New York Police Department Practice Dealing With Gangs



How Do The New York Police Department Practice Work When Dealing With Gangs

Title of the project

How Do The New York Police Department Practice Work When Dealing With Gangs

Introduction of Research

Often times, young peripheral or associate gang members get their first exposure to the gang culture through various aspects of the media--news shows, movies, videos, and even through the music of various artists. Some music and movies tend to glamorize the gang lifestyle. Many kids who gravitate to gangs do so out of a need to belong to something and for the power that is gained from being in a gang.

Problem

Street gangs are very fluid in nature, and while it is fairly easy to develop intelligence information about them, many times the information is outdated almost before it is disseminated to the proper individuals.

Description of the research problem

The key to gaining knowledge about individual groups is to talk directly with persons involved. In order to help reduce this problem, school authorities, police officials, government administrators, churches, and the community as a whole must band together, put aside our individual differences and prejudices, and work to make this a better place for us. If not for the adults, we must create a safe environment for children of this generation to grow up in.

Rationale or significance of research

The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta has been monitoring the black male homicide rate for children ages 15 -24 as an epidemic. The rate has reached unbelievable proportions in the United States as well as in Pulaski County. In 1993, a New York Times article stated that Little Rock was one of a growing number of cities of comparable size experiencing an incredible escalation in juvenile crime and homicides.

Project scope and objectives

The Times featured the city on a front page article which stated that Little Rock's homicide rate per capita equals that of New York City and Los Angeles. Most of the carnage is being wreaked by and upon young African American males.

Literature review

The society that we live in makes alternative lifestyles very appealing. I believe, however, that the need for attention and the desire to obtain material goods are fast becoming the motivations driving youngsters to these groups. While conducting a prison interview with a young man who was about to spend his eighteenth birthday in the prison where the most violent inmates are housed for his part in the robbery and killing of two liquor store clerks, I was told that in order for this kid to have stayed away from the violence, a role model should have intervened with him when he was around four years old. He went on to say that his life was heavily influenced by the street dealers and gangsters in his birthplace of Oakland, California. He eventually ended up selling crack cocaine on the streets of Little Rock and made thousands of dollars per week. When asked what he did with all of the money, he said ...