Exam 12: Violent Juveniles and Gangs

Although the proportion of juveniles who commit violent crimes is relatively small, this group commits a small number of offenses.

Major gangs have made ______ an important source of income, and activities in this area have become even more lucrative with the advent of a street market for a variety of drugs.

Discuss the relationship between gangs, violence, and drugs.

In areas of serious deprivation and where few prosocial opportunities exist, the prospect of joining a gang is decreased.

Gangs in prisons tend to be aligned on ______ loyalties, which also is true in most juvenile institutions.

Larger cities continue to exhibit the lowest rates of prevalence for gang activity when compared to smaller cities, suburban regions, or rural counties.

Exposure to ______, either in the home or in the community, is considered an indicator of juvenile gun violence.

Gangs never migrate to smaller cities and towns to avoid the intense competition of drug trafficking in the cities.

Discuss alternatives to incarceration for violent juveniles.

______ factors of gang development include place of residence, school attended, location of parks and hangouts, age, race, and nationality.

Legislative attempts to solve crime problems by passing tougher laws, such as mandatory sentencing laws (e.g., for drug crimes) and "three strikes" laws (after the third offense, they "throw away the key"), have resulted in desirable outcomes.

Why do gangs develop? Who joins them and why?

Discuss public and private responses to gang activities.

Although giving juveniles the benefit of the doubt in early encounters with the police and courts may be well intentioned, in the case of violent offenders at least, it is also dangerous to others.

In the 1960s and 1970s, gang development was viewed as a response to injustice and oppression and was explained by which theory?

It is clear that the more risk factors experienced by the youth, the more likely he or she is to join a gang.

Since the year 2000, gang problems have ______.

It should be noted that ______ children may provide a variety of clues or indicators of future gun violence in artwork or other similar school assignments.

During the 1950s and 1960s, gang development and delinquency came to be regarded as a product of social forces rather than ______ deviance.

It has been indicated that the police, public, and the press may help to create and unify gangs by attributing to gangs numerous acts that gangs did not commit.