Matt+S.

= **__Gangs__** =

Imagine your at school and you accidentaly walked into another student, you say that you are sorry and walk away, but then his friends start to gather around you and start making threats. The group of friends that is surrounding you is called a gang. A [|gang] is a group of people with compatible tastes or mutual interests who gather together for social reasons. This definition is saying that a gang is a group of people who get together because they have the same interest's. These groups of people usually don't cause too much harm, but some gangs cause trouble by killing people to selling drugs.

=Why do people join gangs?=

Why do people join gangs? There are many reasons or environmental factors that contribute to people joining gangs. Some factors are "The Family". The family may have issues and if the child see's these issues then he or she might start to act like their family members later in life. The absence of a family member a father or mother contributes to having the need to be accepted and if someone joins a gang then they feel accepted. (Elliot) Another factor of why people join gangs is "The Neighborhood". If someone is raised in a suburb is more likely to stay away from gangs because they have good schools and are far from gangs influence. If someone is raised on the bad side of a city, the person is more likely to join a gang and commit crimes because they are around the gangs and are influenced by them all the time. (Elliot)

=What are ways to stop teens from joining gangs?=

All over the country cities are setting up after school programs such as basketball, football and soccer to help keep kids busy and to help keep them out of gangs. These programs are set up by cities and being payed for by the government and have been very succesful. One example of an after school program is __**[|Boys and Girls Clubs of America]**__ This club has been very succesful in helping kids stay out of gangs and to help prevent drug use.

Another way to stop teens from joining gangs is increased police force on school campuses. If schools increase the police presence the students wouldnt be as likely to conduct crimes in the schools which in partnership with after school clubs maybe able to lower the percentage of teens that join gangs. Another reason why more police would work is because, if the police catch kids commiting a crime the police could arrest the kids and seperate them from the other good students.

=How to tell if your child is invloved in a gang.= > ([|teenhelp.com])
 * Sudden changes in clothing worn by your teen, especially if it involves wearing the same color schemes all the time.
 * A desire to hide activities from you.
 * Changes in who your teen's friends are.
 * Loss of interest in family activities
 * Declining interest in school (including dropping grades) and extracurricular activities.
 * Having relatively large amounts of money without clear explanation
 * Run-ins with the police and other authority figures
 * Known gang symbols on belongings, including books and clothing.



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Other Websites for gang info or to help keep your kids out of gangs:

[|teenhelp.com] [|Bgca.org] [|Chicagotribune.com] [|Wikipedia.org] [|National Youth Gang Center] = = =Works cited =  Brownfeld, Allan C. "A Strong Police Presence Prevents Crime." //Opposing Viewpoints: Crime and Criminals//. Ed. Tamara L. Roleff. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2000. //Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center//. Web 5 Feb. 2010

Elliott, Delbert S. "Environmental Factors Contribute to Juvenile Crime and Violence." //Opposing Viewpoints: Juvenile Crime//. Ed. A.E. Sadler. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1997. //Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center//. Web. 5 Feb. 2010  Swasey, Elizabeth J. "School-Based Programs Are an Ineffective Response to Gang Violence." //Opposing Viewpoints: Gangs//. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2001. //Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center//. Web. 5 Feb. 2010