Gang Violence in the Chicago City
 
Name:
Instructor:
Course:
Date:
 
 
 
 
ABSTRACT
Gang violence is a common problem in the United States and it affects major city cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and New York. The gang violence negatively impacts on the economic development of the affected regions and is associated with both direct and intangible costs. Despite being portrayed as violent city, the levels of violent crime in the Chicago city have declined considerably. Although gang violence has reduced both in low and high crime areas, there remain regions where violent crime rate is stile unacceptably high. Some of the gangs specialize in expressive violence while others specialize in instrumental violence. The objectives of this paper it to examine the historical trends and the prevalence of gang violence in the Chicago city and propose possible solutions to the problem.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table of Contents
1.      Introduction. 4
2.      History of Gang Violence in America. 4
3.      Gang Violence in Chicago. 5
4.      Prevalence of the gang violence. 7
5. Effects of the gang violence. 8
5.1 Mobility. 8
5.2 Real estate values. 10
5.3 City budgets and local residents. 10
5.4 Intangible costs. 11
5.5 Law enforcement and justice-system and revenues. 11
5.6 Gang violence in schools. 12
6.      Interventions. 13
6.1 Follow-Up Re-entry programs for gang-affiliated inmates. 14
6.1.1 San Diego Country Prisoner Re-entry program.. 15
6.1.2 The re-entry council of the city and County of Francisco. 16
7.      Conclusion. 16
 

1.      Introduction

In 2002 and 2008, Chicago registered the most murders than any other city in America. The rising homicide rate is attributed to the influx of illegal guns and gang violence. Gang violence is connected to disputes and turf wars and it seems that the problem largely affects the geographically and socially isolated neighborhoods. The incidences of gang violence mainly affect those living in the West and the South sides of the city. Although incidences of gang violence have declined considerably, the city is faring badly compared to other gang-infested cities such as Los Angeles and New York. This paper examines the history, prevalence and the solutions to the problem of gang violence in the Chicago city.

2.      History of Gang Violence in America

The origin of gangs can be traced to the East Coast in 1820s and thereafter, in the Midwestern regions including Chicago and Los Angeles. The problem of gang violence in the United States is as old as humanity itself. The New York City is considered as a haven of the gangs in the country, and the emergence of gang-like groups began in late 1700s.  Serious gangs would later emerge in 1820s fueled by large scale immigration. Gang would later spread to other cities such as Philadelphia and Boston. In the Midwest region, gangs first flourished in 1900s but there is evidence of white gangs in the area as far back as 1960s. In the Western region, gangs started appearing in 1890s and the mass immigration of the Mexicans in 1940 to 1970s gave rise to the Mexican-American gangs. Black gangs were formed in towns like Los Angeles and California. The gang groups in the western regions have since increased in numbers, and are a threat to peace and tranquility in the society. The southern region were not spared either by gang violence, and gang activity was first reported in New Orleans, Miami, San Antonio, and Fort Worth as afar back as 1970s. Although gangs in the Southern part emerged later compared to the other regions, the gang activities in the area have since increased.

3.      Gang Violence in Chicago

Gangs are formed by a group of people who are perceived to be aggressive and who come together to protect their turfs engage in criminal activities. The Chicago Police Department defines gangs based on several characteristics. Firstly, street gangs have well established geographical territories and have an organized course of criminality. The law enforcement agencies are also able to identify gangs based on symbols and signs, hand signs, language and clothing. The available literature suggests that there are two forms of violence: expressive and instrumental (Cullen & Levitt, 1999). The aim of the expressive violence is to injure the victim and other motives are secondary. In contrast, the objective of the instrumental violence is to acquire financial gains and not hurt the victims. The Chicago street gangs express both types of violence; on one hand the members defend their identity and initiate expansionary policies, and in the process those who resist are killed while on the other hand, gangs use violence to safeguard their financial interests.
Gang violence has become a common occurrence in the society. In the Chicago city, the emergence of gangs is often viewed as a by-product of social dis-organization and the inefficiency of the traditional institutions. The pattern and the composition of the Chicago gangs is shaped by race and ethnicity. The emergence of criminal gangs was precipitated by the immigration of the black Americans into Chicago. The mass immigration in the area led to tension and increased bitterness from other races. By 1950s the black community had grown so much, an event that led to the establishment of more gangs in the area. At the time, the famous gangs included the Vicelords, and the Blackstone Rangers. However, in 1960s the local authorities initiated an ambitious war against the gangs, an event that led to the decapitation of street gangs.  With tough economic conditions and lack of employment opportunities, the youths flowed back to the streets. The re-organization of the gang activities saw the rise of the Black Disciples and the Black Gangsters. In the recent times, due to spatial disruption, some of the gangs have been displaced leading to violence and instability in the area.
Chicago is recognized as the gang capital of the U.S. and according to an audit performed by the Chicago Police Department the area has more than 600 gang factions with a combined membership of more than 70,000. As the number of the gang groups increase the police have found it hard to control them. The negative impact of the gangs in the city is well noted and just to illustrate, in 2011, a quarter of the homicides in Chicago were gang-related. Currently, one of the common gang group in Chicago is the Black Gangster Disciples Nation and is renowned for turf wars with the Blackstone Rangers and the Black Disciples. The Latin Disciples operates in the Northwest Side neighborhoods while the Latino Kings s the largest Latino street gang in the entire city. Another influential street gang group is the Vice Lords which was formed in 1950s and operates in the West Side neighborhoods. There are turf-hot-spots in the city where gang-motivated offenses are concentrated. There are also the drug hot spots where the gangs fight over drugs leading to the death of the innocent member of the community and the gang members.
The Chicago city grapples with murder and violent crime problem, and aware of this fact the Department of Justice initiated a project dubbed the Project Safe Neighborhoods. The project is one of the major initiatives whose aim was to reduce gun violence at the local level. The project entailed mobilizing funds to support the justice system for the purpose of the enforcement, deterrence and prevention. At the core of the initiative was the prosecution of illegal guns use and illegal gun possession. The increased prosecution of gun-related cases, directly impacts on the activities of gangs in the Chicago cities. The program also sought to improve joint federal-local prosecution case screening capacity, increase police patrols, establish violent offender programs and street-level firearms enforcement teams. The program also sought to educate the public and school-going children about the negative impact of the gang violence in the society.

4.      Prevalence of the gang violence

            The sorry state of the security in Chicago is well captured in an article titled; Chicago homicides outnumber U.S. troop killings in Afghanistan. According to the article, while 2,000 U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001, around 5,000 had been killed by gangs in Chicago (Shapiro & Hassett, 2012). Compared to other cities such as Los Angeles and New York the murder rate is very high and the business community in the area has adversely been affected by the ongoing violence. Instances of youth gun violence are very common in the city, and according to Petersilia (2003) the victims and the perpetrators are disproportionately likely to be black males from poor single-parent households. According to the statistics released by the Chicago police department, gangs are largely blamed for homicide...