Who joins gangs?

Despite the wides range of gangs and their activities, there are some common trends in gang structure and involvement. Gang members are mainly males - street gangs are stereotypically made up of males in their early teens to mid 20s.  Females tend to follow gangs without becoming heavily engagaed in activity as their male counterparts. The JDI study suggests that females are more involved in peer groups than street gangs. 

Gangs often share an identity based either on age, location, ethnicity, peer networks or blood relationships and tend to be hierarchical communities with common interests and share purposes. Most gang members are most likey to be peer pressured into joining due to threat or popularity issues. Gangs represent reputation, impowerment and a life or death society. The importance of these are the main aspects as to why there is so much gang crime in the UK. Everyone outside these gangs are considered threats and enermies. These cause unnecessary killings and all crimes from robbery, harssament, attempted murders in order to keep their impowerment in the location. It has beeen identified that people involved in gangs often have family problems in their home or live in a run down areas, mostly commonly estates. This family strain brings children to the streets in order to find something else they can do in order to run away from home situations. Each memeber of a gang have different members that have different roles. 

- 'gang leaders' - the leaders determine strategies and plan activites but do not get involved in committing offences.

- 'gang workers' - these are established gang members caught up in the running of the business.

- ' foot soldiers' - these are the youngest and most visible layer of a gang and it is this group that are most at risk of becoming a victim of violent crime.

 

Why do people join gangs?

Gangs may form due to cocial exclusion and discrimination. People come together for a sense of safety and belonging. Immigrant populations, those excluded from education or people who have engagaed in criminal activities from an early age are partically at risk of ganag involvement. others may join a gang simply for something to do, seeking protection in numbers, or reasons of status and peer pressure. 

 

The violence of gangs.

Once someone is a member of a gang it can be extremely difficult for them to leave, particularly when the gang feels that ex-members may divulge gang secrets or provide evidence against them to the police. Loyalty within a gang is so strong that members thought to have been disloyal are at risk of violence – even being killed.