Preventing Gang Membership
One of the key aspects when dealing with any social and criminal issue is the topic of prevention. We are all the time discussing ways to help "fix" and "correct" offenders once they have turned "bad" but perhaps more of our focus should be spent on keeping these young women out of trouble in the first place. If we start by looking at the reason these female join gangs, then we can begin to understand how we as a community can better assist them in staying away from this dangerous life style. Many young women choose to join gangs as a way to escape their unhappy home life. Typically, poor urban neighborhoods are the breeding ground for these unstable home environments. Our communities need to come together as a unit and help break the cycle of gang violence at an early age. According to Cuizon (2013) "suppression, intervention and prevention should be the focus of their drives." Seeing as the problem of gangs is so widespread, it can seem like a never ending and even wasted effort in combatting it; but the key is to start small.
Communities need to focus their efforts on different strategies that can chip away at the problem a little at a time. Cuizon (2013) has identified a few of these techniques:
1.Community Participation
2.Providing social and economic opportunities to gang members. (try to prevent labeling them, it only makes matters worse. They should feel included.)
3.Provide outreach programs for our youth. The more positive experiences and opportunities we give our children, the less likely they will have time for damaging behavior. Keep them in a positive environment.
4. Formal and informal control procedures to suppress gangs. We have to get a handle on the widespread issue. Law enforcement officials need to have a clear idea of the protocol for handling gang activity.
5. Extend support and supervision to gang members to curb socially deviant behavior. The ides follows along with #2. We need to be involved with our youth and make sure they are making the right decision. Children need guidance from a very young age. The earlier we can teach them right from wrong the better change they have at staying out of the gang life altogether.
This article written by Cuizon makes some very good points. Our communities and our families are the main predictors of female involvement in gangs. The type of an environment an adolescent spends their time in will dramatically effect the decisions they make later on in life. These atmospheres need to positive so the negative lifestyle of gangs does not seem like an appealing one.
Communities need to focus their efforts on different strategies that can chip away at the problem a little at a time. Cuizon (2013) has identified a few of these techniques:
1.Community Participation
2.Providing social and economic opportunities to gang members. (try to prevent labeling them, it only makes matters worse. They should feel included.)
3.Provide outreach programs for our youth. The more positive experiences and opportunities we give our children, the less likely they will have time for damaging behavior. Keep them in a positive environment.
4. Formal and informal control procedures to suppress gangs. We have to get a handle on the widespread issue. Law enforcement officials need to have a clear idea of the protocol for handling gang activity.
5. Extend support and supervision to gang members to curb socially deviant behavior. The ides follows along with #2. We need to be involved with our youth and make sure they are making the right decision. Children need guidance from a very young age. The earlier we can teach them right from wrong the better change they have at staying out of the gang life altogether.
This article written by Cuizon makes some very good points. Our communities and our families are the main predictors of female involvement in gangs. The type of an environment an adolescent spends their time in will dramatically effect the decisions they make later on in life. These atmospheres need to positive so the negative lifestyle of gangs does not seem like an appealing one.