Gang-related Activity Research Articles

Adolescent theology trauma: exploring the relationship between traumatic experiences and juvenile delinquency in ‘the troublemaker: raise your gang’ game

ABSTRACT The gameplay of ‘The Troublemaker: Raise Your Gang’ portrays the stereotypical behavior of Indonesian adolescents, characterized by the use of profanity, violent activities, and participation in gang-related activities. The Theology of Trauma from the perspectives of Karen O'Donnell, Jennifer Baldwin, and Yohanes Krismantyo Susanta used to analyze this reality so that Christianity can view it as a theological issue that needs to be resolved. The author argues that analyzing the theology of trauma in the game Trouble Maker: Raise Your Gang will provide an unexposed perspective on the correlation of trauma experience as a trigger for juvenile delinquency. This analysis aims to assist the Church in effectively ministering to adolescents stigmatized as troublemakers.

Challenges faced by learners who are survivors of school violence: implications for support structures

The main aim of this study is to explore challenges faced by learners who are survivors of school violence and the implications for support structures. Many schools are branded with violence, gangsterism, substance abuse and general crime. The scourge of violence in schools is cause for concern, citing daily reports that appear in the written and electronic media about high levels of violence, physical and sexual abuse, and gang-related activities in schools. Qualitative research design and phenomenology as a mode of inquiry were employed in this study. School principals' and teachers' experiences and perceptions were elicited through focus-group interviews, document reviews, and observations. The population comprised principals and teachers in five schools. Purposive sampling was used as a method of sample selection. The findings revealed that support is key, and lack of support can negatively impact learners’ access to schools and academic achievement in many ways. It was also found that most learners who leave school prematurely, through the fear of violence, do not report when they leave. The study recommended that support must be provided promptly, and parents, teachers, and caregivers must be capacitated to offer effective and efficient support.

A street corner education: Stop and search, trust, and gendered norms among adolescent males.

Police stop and search activity has consistently been shown to affect the opinions, attitudes and behaviours of those subject to it. For young people in particular this can be an important moment in which they learn about and orientate themselves towards law, authority, and the exercise of power. Drawing on work into procedural justice and legal socialisation, we build on the premise that stop and search has, in practice, more to do with the imposition of authority on the streets than the accurate targeting tool of crime-control activity. We consider the link between experiences of stop and search, trust in the police, exposure to or involvement in gangs and violence, and the extent to which male adolescents hold abusive and controlling gendered beliefs regarding sexuality and intimate partner relations. Using data from a survey of Londoners aged 14-16, we find support for the notion that adolescent males' procedurally unjust stop and search experiences are associated with lower levels of trust in the police, higher levels of involvement in and exposure to gang-related activities, and believing it is acceptable to harass females in public space and control intimate partners. We conclude with the idea that unfair stop/searches can signal that it is 'OK' to abuse power.

Racialized Surveillance in New Zealand: From the Tūhoe Raids to the Extralegal Photographing of Indigenous Youth

It has been nearly 15 years since the 2007 anti-terrorism police raids targeting the Ngāi Tūhoe (Tuhoe) iwi (tribe) who reside in the center of New Zealand's North Island. The violent treatment inflicted upon Tūhoe by New Zealand Police and the Security Intelligence Service (SIS) raised questions around the policing and punishing of Indigenous expressions of dissent. In light of recent events, revisiting how policymakers addressed the Raids offers much-needed critical analysis of the policing and surveillance of Māori in the contemporary context. This qualitative study seeks to understand how policymakers framed the 2007 Raids in discussions of crime control policy after the fact. A content analysis of Hansard's (parliamentary) debates of the 2009 Organised Crime Bill reveals that the Raids emerged primarily in discussions to expand police powers and implement harsher penalties for gang-related activity. Green, Māori, and the Labor parties framed the Raids as an act of state violence, a failed operation, a waste of taxpayers’ dollars, and a repeat of similar, historical acts of state violence against the Tūhoe people. Taking the Raids as a point of departure, the second part of the paper argues that two key events reveal a continuing project focused on the extensive policing and surveillance of Indigenous bodies in Aotearoa New Zealand: (1) the Armed Response Team (ART) trials of 2020, and (2) the ongoing extralegal photographing of Māori youth by law enforcement. These events are discussed as chronic acts of violence that lead to different life outcomes for survivors.

Challenges Facing the Directorate of Criminal Investigation On Management of Criminal Gang Activities in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract
 This paper uses data collected for an MA Thesis on the challenges facing the Directorate of Criminal Investigation Department on management of criminal gang activities, in Nairobi County, Kenya. This study has been necessitated by continued concern among policymakers, security pundits and citizens about the rising criminal gang activities in the country, more pertinently in Nairobi County. Although there are few studies that tried to scratch this area, there has never been a detailed and systematic inquiry and analysis of this problem. The study was guided by several specific objectives; the first objective examined the tactical challenges that the police face in policing gang related activities in Nairobi County, Kenya; assessed the effect of corruption in undermining the war against gang related activities in Nairobi County, Kenya; and finally explored other technological challenges that the police face in policing gang related activities in Nairobi County, Kenya. The study adopted descriptive research design and purposive sampling technique to collect data. Interview schedules and key informants (K.I) guide were the main tools used to collect data using the interview method of data collection. 60 officers of the Special Crime Prevention Unit were the main respondents. Major challenges faced by the DCI officers when dealing with criminal gang activities especially within Nairobi County include; poor relationship between police and the general public as reported by 89.1% of the respondents, increased involvement of women in gang activities which is exacerbated by low ratio of female-male officers for undercover operations and 90.9%. of respondents indicated due to woman innocence will create a greater challenge. Others include; gang related activities with networks and markets especially for stolen vehicles across the borders as a result of corruption along the borders by both police, custom and military officers. Further, 85.5% indicated that cross border gang activities were worsened by lack of harmonized law for the regulation and prevention of these activities that led to enhanced proliferation of weapons as well as drugs to and from the neighboring countries. Major recommendations for policy considerations included; increased recruitment and deployment of female officers to beef up their ratio in undercover operations. Harmonized laws for the neighboring East African community countries and increased cooperation between the security organs of these countries in order to have a coordinated approach of tracking and apprehending criminals who escape to neighboring countries. The study also recommends mandatory training for DCI officers in computer/ technological skills to be able to intercept, interpret and or decode gang related communication and cybercrime related activities.

Does the Aggravated Sentencing Regime under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 Violate Freedom of Association? A Constitutional and Comparative Analysis

In terms of section 10(3) of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 (“POCA”), a court may impose an aggravated sentence on a criminal offender if the offender was a gang member at the time of the commission of a crime. The court is entitled to apply section 10(3) to the sentencing of any common-law or statutory offence, save for the gang-related offences in Chapter 4 of POCA. As aggravated punishment is attached directly to a person’s status as a gang member, one must question whether such aggravated punishment does not violate the right to freedom of association in section 18 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Section 18 is an unqualified right and subject only to the limitations clause under section 36 of the Constitution. The purpose of this contribution is to investigate whether the associational freedom guaranteed by the Constitution may be limited in light of considerations under international law (such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) as well as foreign law (specifically the United States and Germany). The consensus is, broadly speaking, that persons are nondeserving of associational protection where the conduct connected to such an association is criminal in nature. Increased criminal consequences are justifiable where a person’s unlawful conduct is also connected to their status and activity as a member of a criminal organisation. However, increased criminal consequences based merely on a person’s membership of a criminal organisation, as is the case in terms of section 10(3) of POCA, is considered arbitrary and irrational. The conclusion is that section 10(3) of POCA should be amended so that it applies only to crimes that are related to a convicted person’s gang-related activities.

Psychological and criminogenic factors underlying gangsterism among Indians in Malaysia from the perspective of ex-gangsters and police personnel

In recent years, gangsterism and gang related activities among Indians are perplexing and alarming. Although this issue is considered as an old phenomenon, researches related to underlying factors for gangsterism are still lacking. With this in mind, this study aimed to explore psychological and criminogenic factors behind gangsterism among Indians in Malaysia. This study utilized a non-experimental research design. This study is a qualitative research (semi-structured, face-to-face individual interview guide) that makes use of the inductive approach based on a combination of subjectivism and interpretivist philosophies. Six ex-gangsters and four police personnel were interviewed; and their experiences of gangsterism were used to gain a reality-based understanding regarding the factors underlying gangsterism. The thematic analyses generated three psychological factors (negative emotional responses, low self-control, and high impulsivity) and three criminogenic factors (substance abuse, having antisocial peers, and dysfunctional families). One new theme emerged: monetary gain, with three sub-themes (ease of obtaining money, amount and immediacy, and benefits derived from illegal monetary gains). The outcome of this explorative research provides insight to the growing body of knowledge on gangsterism in Malaysia and is useful for community leaders and law enforcement agencies to strategize appropriate intervention, prevention, and suppression efforts to combat gangsterism.

Green Schoolyards in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods: Natural Spaces for Positive Youth Development Outcomes.

Children from low-income families are increasingly growing up in urban areas with limited access to nature. In these environments, strategies that promote access to natural outdoor spaces, such as green schoolyards, may enhance positive youth development outcomes by promoting physical activity (PA) and prosocial behavior, as well as increasing perceptions of safety. The current study examines children’s PA and social interactions, as well as caregiver and teacher perceptions of safety, injuries, teasing/bullying, and gang activity on three newly renovated green schoolyards in low-income urban neighborhoods. A multi-method strategy, including behavioral mapping and caregiver- and teacher-reported surveys, was utilized at three time points to examine positive youth development outcomes and maintenance of effects over time. Analyses revealed that children evidenced a range of PA on the green schoolyards and demonstrated significant decreases in sedentary activity over time. The majority of children were engaged in social interactions with peers on the green schoolyards when observed. Less than 3% of interactions were negative and follow-up analyses found significant increases in positive interactions on the green schoolyards up to 24 months post-renovation. Caregivers and teachers reported increased perceptions of safety, fewer injuries, less teasing/bullying, and less gang-related activity on the renovated green schoolyards in comparison to the pre-renovation schoolyards, and these effects were maintained up to 32 months post-renovation. Overall, the study suggests that green schoolyards may promote positive development outcomes among youth living in urban, low-income neighborhoods by providing natural and safe spaces for PA and prosocial behavior.

Policy Statement on the Incarceration of Undocumented Migrant Families: Society for Community Research and Action Division 27 of the American Psychological Association.

Policy Statement on the Incarceration of Undocumented Migrant Families: Society for Community Research and Action Division 27 of the American Psychological Association.

Exploring the Forms and Underlying Causes of School-based Violence: Implications for School Safety and Security

Widespread violence and ineffective disciplinary practices have become perennial problems in South African schools. The reasons for the upsurge in school-based violence may be attributed to numerous social ills, such as gender discrimination, gang-related activities, and drug and alcohol abuse. Research reveals that in many cases children are perpetrators of violence, with both, students and teachers becoming victims. The use of weaponry, sexual harassment and bullying to resolve conflict constitute an infringement on teachers' and students' bodily and psychological integrity and therefore, a serious infringement on their rights to security. School violence undoubtedly places students and teachers in constant fear, and retards the educational process. Using secondary data, this paper examines the different forms and causes of school-based violence, and its implications for school safety and security. It is in the best interest that schools create order, lawfulness and protection by applying the zero tolerance approach to serious learner misconduct.

Determinants of gang affiliation in Singaporean youth offenders: social and familial factors

Purpose– Gang affiliation in youth is associated with increased criminal recidivism and an exaggeration of various criminogenic needs; affiliation also meets a variety of youth's personal and social needs. The purpose of this paper is to describe a study of the self-reported reasons for joining and leaving gangs, as well as the difficulties faced by Singaporean youth offenders in leaving youth gangs; it also explores the relationship between gang affiliation and family connectedness, educational attainment and early exposure to gangs.Design/methodology/approach– This prospective study involved structured interviews and administration of questionnaires with 168 youth offenders in Singapore. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the research questions.Findings– Gang-affiliated youth cited a desire to establish and maintain friendships as their primary reasons for joining a gang. Youth who left their gang reported maturing beyond this need and the activities of their gang, particularly in light of the deleterious impact of their gang-related activities on familial relationships and employment and financial status. Early exposure to gangs through family and neighborhood influences, and poor educational engagement increased the likelihood that youth would join a gang.Practical implications– This study highlights the need for clinicians and other service providers to better understand the universal human needs that are met through gang affiliation and the correlates of affiliation.Originality/value– Few studies have directly examined the factors relating to gang affiliation in a non-western context; this study may be relevant to professionals working in the juvenile justice and offender rehabilitation arenas.

Gang Reengagement Intentions among Incarcerated Serious Juvenile Offenders

Research examining the factors that precipitate gang membership has contributed substantially to our understanding of gangs and gang-related activity, yet we know little about the factors influencing intentions to rejoin a gang after having being incarcerated. This study examines the relationship between gang characteristics, number of incarcerated friends, and family characteristics and gang reengagement intentions, while controlling for ethnicity. Participants were 206 male serious juvenile offenders interviewed as part of the Pathways to Desistance Study. The model explained between 35% and 47% of variance in gang reengagement intentions. However, only three variables made a unique statistically significant contribution to the model (punishment if gang rules are broken, importance of gang membership, and moral disengagement), with the strongest predictor being importance of gang membership. The results suggest that challenging young offenders’ perceptions about the importance of gang membership might be particularly effective in reducing gang reengagement intentions after incarceration.

Simulation: Introduction to Correctional Nursing in a Prison Setting.

Simulation can be used to introduce students to critical nursing skills that reduce errors, enhance nurse-patient communication, and improve safety and security when caring for patients in the correctional setting. The interactive environment creates scenarios in a realistic fashion that include experiences that nursing students may encounter in a correctional facility setting, such as aggressive clients, gang-related activities, and noncompliant personalities. Orientation prior to entering the facilities is the key to safety, reducing student anxiety, and enhancing the student's ability to learn. The simulation scenario designed for the correctional setting provides an environment for the teaching and learning of correctional nursing skills and multidisciplinary collaboration. Scenarios are embedded with communication, safety, delegation, and critical thinking education goals. Student evaluations are assessed and reported.

Operation PeaceWorks

Gang-related violence is a major public health problem. A gang prevention program (Operation PeaceWorks) was developed in Ventura County, California, to help trauma patients who were gang members quit gang lifestyles. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of gang-related violence in the community before and after establishing Operation PeaceWorks. In Operation PeaceWorks, participating gang members were mentored, counseled, offered job training, and provided with opportunities to further their education or secure employment. Data about gang-related activity in the community were identified and recorded. The number of gang-related assaults (total), assaults involving firearms, and homicides were determined and compared before and after the start of the program. During the 3 years after starting Operation PeaceWorks (2010-2012), the program had 3,430 interventions with 1,464 gang members (2.3 interventions per gang member). Three years after starting Operation PeaceWorks, there was a significant decrease in mean annual total gang assaults (-16%, p < 0.001), assaults with firearms (-32%, p < 0.001), and homicides (-47%, p = 0.05) compared with the 7 years before Operation PeaceWorks. A multidisciplinary community gang prevention program, with the participation of the trauma center, may be effective in decreasing gang-related trauma. The experience with this program may contribute to the development of further evidence-based programs to decrease gang-related trauma. Epidemiologic study, level III. Therapeutic study, level IV.

Youth gang affiliation, violence, and criminal activities: A review of motivational, risk, and protective factors

Youth gangs are a universal phenomenon attracting increasing attention; the criminal and antisocial behavior perpetuated by youth gangs has an adverse impact on local communities across the globe. Although there is an extensive body of research that has examined the problems posed by youth gangs in America (and more recently in other countries), there have been relatively fewer empirical studies that examined the factors and psychological processes that are related to youth joining and leaving gangs. This review compiles the international research on the nature of youth gangs and critically evaluates: (a) the factors that motivate engagement in and desistance from gang-related activities, (b) risk and protective factors that impact on youths' propensity for gang membership, delinquency, and violent behavior, and the adverse consequences associated with gang affiliation, and (c) the relationship between gang-affiliation, youth violence, and criminal behavior.

Psychoanalysis and the Forward Edge Hit the Streets: The Analytic Service to Adolescents Program (ASAP)

This article describes the Analytic Service to Adolescents Program (ASAP), a joint psychoanalytic treatment and research project of Morton Alternative High School (MAS) and the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis. ASAP provides individual and group treatment for students expelled from the regular high school for aggressive behavior, drug use, and gang-related activity. In addition, the program provides consultation to parents and teachers to more effectively parent and educate students. A forward edge approach, based upon certain self-psychological concepts developed by Heinz Kohut and Marian Tolpin, while addressing trauma, focuses on strengthening self-esteem and ambitions in these adolescents. Two clinical vignettes are presented, illustrating how this approach has proved effective in reducing anxiety and depression, while increasing regulation of affect allowing for greater cognitive and general functioning.

A Second's Chance: Gang Violence Task Force Prevention Program

We describe a gang violence intervention and define targets for prevention. At-risk youths were identified through courts, public schools, and law enforcement regarding gang-related activities. They participated in "A Second's Chance," a true-to-life mock emergency department resuscitation and death of a gang member provided over an 18-month period. A questionnaire was completed by each participant. Forty-nine youths identified as at risk for gang involvement participated (37 male and 12 female, P < 0.001). Average age was 14.5 years (range, 10 to 19 years); 32 were black, 9 Hispanic, 6 white, and 2 other (P < 0.05). Seventeen (35%) had prior arrests (P = 0.059), 13 (77%) of whom had multiple arrests (P < 0.05). Forty-one (84%) reported a family member jailed (P < 0.001). Forty-two (86%) witnessed neighborhood criminal drug activity (P < 0.001). Household leadership was predominately maternal (24 [49%], (P < 0.05). Forty-four (90%) participants provided positive meaningful responses to the intervention (P < 0.001). Gang violence prevention should be channeled through maternal family members. History of incarcerated relatives, acquaintances, and neighborhood exposure to drugs and crime may represent additional risk factors for gang-related involvement. Demonstrations of gang violence scenarios raise awareness to consequences of gang-related activities. Family and neighborhood characteristics should be included in development of intervention scenarios.

Patterns of Gender Socialization of Adolescent Boys in Single-mother Households: Perspectives from a Community in Cape Town, South Africa

This article analyzes the gender socialization patterns and masculine constructions of a group of adolescent boys living in single-mother households. Data collection methods such as observation and interviews were employed together with interpretive techniques to explain how the participants constructed their realities based on their experiences. The results revealed that gender socialization of adolescent boys took place when their single mothers—pressured by dramatic physical changes in their adolescent sons—concluded that the boys were already men, and admonished them to act as expected of men. Gender socialization also took place when mothers observed in the behavior of their adolescent boys traits regarded as typically male, which they (mothers) did not like; and also when the mothers, in response to harsh socioeconomic and other adverse conditions, directed their sons’ attention to the failure of their absent fathers to perform traditionally defined masculine roles in the families. The attitudes of the participants to male gender were revealed in their notion of fathers as providers and figures of authority, and in their involvement in gang-related activities and other risky behaviors associated with masculinity.

Cross-national study of risky sexual behavior among gang-involved youth in metropolitan Boston and San Salvador, El Salvador

Although conformity to peer norms poses significant risks for adolescent sexual behavior, information is limited on types of gang-related activities that predict risky sexual behavior among gang-involved youth. Using data from Boston (n = 375) and San Salvador (n = 207), we compared the two groups on key characteristics and assessed factors associated with risky sexual behaviors. Number of arrests and aggression predicted number of sexual partners in Boston and San Salvador samples, while delinquency, arrests and age predicted pregnancy outcomes. Medium to large effect-size differences were noted in future orientation, delinquency and gang-involvement attitudes. Gang-involvement and risky sexual behavior were associated in this sample. Salvadoran youth differed significantly from those in Boston on key gang-related characteristics, rendering them even more vulnerable.

Gang-related cyber and computer crimes: Legal aspects and practical points of consideration in investigations

Gang-related criminal activity has become increasingly more sophisticated, taking advantage of technological advancements that have occurred during the past few decades. Among these advances, criminal gangs have begun to use the internet as an effective tool through which criminal activity can be conducted. Investigators must be adept and competent at locating and collecting gang-related evidence from the internet and from various electronic storage devices. Various techniques of investigation, the legal statutes associated with these types of investigations, and the legal parameters and limits when conducting these investigations are discussed.