What is Gang?
A gang is a group of recurrently associating individuals or close friends or family with identifiable leadership and internal organization, identifying with or claiming control over territory in a community, and engaging either individually or collectively in violent or illegal behavior.The number of gangs in the U.S. is on the rise across the country, as is gang-related violence.History of Gangs
Gangs have been in existence every since the rise of humanity. Humans have always banded together for mutual protection and support - and to better dominate others. Gangs have always provided a way for people to more effectively get what they want, especially if it comes to force. And weaker members of society gravitate toward gangs that they feel can offer a sense of community and protection from others. The word “thug”, though, comes from India. In about 1200 CE, the word was used to describe a group of criminals that pillaged country towns. The thugs had their own slang, rituals and signs to help identify other members and create their own tight-knit society. Gangs today have similar practices of creating their own sub-language, symbols, handshakes and other identifiers.
Gang violence statistics
While it is true that gang violence has been decreasing, it still exists. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the Department of Justice offers a National Youth Gang Survey. Some of the results from this survey include the following gang statistics:- 100% of cities with a population of more than 250,000 report gang activity.
- 11% of rural counties report gang activity.
- 35% of suburban counties report gang activity.
- More than half of the homicides reported in Los Angeles, and more than half of the homicides reported in Chicago, are elated to gang violence.
- More than 24,500 gangs are active in the U.S.
- 772,500 people are members of gangs in the U.S.
- 94% of gang members are male.
- Only 2% of gangs are predominantly female.
- Only 37% of gang members are under the age of 18 right now.
- Gang member ethnicity breaks down this way: 47% Hispanic, 31% African American, 13% white, 7% Asian.
- Gang violence costs more than $100 billion a year.
