Why Do People Join Gangs

Gangs are a problem in every major city in the United States, and membership is rising. They are responsible for countless crimes, including murder, theft, vandalism, and causing terror within their communities. The question that remains is, “Why would anyone want to join a gang?” People join gangs for many reasons. Some of these reason include, a sense of “family”, protection, family tradition, or simply to look cool, but there are four primary reasons that describe most gang members:
Poverty- Most gangs exist because of one reason, money. By committing countless crimes of theft and drugs, gangs can make large amounts of money. Some people with money problems may turn to crime if they can't make enough with a job. This partly explains why some gangs exist in poor, rundown areas of cities.
Peer Pressure- Some gang members tend to be young, because gangs
Gangs commit crimes that vary, depending on the nature of the gang and members in it. There are gangs that just deal with drugs and commit drug related crimes, but not all gangs are involved with drugs. The drug related crimes that gangs commit are cultivation (marijuana) and manufacture (methamphetamine, crack cocaine, etc.) including distribution, sales, and possession of drugs. They are also involved with theft with manufactured drugs for selling them for a profit or for their own consumption. Beyond drugs, there are other crimes that gangs commit. Gangs may specialize in other crimes like car theft, shoplifting, weapons, gambling, prostitution, or have no speciality and commit various other crimes. Street gangs of today are different in some ways from gangs in the past. Today’s gangs are more involved in illegal drugs, commit more violent crimes, and use deadlier weapons in commision of those crimes, and it’s because of this that gangs are a major threat across the United