Gang Membership

Gang Membership

Introduction

Federal Law defines gang as the group of three or more persons having the shared interests and goals in pursuing the criminal or other delinquent activities. However, the gang member is the person who satisfies the list of criteria formed by the gang where the person is required to meet all of the criteria to be considered as the gang member. The fulfillment of gang requirement allows the admission of the person in the gang and makes him eligible to obtain the gang membership (National Gang Center, 2012). This paper intends to expound the details of gang membership and the common characteristics that make them members of the gang. The study also reflects the impact of age on membership and the expectations of gangs which they hold for their members.

Discussion

The gang membership involves very distinctive levels of commitment as well as participation from the members of gang. Since, such commitment holds the immense significance in establishing a level of membership for each of the member. The person is said to be the member of gang if he meets two or more criteria of the membership such as if the person has been consistently arrested in the company of the gang for the gang offenses and activities or the person resides in the gang area and adopts the style of dressing as well as uses the tattoo or symbols of the gangs (Walker, 2013). The researches have indicated that the youth are prime and rising members of the gangs. The numerous researches have consistently revealed that youth are prime population involving in the gang membership and they are the active part of serious and violent offenses than the non members (Battin Pearson et al., 1998).

More than twenty per cent of youth actively belong to the gangs from the ...