As we age, we slowly start to depend on others to meet our needs. The need for companionship and group dynamics may start to diminish at home. This is a normal cycle of life and is expected.
At home, however, we have the basics like food, clothing, security, and shelter. A child often thinks that regardless of what happens, when he gets home mom or dad will take care of it. As we mature, we start to feel a need to find security in other people. And therein lies part of the problem. The biggest problem with a quest for security is determining what type to seek. Home gives you the type of security that generally works if you are doing the right thing. Gangs give you security which is active and aggressive regardless of your behavior as long as it is not against another member.
Depending on our home situation the gang type of all-encompassing security can be very attractive. Imagine that regardless of what you do, or to whom it is done, you have a backup; you are always right.
This adverse lifestyle with few rules is just the enticement for leaving home and joining the gang. If you try it, what the gang did to others, it will do to you. And so, your security becomes your insecurity, and you realize you are in big trouble.
During the s larger urban gangs that engaged in drug trafficking began to expand their drug distribution networks into suburban areas traditionally influenced by local gangs. The larger gangs controlled drug distribution in city drug markets; they were motivated to move into adjoining communities to generate additional income by capitalizing on burgeoning powder cocaine and crack cocaine abuse.
Large urban gangs generated millions of dollars from trafficking illicit drugs in urban and suburban areas; this income enabled the gangs to recruit new members and to force smaller local gangs to either disband or align with them, thereby increasing their dominance.
Also, many urban gang leaders directed members to survey new locations throughout the country to create subsets or chapters with the intended purpose of establishing new drug markets to generate additional illicit profit. As various gangs attempted to expand nationally, they often were met with initial resistance by local gangs.
This resistance resulted in an increased number of homicides and drive-by-shootings in suburban communities. Gangs became entrenched in communities throughout the nation, and gang-related violence and drug trafficking became fully ingrained in suburban areas throughout the s.
Because of the significant levels of violence attendant to gang-related criminal activity, federal, state, and local law enforcement officials devoted significant resources to fight gun crime and to disrupt the most violent gangs.
This crackdown on violent gang activity targeted key gang leaders in an effort to dismantle highly structured gangs. In conjunction with this crackdown, federal law enforcement officials began to target violent gang members from Mexico and Central America, most of whom were in the United States illegally. Moreover, a large number of gang members in prison formed into associations along ethnic lines during this time in an attempt to protect their operations, giving rise to large, influential prison gangs.
As these gang members were released from prison, they maintained contact with gang leaders in prison and used their influence to control street gangs in urban and suburban areas. To Top To Contents. Gangs often introduce heightened levels of violent crime and retail-level drug distribution in suburban communities to which they migrate. Your email address will not be published. Boston University More Publications. The Brink. April 2, Rich Barlow.
Twitter Facebook. Jay developed technology to pinpoint areas at risk for gun violence, down to city blocks. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Jay. Post a comment. Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Submit Comment. Related Stories. Shared from The Brink. Trump vs. April 24, Things-to-do The Weekender: October 21 to Faculty Office Artifacts: Joelle Renstrom.
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