JUVINLE GANGS

Juvinle Gangs



Juvinle Gangs

Thesis Statemenet

The concept of homeostasis assumes that systems attempt to maintain stability in the midst of frequent internal and external changes to the system. Homeostatic systems are able to accept change, but only within certain limits.

Introduction

Gangs like family systems, are morphogenic in nature, meaning that they tend to change in response to their environment in order to maintain continuity within their system. In families, members may contribute to this homeostatic balance through a mutually reinforcing feedback loop. Family members seek to regulate tension and to restore the family equilibrium or homeostasis. (Wolfgang 2009)

Discussion

Street gangs may be either homeostatic or morphogenic in their structure and activities. Homeostatic gangs may adapt to change, but they are not hypersensitive to environmental stimuli. These gangs tend to be more rigid in their structure, and thus they are more resistant to change. Homeostatic gangs are not likely to endure over time. They tend to come onto the gang scene with lots of strength, but eventually they surrender to the impact of entropy. Gangs that are in an extensive homeostatic state are often too rigid to allow negentropy to enter their system, and as a result, they begin to decay and ultimately fizzle out.

Some gangs tend to be morphogenic instead of homeostatic in their systemic nature. The morphogenic gang is more receptive to change. These gangs are very sensitive to environmental stimuli, and they may readily allow new information to enter the system to resist the breakdown enforced by entropy. The morphogenic gang tends to gain strength over time. Examples of morphogenic gangs include the Crips and the Bloods of Los Angeles. These gangs have withstood the test of time by having both flexible and rigid boundaries when appropriate. Morphogenic gangs learn from their experiences, adjust to new information, and may eventually reach a morphogenic state characterized by ultra stability. (Venkatesh 2007)

Those most likely to participate in delinquent activities are members of territorial gangs. According to statistical evidence, they commit three times as many crimes as juveniles and youths who are not gang members. Studies reveal that the most frequent offences committed by gang members are fighting, street extortion and school violence. (Urban Management Programme, 2005)

The fact that juvenile groups always exist in local communities must be taken into consideration. A community is defined by the similar social characteristics of its residents, such as membership in a social class or ethnic group. Urban neighbourhood communities provide their members with a certain everyday social comfort at the local level. Under conditions of social diversity and urban growth these neighbourhood units, like rural communities, are able to balance the social interests of the groups they contain. (Machel 2009)

Membership in juvenile groups is sometimes an essential element of socialization. Several studies have shown the possibility of establishing connections between delinquent groups and other social institutions-a "symbiosis" in which gangs can, for instance, work to satisfy any of a community's needs. As mentioned earlier, in many cases juvenile delinquent groups are also the entry point to ...