Gang Activities In Rural Communities

To gain control of gang activities in large cities has become a recurring issue for law enforcement nationwide, and internationally. More than seventy-five percent of police agencies declared gang activity as the top factor contributing to violent crime in their communities (youth.GOV, n.d). Memphis, Tennessee serves as the Southern headquarters for gangs in the United States. According to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department, there are approximately 182 gangs with 84,000 gang members in the county (youth.Gov, n.d). For every four men in Memphis, two will eventually become a gang member. Gangs in the Memphis area are droned to high crime neighborhoods. According to the Governor's Public Safety Forum on Tennessee Gangs, gangs operation in Memphis rural communities are
Violent crimes involving youth transition to certain areas of the city, and were committed by a small percentage of youth offenders, the majority of whom were gangs affiliated. In 2012, Tennessee had 30,000 gang members, 25,000 at large, and 5,000 in prison, according to the Governor's Public Safety Forum on Tennessee Gangs (Maclin, 2015). In Memphis, various gangs operate within different avenues of the community. Memphis is home to various Chicago and California based gangs such as the Gangster Disciples, Crips and Bloods Subsets, Vice Lords, Black P. Stones, Latin Kings, Four Corner Hustlers, Suenos 13, Mara Salvatrucha 13, and numerous others (Maclin, 2015). There is also Memphis based gangs with legendary reputations, including Fam Mob, Young Mob, Dixie Homes Murda Gang, and Kingsgate mafia. In July 2013, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam granted into law a bill that increased sentencing of any proven gang member who committed a crime (Maclin, 2015). It classified them as a criminal gang offender if a prosecutor could prove that the delinquent was a gang