History of Gangs

It is human nature to want to affiliate with people who feel the same way we do, and if a family does not provide that measure of belonging, it is also human nature to satisfy that longing by seeking the company of others. According to social scientists, this human trait is one of the strongest motivators for people to join gangs. If this simplistic theory is true, it is easy to understand why gangs have thrived over time. This article examines the evolution of gangs and offers insights into why gangs are likely to be around as long as societies give people reasons to disconnect from their primary relationships.

History

If you believe that gangs are a new phenomenon, think again. Abraham Lincoln had to don a disguise to avoid being attacked by gangs on the way to his inauguration. Happily, Lincoln got to his ceremony unscathed and, as time would prove, he was not the only person to find a creative way to dodge marauding packs of gangs.
While unique to their times, gangs have historically followed the same path of origin. During the 1800s, industrialization triggered the formation of large numbers of gangs in big cities where population density and poverty were extreme. Tenement-dwelling children of immigrants were prime targets for recruiters and as numbers grew, so did the scope and variety of crimes they undertook. Chicago became an epicenter for gang formation in the 1800s and by the time the Great Depression hit, desperate, out-of-work men were prime targets for urban gangs as well.

Theories/Speculation

World War II offered a temporary respite from gang expansion since young men were in short supply. But, when post-war rebuilding gave way to the volatile 1960s, racial and minority unrest against a backdrop of anti-war activity encouraged old gang affiliations to be resurrected and new ones to emerge. Ethnic pride became a strong incentive for affiliation as African-American and Hispanic miscreants shared universal feelings of disenfranchisement. Legendary gangs like the Crips and Bloods claimed whole neighborhoods in New York and Los Angeles while the menacing Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords and Latin Kings grew wealthy from enterprises that ranged from racketeering to murder. Contributing to the rise in gang affiliation were prison gang start-ups and extensions of existing chapters into the national jail system.

Effects

By the 1980s, sophistication and diversity marked a new stage of growth for organized bands of urban malcontents. Gangs modeled themselves on the behaviors of crime families like the Mafia. A complex hierarchy of leaders and followers moved effortlessly into expanded drug trafficking that included building methamphetamine labs, crack cocaine enterprises and money laundering activities to sustain this circle of business.

Geography

Contemporary gangs mirror our world. Like multi-national businesses, gangs have embraced technology by launching websites and using sophisticated technology to accomplish their aims. Many have become international entities. The New Zealand government recently reported chapters of Bloods and Crips on their home soil and social instability in Europe and Asia has spawned or revived gangs in other nations as well.

Prevention/Solution

A 2005 Department of Justice study titled the National Gang Threat Assessment estimated that 21,500 gangs with over 731,000 members spread across America and those figures are expected to increase. As our population increases, urban crowding remains unchecked and poverty, despair and peer pressure remain static, the forecast for a gang-free nation is somewhat dismal. That said, social scientists agree that there is one antidote: Children who come from strong, healthy families have no interest in joining gangs and have the confidence to say no to recruitment efforts.