Should stiffer penalties be enforced against gang crimes? Yes, Gangs are groups of three or more people who band together for protection and socialization gain. By joining, members take on the common identity of the gang. Street gangs have existed in the U.S. since the time of the American Revolution. The presence of street gangs in the U.S. has since increased exponentially, affecting as many as 3,550 jurisdictions in 2007. The growing presence of street gangs in the U.S. is such that, in recent years, there have been reports of gang activity breaking into some of the most closely guarded groups in America such as the armed forces and professional sports leagues. This increased presence of street gangs in the U.S. has led to a call for stiffer penalties for gang-related crimes. Advocates of stiffer penaltie s say gangs constitute one of the greatest threats to public safety. Others argue, however, that criminalization is not the answer and instead call for better prevention initiatives to keep young people out of gangs. Those opposed to stiffer penalties say more help should be given to social service agencies working with young people involved in gangs.
Gangs contribute one of the greatest threats to public safety. When joining a gang often there is an initiation this is usually a violent crime. 86% of the U.S Cities with the population of 100,000 people or more report gang activities. For the country gang violence is also a problem because more and more people are having to be put in jail. Gang violence is causing our prisons to overflow and forcing the government to allocate more resources to prisons. Not only does the country have to spend money keeping gang members in prison, but money is being used to hire more police officers and to pay for more time to be dedicated to trying to stop gang violence.
Gang violence within races has effected cultures and families in many negative ways. Most gang