YOUTH GANG

Youth Gang



Introduction1

Discussion2

Youth gangs in UK2

Research on Gangs in UK5

Youth gang members and their life7

Youth Gangs and Crime7

Conclusion9

References11

Youth Gang

Introduction

In this paper, we will discuss the social problem of youth gangs as a significant social problem in the UK today. Youth Gangs have been the focus of much attention since the significant rise in gang-involved violence around the 1980s (Pilkington, 2003, p. 45). The discussion around youth gangs is oppressed with controversy and contradicts from the most basic level, such as how to define a youth gang and to the most composite includes what to do about them. The least arguable characteristic about gangs is that they are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime. This fact makes youth gangs particularly interesting to the media, researchers, law enforcement, and policymakers.

The description of youth gangs offered by these parties, however, do not always unite, as defining gangs is a challenging issue. Understanding gang composition and structure is a complex challenge as well, and there has been ongoing debate regarding the extent of gangs in UK and abroad, as well as the most appropriate and effective methods for addressing the problem. Much debates surrounds youth gangs and the various methods of dealing with the youth gang problem in the UK, including law enforcement and intervention techniques.

The debate begins at the foundation of the gang problem. There is general agreement by law enforcement and researchers that some criminal outfits like the mafia or organized crime, prison gangs, outlaw motorcycle groups, and hate groups such as white supremacists should not be equated with criminal street gangs. Unlawful street gangs are composed primarily of youths, whereas these other groups are adult criminal organizations and are therefore considered distinct.

Discussion

Youth gangs in UK

In Britain, the view of youth gangs was established in 60s and 70s. Considering the British context, gangs were considered to be formed by adult criminal network or was referred for adult school children referred to as a group of friends. During 1980s and early 90s the term for youth gang began to change, whereas the data on gang is not well captured in UK, present evidence recommends that gang membership is relatively rare. In UK, it has been found form youth survey that more than 2 to 7% of young people belonging to age group (10-19 years) have been reported to be a member of gang.

The emergence of youth gang has increased over the past years in UK. This is argued as it represents change at a broad level to label the experience of urban youth. Modood (2005) a new phenomenon is expected to be observed in Britain which arise from the condition of successful marginalization of drug market. This perspective is similar to the research suggested about drug and crime in Britain in 1980, when the youth were drawn in drug dealing and informal economy to secure a standard more than survival.

Cities can be grouped in terms of their distinctively patterned gang-problem ...