Introduction
A gang consists of a group of like-minded persons or closely associated friends or family with a definite internal organizational leadership and identify with a specific territory in a community (Mathew, 2010 p.3). In most cases, the members of the gangs engage in illegal practices and disrespect the law. Violence is one aspect synonymous with gang activity. However, the contemporary definition contravenes the initial description attached to the term. Traditionally, a gang comprised a group of workers as opposed to the current pejorative usage, which associates gangs with criminal organizations. The negative connotation is currently widespread, especially because the current gangs countermand the law and engage in activities that go against the mainstream culture and norms. Thus, the word gang has picked up the connotation of defiance in the contemporary world. Throughout the globe, gangs are associated with major cities with a few cases being reported in the rural areas. Examples of currently known gangs include the Colombian Drug Cartels, the Mexican Mafia, the Silican Cosa Nostra, and the Texas Syndicate (Hagedorn, 2008 p.23-27). In the United States alone, an estimated 1.4 million people had a gang membership with an average of 33,000 gangs active in the country in the year 2011 (USNIC, 2011, p.21). The common behavioral characteristic of all the gangs across cultures is violence and sometimes extremism. In fact, no study ever documented the existence of non-violent gangs.
While the gangs have a uniform behavior across culture, there is a huge difference regarding membership across the various cultures. This implies that in a multicultural country, one culture may exhibit a high gang membership while the other may have the lowest gang membership. Thus, given that such groups share a common characteristic, it follows that there is a culture-specific factor contributing to the likelihood of gang membership. As the gang menace continues to ravage various parts of the world with a steady increase in membership, a growing body of research works has embarked on the cross-cultural comparison of the facilitators of gang membership with the aim of informing prevention practices. In that respect, most studies concur that the process of gang involvement is a function of factors such as social experiences, familial, and individual encounters of a person, especially in their early development stages. Furthermore, the studies agree that the ‘risk factors’ are evident in the person long before they finally acquire a gang membership. In connection, a larger percentage of research works opine that family plays the central role in the facilitation of gang membership, the subsequent criminality, as well as the ultimate exit. There is a large range of factors that contribute to the likelihood of one joining a gang. The family, being a culture-specific aspect, seems the key to understanding the gang dynamics.
Research Question
What specific roles does family, as a cultural aspect, play in influencing membership in a gang and the related gun violence across cultures? How does it influence the differing demographics of gang member numbers across cultures? In tandem with the research question, the following discussion seeks to examine the socio-political, ideological, and contextual factors undergirding the appeal to gang membership and violence across cultures. Besides, family-focused and cultural-based best practice policies that facilitate withdrawal from gangs will be highlighted.
Literature Review
Gangs across Cultures in the United States
The cultural diversity and the economic situation of the United States make it easy for the mushrooming and the prosperity of gangs. Depending on certain underlying factors, gang membership and demographics differ from one culture to the other in the United States. USNGIC (2011, p.21) reports that Hispanics account for the largest gang membership enrollment followed by the African-Americans, Whites, and Asians with percentages of 47, 34, 13 and 6 respectively. Similarly, the U.S law enforcement agencies have expressed concerns over the recent incessant surge in the number of ethnic and non-traditional gangs. This means that cases of gangs across cultures are an impending menace in the U.S just like in other parts of the world such as in Brazil for which a preventive measure must be found. According to Zdun (2008 p.39-54), Hispanic gangs rank top of the ethnic gangs in the United States as revealed in the above statistics with the ‘Latin Kings’ being the most organized gang of all. The group emerged as a protective shield for the Latin community in Chicago in the 1940s. On that note, their sole endeavor at the time was to bring all the Latinos together to fight oppression and assist each other deal with the challenges of racial discrimination and other prejudices. In the discussion of the causes of gang membership, a comprehension of such origins is the source of finding culture-focused prevention mechanisms for the gangs. Furthermore, this origin of Hispanic gangs gives an impression that cultural gangs spring mostly from an injustice perpetrated against that race. Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) is another renowned gang in the United States. Unlike its counterparts, the MS-13 was formed with ill motives, including auto theft and weapon burglary. Their activities are indicative of the need for economic prosperity.
According to Sauma (2008 p.32-35), other notable ethnic gangs across cultures in the U.S include the Asian gangs, whose operations mimic those of Asian organized crime groups. Unlike other gangs across cultures, the Asian gangs focus less on the control of a territory. Their primary motive is drugs, sex, and human trafficking. Furthermore, the United States comprises the East African gang groups that occupy up to 30 different jurisdictions in the country. It is noteworthy that these gangs also have different cultural backgrounds, including the Ethiopian, Somali, and Sudanese gangs. As opposed to most of the cross-culture gangs in the United States, Somali gangs name themselves based on the specific clans to which they are affiliated. They are highly secretive, making it difficult for the law enforcement authorities to penetrate and dismantle their groups. One of their unique criminal activities is credit card fraud. Finally, the Jamaican, Dominican, and Haitian gangs also operate in the United States, especially along the East Coast. They are also involved in several violent crimes and drug trafficking among other illegal activities.
Gang Involvement, Activities and Types of Gangs across Cultures
Gangs across culture share almost the same hierarchy and steps of involvement. The five primary steps that define gang involvement include risk, associates, members, hardcore members, and the gang leaders who fall on top of the hierarchy (Bannister et al., 2010, p.7-13). The gang leaders run most of the activities of the gangs and are the topmost authority in the various groups. Just like a formal institutional system, every gang has a leader without whom it may cease to operate successfully. In the majority of the cases, the leaders are selected from the oldest and fiercest members of the gang who possess the lowest record of criminal activities and have the requisite ability to guide the gang through either direct contact or remotely (Bannister et al., 2010, p.8). On that note, the leaders usually distance themselves from the activities of their street gang branches to draw the heat and focus from them and their operations.
In the sense of cultural variation, there are several types of gangs. The mention of the name gang, however, is a misnomer as it always elicits the impression that the term denotes a single entity whose sole motive is causing mayhem. However, gangs, their cultural affiliation notwithstanding, engage in several activities like gambling, sex as well as human and weapon trafficking. Besides, they engage in white-collar crimes such as identity theft, various forms of fraud, and counterfeiting. In some cases, the gangs engage in prostitution. Goldson (2011, p.9) asserts that gangs are often classified according to their internal structure, ethnic affiliation, and membership. In that respect, there exists the motorcycle gang, the national street gang, the local street gang, and the prison gang. Other categories include youth or juvenile gangs, ethnic, and the organized crime gangs (Stretesky & Pogrebin, 2007, p.85-114). Contextually, the prison gangs result from the need for protection in the face of other gangs. Their primary aim is to earn respect and the feel of safety that stems from the fact that one is part of a prison gang. They are in close cahoots with the street gangs, especially on aspects such as recruitment of new members and realization of their base activities. Similarly, motorcycle gangs use motorcycles as their organizational emblems and tools for criminal activities. Besides, organized crime gangs branch from a major gang and comprise of individuals that commit crimes for self-satisfaction and personal gains (Goldson, 2011, p.9). On the other hand, juvenile gangs are mostly composed of the young people across the gender divide. They are products of the need for protection, economic or social reasons. Studies project that juvenile gangs are contemporarily the most prevalent type of gangs across cultures. The gangs are increasingly thwarting the law enforcement efforts in both schools and correctional facilities (Mathew, 2010, p.2). Most researchers also opine that youth gangs are common and synonymous with low-income neighborhoods in both the U.S and the world as a whole.
Gang Membership and the Role of Family in the Membership Process across Cultures
Stretesky and Pogrebin (2007, p.89) observe that there is a list of factors that influence gang membership. Depending on the cultural needs and the motive for the formation of gangs, their membership revolves around the common themes of protection, desire for money, power, and respect. These factors are powerful determinants of the likelihood of one joining a particular gang. They mostly affect the youth gangs due to the social vulnerability and family backgrounds. The youths get an impression that joining a gang is the sole way out of their social woes and obtaining success and prominent status. The membership is an exclusive element that the gangs maintain and reinforce using identification such as through coercion, tattoos, and intimidation. According to Sauma (2008, p.32-35), gangs across culture maintain that the only way to revoke ones’ membership to a gang is death. As such, defecting gang members often face hostility from members of their own gang. The subsequent retaliatory attacks may lead to death. The rule is mostly referred to as the ‘morgue rule.’ Gang membership, which prescribes high levels of loyalty for the members, is always viewed as the major source of high degrees of criminalities, given that the gangs operate as a unit and individual operations are sometimes considered a betrayal and punished severely. The reasons for gaining gang membership include a sense of family and belonging, peer pressure, the excitement that comes with risk-taking, as well as family instability. Correspondingly, Ronel (2011, p.1208-1233) notes that the greatest risk factors include the dearth of parental supervision, family poverty, family-related violent attitudes, violent crimes committed against members of one’s family, and hyperactivity.
It is because most of the risk factors are associated with the family unit that most researchers think that family plays a core role in gang membership, thus, could inform the best-practice policies for the eradication of the gangs or suppression of their prevalence. However, while forwarding family as the major cause of gang membership, it is noteworthy that it affects mostly the membership of youth gangs. Zdun (2008, p.39-54) concluded that family structure has a direct relationship with gang membership. For instance, while most gang members originated from ‘non-traditional’ families, an equally large proportion had a two-parent background. Similarly, modern studies by Moore on gang membership involving the Latino community observed that 37% of members of particular gangs were members of ‘traditional’ families with own homes (Moore, 1991, p.270- 293). Indeed, according to Vigil (2003, p. 225-242), a mere 10% of the youths from impoverished neighborhoods acquire gang membership. The findings concur with several others that sought to examine the influence of family structure on gang membership. The parent-child relationship is another familial aspect that has exhibited close relationships with gang membership. A large body of research notes that a positive relationship between a parent and the child is a recipe for low criminality. Stronger relationships between parents and their children ensure that the child is attached to their family, and adheres to the positive societal norms as well as values (Hagedorn, 2008, p.4). A close and healthy relationship between a parent and the child leads to positive outcomes for the child such as learning to discern between the wrong and right as defined by the larger societal values through their parent. The converse is also true. Erratic parenting, parental absenteeism, child sexual abuse, and domestic violence weaken the bond between parents and their children, making the children lose the sense of belonging to their families. Subsequently, the children tend to fill the void by joining gangs and criminal groups that assure them of a sense of belonging and security.
The Role of Familial Criminality: Familial Gang Membership and the Family Influence on Gang Membership across Cultures
Similar to the previous case, studies associated with delinquency have established a credible relationship between youthful criminality and delinquent parental behavior (Aldridge & Medina, 2008, p.7-11). Bannister et al. (2010, p. 54-61) established that the young users of heroin came from families where the family members had a positive attitude concerning the usage of the drug. Thus, it suffices to say that the youth adopt most of the behaviors they experience with their families. It is on such grounds that studies link gang membership with certain familial aspects. Precisely, a study by Maxson and Whitlock (2002, p.19-35) hypothesized that families with positive attitudes towards gangs might encourage their children to earn a gang membership, which also facilitates intergenerational membership. On the other hand, Mathew (2010, p.21) found out contradicting conclusions largely because the research was conducted in a different location than the first one. On that note, Ronel (2011, p.1208-1233) suggests that familial involvement in gangs varies across cultures and geographical locations. However, it is noteworthy that the families do not always know about the gang membership of any of their members, neither do they always endorse gang membership. Hagedorn (2008, p. 11) established that the knowledge of gang membership among both the sample gang members and family members was relatively low. Some of the gang members admitted to the fact that their families had a hint of their gang membership while others denied the likelihood of their families having knowledge of their gang membership. However, most of the gang members admitted that they were not sure whether their families were cognizant of their gang membership as they had always kept it a secret. A similar research study in the U.K also found out that parents and families are often completely ignorant of their children’s gang membership status. Goldson (2011, p.9) opines that such a case is possible, especially since most of the youth adopt a different personality when they are with their parents than the one they have when among their gang members. Aldridge and Medina’s (2009, p.10) study confirms that parents are rarely cognizant of the activities of their children outside the homes. In connection, it is noted that though tacitly and reluctantly, family members endorse gang membership for their children. Sauma (2008, p.32-35) asserts that in some cases, failing to join a gang may endanger the life of the family, thus, leaving them with no other option, but allow their members to join the gang. Besides, parents who put up with financial hardships may encourage their children to join the gangs for financial freedom. The economic fragility may tear the parents between accepting and endorsing their relatives’ gang membership. Therefore, in cases of acute poverty, parents will easily yield to the financial pressures and endorse their relatives’ gang membership.
Social and Individual Factors Influencing Gang Membership across Cultures
In a bid to comprehend the aspect of juvenile delinquency in urban settings, social theorists have shifted focus to the social conditions for a possible explanation. Aldridge and Medina (2008, p.13-17) note that gang members cannot be understood solely based on their broken and chaotic family backgrounds, but also through the wider ecological factors. According to Bannister et al. (2010, p. 6), stable and conducive environments that are also organized and comprise homogenous populations result in law-abiding behavior and vice versa. Particular consistency exists among scholars who acknowledge the fact that social factors influence the healthy development of individuals and families. Goldson (2011, p.9), for instance, postulates that the social ecology surrounding the impoverished inner urban areas inhibits the free transmission and flow of family values that insist on law-abiding behaviors. Therefore, this implies that the disruption that results from unstable social conditions is the source of delinquent values and behaviors among the youthful members of the society. Such delinquent behaviors eventually lead to gang membership. The current studies on gang formation and the subsequent membership continue to link a variety of social factors to gang membership. Hagedorn (2008, p.56-64) argues that social constructions such as deindustrialization, demographic change, and the dearth of proper employment opportunities appear to influence gang membership across cultures. Generally, while gang membership across cultures is an amalgamation of both socio-individual and familial factors, it is evident that the latter greatly influences gang membership.
Analysis of the Reviewed Literature
Evidently, most of the literature materials above agree that family plays a core role on gang membership across cultures. However, none of the studies recorded a case in which a gang member cited parental encouragement or involvement as their reason for acquiring gang membership. This calls for the contextual definition of the family unit, given that a general usage may include even the parents who, apart from zero involvement, were incognizant of their children’s activities, including gang membership outside the house. Mathew (2010, p.8) states that most of the gang members admitted that their siblings, especially the brothers, largely contributed to their involvement with a gang. In the same study, half of the gang members interviewed admitted to having a brother in a gang while more than a third added that their brothers motivated them to join a gang. Ideally, the concept of family in relationship to gang membership should be confined to the siblings. However, with other external influences, parents form part of the family that contributes to a child’s gang membership. Such conditions include poverty and financial instability where a parent allows their child to join a gang for the sole reason of financial help. However, this case is not completely valid as there is an external pressure involved and does not happen at the will of the parents. It is safe to assume that a parent would think otherwise suppose the situation was different.
In most cases, older siblings were the ones that encouraged their younger counterparts to join gangs. This is partly due to the sense of security that comes with gang membership. The older brothers, in this case, seem to be more concerned with the security of their younger siblings and want to boost their protection. On similar grounds, the younger brothers admired the ‘courage’ and toughness of their older brothers who were members of a gang. As such, they sought to join a gang as a means of being in equal tough. An in-depth look at the social factors reveals that the social factors could also be linked to gang membership from a family perspective. A family is a micro-society that draws its social conditions, values, and norms from those of the larger society. In this respect, social aspects such as poverty and lack of employment could be considered as the social aspects of a family that encourage gang membership. Low-income families are likely to endorse gang membership as a way out of the destitution. Thus, even though the socio-individual factors also contribute to the gang membership across cultures, the process begins with the family conditions. Therefore, the family unit is the basis of gang membership across cultures; for instance, it would be difficult to find a gang member from a rich family. This is because well-to-do families establish better relationships with their members, leading to the proper dissemination of the acceptable societal values and law-abiding behavior. Besides, such families are likely to find help for their members in case of individual factors that may facilitate gang membership.
Conclusion
In summary, a review of the literature materials reveals the intricate nature of the factors that influence gang formation and criminality across cultures. While other studies focus on the increased negative impacts of gang involvement, a larger body of research points to family breakdown, harsh parenting, sibling influence, and weak family bonds as the primary factors that contribute to gang membership. Additionally, the evidence highlights the relationship between living in impoverished neighborhoods and gang membership. Irresponsible parenting implies that parents do not follow up on their children’s activities, thus, they can involve in violent activities without the parents noticing. Peer pressure and sibling influence, as family aspects, are also direct determinants of gang membership across culture. The vital link between family and gangs across cultures could be used as the foundation of more focused best-practice policies for the prevention of gangs and the accompanying violence. The issue of gangs across cultures is easy to study and analyses largely because of the similarity in the gang behavior and operations throughout the world. It is also important to note that cultural variations have the least effect on the operations and aspects of gangs.