Gang Violence In Chicago

How well Wes Moore describes the culture of the streets, and particularly disenfranchised adolescents that resort to violence, is extraordinary considering the unbiased perspective Moore gives. Amid Moore’s book one primary theme is street culture. Particularly Moore describes the street culture in two cities, which are Baltimore and the Bronx. In Baltimore city the climate and atmosphere, of high dropout rates, high unemployment and poor public infrastructure creates a perfect trifecta for gang violence to occur. Due to what was stated above, lower income adolescent residents in Baltimore are forced to resort to crime and drugs as a scapegoat of their missed opportunities.

The statistics are used to explain why so many crimes take place in this city. Reverend Williams, the Father of a son who was shot and killed explained that, “When brothers and sisters can’t get jobs, or this little guy is trying to take care of his mother, he’s going to find a way.” This means that, that child will commit whatever crime they have to to keep their family alive. There are also many facts and references to other articles and news reporters that have done research on the issue of crimes in low income neighborhoods. These statistics and facts gives the readers a sense of reliable source and allows the readers to gain trust in this article, which also shows the use of

“Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets” by Sudhir Venkatesh is a book that described the recollection of Venkatesh’s time with the Black Kings, a crack-dealing gang, in the Robert Taylor Homes. Venkatesh was a sociology student at the University of Chicago and began a project in which he conducted years of research in the urban poor of Chicago. He “ditched the questionnaire in favor of just spending time with his subjects…as he tried to learn about their lives on their terms, not his”. He wanted to discover how people, such as the crack-dealing gangs, tenant leaders, and cops in the projects buy, sell, and use drugs. Hierarchy and social structure was described in Venkatesh’s autobiography of what occurred in the Robert Taylor Homes.

The city of Memphis is in need of a program that will reduce the amount of gang violence present within the community. The City Council is having a difficult time proposing a program without the essential expertise, that’s where I come in. The intervening variables of the program must be revealed in order to propose a program that will be both effective and beneficiary. By understanding the variables that could possibly have a positive or negative affect on a program and its participants will result in a higher probability of success.

In the chapter, Sante (1991) believed gangs emerged in rapidly growing cities out of the conditions created by multiple waves of immigration and urban overcrowding (1). The book suggest that street gangs emerged from conditions of social disorganization, overwhelming housing, and welfare capacities of the Northwest (2). Government corruptions such as that of the Civil war clause gave rise to gang riots resulting in the deaths of over 15 black men and the disappearance of over 50 more (4). Other explanations given were: marginalization, youth conflict, and defiance (6). Still the book offers more examples like that of racial unity and empowerment, as well as gangs provided lower income tenants protection and financial resources they otherwise

Thesis Statement The problem facing some of Chicago's neighborhoods is that they are plagued with gang activity and abandonment of tenants and by the their own city, Chicago. The city of Chicago is a wonderful place to live. There are countless interesting places to visit and there is always something for everyone.

Gang violence is running rampnd across the nation. Just last week over two hundred cases of gang violence were recorded. As a nation, we can’t stand for this any longer. This is getting out of hand and it puts the public in danger. Now I have created a novel solution to this problem.

On November 5, 2015 we had the privilege of having Dr. Charles Katz come into our class to speak about his work with gangs, specifically Gang Truce as a Form of Violence Intervention. For this paper, I will be sharing what I learned about gang truce and its relation to public health by answering several questions involving violence and how it can be used to effect public health. These questions include why gang violence is considered a public health issue; how a gang truce and its mechanics address the public health issue of gang violence; and what are the problems surrounding the gang truce model as a means of addressing gang violence. Gang violence is a large issue that involves the wellbeing of many individuals, from the gang members to

City of Chicago, R. Daley & T. Hillard, Gang and Narcotic Related Violent Crime: 1993–1997, p. 7 (June

The Chicago Metropolitan Area has an unfortunate reputation for being dangerous, particularly in certain regions of the city, such as the south side and the west side. Generally, crime rates can be explained by a number of factors, such as education, income, politics, and more; however, explaining how those factors have come to be and how they influence the safety of a city can be a bit more complex. When examining both historical and modern policies, it becomes possible to discover the correlation between these policies and the factors such as education and income that can be seen influencing crime rates in modern cities. To break this down further, the West Chicago neighborhood, West Garfield Park, will be examined to see if a correlation

Chicago has had its ups and downs in the cities violent history, but early 2016 to present has been an exception. Chicago increased in homicides by 59 percent in 2016 and it has only become worse since then with a 29 percent increase in just the first few months of 2017 (Asher, FiveThirtyEight.com; Ford, The Atlantic). It is obvious that something needs to be done, but so far there have not been any major changes made or drastic measures taken in order to improve Chicago’s current state of being. Right now, the three most predominant causes are Chicago’s Police, Chicago’s many gangs, and firearms, hand guns in particular. If the city wants to make any improvements whatsoever then it needs act decisively on gangs and guns, start using different

Families that are poor or have a low income are more likely to commit crimes for the purpose of their own needs to survive. “It is a fact that neighborhoods where the poor are concentrated are more prone to high crime rates, and poor residents are the most common victims of crimes” (1). The best explanation for this is that poorer people have the same needs as a regular middle-class citizen. The poor citizens need certain things to help him or her live a healthy life, such as healthcare, food stamps, and more employment options. One may argue that healthcare is too expensive and that food stamps have been taken away from many people.

Gangster Affects Community Anecdote: According to the website article written by Doyle Murphy in the New York Daily News L.A. gangsters were charged in 2002 for kidnapping, raping, and murdering a teen. In 2002, a fifteen-year-old teenage named Brenda Sierra was on her way to her school in the morning. As she was walking on the sidewalk suddenly she was snatched off by the fearsome Lott 13 gang. The next day, her body was found in the San Bernardino Mountains.

Being in a gang can severely hurt someone’s education because “former gang members… [are] half as likely to graduate from high school” (Armstrong). This will affect someone their entire life because without a high school diploma it is difficult to find a minimum wage paying job. This will affect someone economically because it is hard to live and support a family with the minimum wage. That might be why former gang members are “twice as likely to be receiving public assistance” and why they have “an increased likelihood of economic hardship”

Poverty’s effects on crime can be explained through a variety of reasons. There is a higher rate of mental illness among the poor than the rich. Poverty can lead to high levels of stress, which in turn drive individuals to commit theft, robbery or other violent acts. Moreover, poverty may lead to actual or perceived inferior education. Youth with less access to quality schools, jobs, and role models and opportunities end up spending time on the streets associating with gangs.