The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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difference is that youth are now being used by adults to commit crimes and take the rap,
thereby protecting the adults from more serious consequences. Other decision makers
think gang activity is a relatively recent phenomena.
I don’t know whether there is that much gang activity or it is just
perceived to be there. I think that a lot of things are blamed on gang
activity that aren’t necessarily there. But, I do think that it is probably
growing and it probably has a very negative impact on the behavior of
juveniles.
I think (gang activity) is on the rise, but before the last two or three years,
I don’t think we had gangs. We had some groups do things, but there
wasn’t this same comradary and toughness. They didn’t have the
allegiance that they do now.
Some decision makers believe it is becoming more difficult to identify youth who
are actual gang members. For decision makers, now, it is not important whether youth are
gang members. Rather, it is essential to understand why they become or want to become
gang members. Most of the decision makers agree that there are many reasons why youth
decide to join gangs. Usually it is because the gang offers them one or more of the
following: support, encouragement, self—esteem, power, a feeling of belonging, role
models, money, etc. Each of these qualities is perceived to be lacking or are not provided
at home.
For middle-class kids who join gangs, the motivation seems to be to rebel
against their parents or to get attention from their parents due to a lack of
supervision. Another important reason for joining a gang is because