United States. As a result of this, there are different ways in which the violence is handled in various cities. The first effective strategy is the launching of the criminal gang homicide groups (Decker, 2008). This involves bringing together ambitious and experienced detectives to deal with gang-related murders and attempts. This strategy has been employed by the Los Angeles Police Department. The other strategy is the creation of awareness regarding gang-related activities and their impacts on the community (Decker, 2008). Most cities have used various forms of media to increase awareness on gangs. It has not only helped in increasing community involvement, but also increased deterrence. Collaboration with local, state, and federal law enforcement strategies has also helped in dealing with gang-related violence (Decker, 2008). The U.S. Department of Justice and the Homeland Department have provided support to states and cities that are dealing with gang violence. This has helped in identifying common gangs in the United States. Improvements in social and economic conditions can also play a significant role in reducing gang-related activities. Ensuring that the youths and the young population are in school is an effective way of preventing the illegal activity (Decker, 2008). Through education, individuals can understand the negative impacts of crime and can get opportunities to improve their economic situation. The development of youth and community-based programs is another effective way of preventing gang activities (Decker, 2008). Programs such as Helping America’s Youth and National Youth Gang Center have identified youths that are at the risk of joining gangs and helped them overcome such desires. For example, they have ensured that youths are engaged in other important activities. Apart from this, there is need to provide more employment opportunities (Decker, 2008). In areas such as New York, a majority of the gang-members do not

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7 have employment, and as such, have resorted to crime. The implementation of these measures can reduce the influence of gangs in New York.

8 References Chapman, B. (2020). New York City police to target gang leaders in campaign against gun violence. The Wall Street Journal . https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-police-to- target-gang-leaders-in-campaign-against-gun-violence-11607878818 Decker, S. H. (2008). Strategies to address gang crime: A guidebook for local law enforcement. U.S. Department of Justice . Gotham Gazette (n. d.). The real gangs of New York. https://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/archives/1598-the-real-gangs-of-new-york Khan, D. (2018). New York City’s gang database is 99% people of color, chief of detectives testifies. Juvenile Justice Information Exchange . https://jjie.org/2018/06/14/new-york- citys-gang-database-is-99-people-of-color-chief-of-detectives-testifies/ Mangual, N. A. (2019). No, NYC can’t afford to stop tracking gang members. New York Post . https://nypost.com/2019/12/24/no-nyc-cant-afford-to-stop-tracking-gang-members/ New York City (2020). Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Shea unveil end gun violence plan. https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/526-20/mayor-de-blasio-commissioner- shea-end-gun-violence-plan The Scottish Center for Crime and Justice Research (n. d.). Theories and causes of crime. University of Glasgow . http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/SCCJR- Causes-of-Crime.pdf

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