According to Ayling (2011), street gangs' presence in most urban regions is closely related to the rise in criminal activity there. Since their illegal activities do not follow the community's established laws and regulations, these organizations frequently pose a danger to the security of its citizens. It's important to note that the majority of street gangs engage in criminal activity on purpose in order to rally supporters to their cause and earn money for themselves through unlawful means. Most cases of criminal behavior are associated with gangs because many of the groups are responsible for the shootings, theft, drug abuse and distribution, violence, and deaths, among other factors in the society. These are some of the effects that street gangs have in the nation; thus, the tireless efforts by law enforcing agencies to counter the activities of these gangs and consistent engagement to arresting its members and prosecuting criminal behaviors.
The common problem associated with street gangs is the use and distribution of drugs in the society (Taniguchi, Ratcliffe, & Taylor, 2011). The drugs are responsible for the widespread addiction and destruction of the youth in the community while acting as an income generator for the gangs. Gang life is a dangerous way of living in the society due to the constant altercations with the law and other gangs, which often leads to many innocent deaths of people in the nation and most of the gang members. Gang life is responsible for the increasing drug dealing in the society that is ruining the youth in the society and guilty of the increased levels of violence, insecurity, and deaths in the society.
Gang life
Street gangs often are formed by a group of friends, family or associates, who are dedicated to living a life of crime within their neighborhood that goes against the laid out laws and principles of the society. These groups in most cases claim control of specific areas where they establish their illegal operations that include mostly theft and violence, which creates fear and insecurity in the community. According to Smith, Rush, and Burton (2013), control and power in the gang life is gained by acts of violence, intimidation as well as killing of those in opposition to the activities and ideologies of the gang members. The power and control are required by these groups to maintain authority over their illegally acquired territories and to assist them in their criminal activities.
Most gangs are made up of members recruited at a young age through being enticed with money and respect by the elder members of these gangs. The kids are attracted to gangs due to poverty, peer pressure, despair and sometimes boredom, which are prevalent in most marginalized and impoverished communities. Gangs offer initiation to new members that may be in the form of missions to commit crime or "Jumping in" that involves being beaten by all the gang members. Gang life is not exciting as it exposes the members to risks to their lives and health by working late at night, long hours, harsh conditions, and imminent unprecedented violence. Gang life is also dangerous as it exposes the members’ families to harm in the form of retaliatory attacks by other gangs in their turf battles.
Additionally, gang life is a dangerous way of living since it involves being in constant fear and being involved in crime on a continuous basis to sustain the one's life and those of other gang members. It requires unethical practices and violation of the moral codes of the society that often exposes the youth to similar behavior due to a lack of proper role models.
Drugs
The use of drugs is applied both in its distribution and in consumption among the street gangs present in the community. Drugs especially banned substances are among the most attractive to gangs since they provide a lucrative source of income in the black markets. The drugs utilized by these street gangs range from but not limited to; alcohol, heroin, crystal meth, bhang, ecstasy pills, and cocaine, which are consumed by members and sold to make money. The effects of these drugs when consumed are undesirable since they often lead to addiction and dependence of the drugs to function normally in the society. According to Bellair and McNulty (2009), street gangs utilize the demand for illegal drugs that is created by the addiction by many users and the difficulty in quickly accessing these drugs, to supply the product in the society.
These factors provide a ready market for the sale of drugs; however, the effects of these drugs in the society is damaging. The rise of drug addictions witnessed in the society has a direct link to the activities of street gangs that are responsible for most of the distributions of these illegal drugs. Drug use has affected most of the youth who are increasingly unable to get employment or attend schools due to their battles with drug use. These illegal drugs are also sold and used in the learning institutions by street gangs, which is adding to the ruin of youth in the learning institutions. Street gangs have used drugs to make money yet in the process; they have also influenced the destruction of most of the youth’s lives.
Not only does the selling of illegal drugs drive the revenues of street gangs, but also they form many of the conditions of gang membership (Taniguchi, Ratcliffe, & Taylor, 2011). Members are required to take up several spots in specific areas marked as territories for the distribution of the illegal substances. The distribution also comes with the challenges of violence to maintain boundaries or use of force to take over other gang territories. These wars influenced by the sale of drugs results in deaths and injuries to gang members, some of the innocent people close by in the violence areas are also affected since guns, and other crude weapons are used.
Conclusion
The issue of gang violence and drug use is part of the gang life and is dearly costing the society by deriving it its youth who are either addicted to the illegal substances or have died due to street gang activities. Gang life is not as exciting as it is portrayed and the attraction it presents to the members is often misleading as the members lived in endless fear and forced to commit crimes to be part of the group. Gang life usually is dangerous due to the violent activities involved and retaliation from other groups in the quest to control territories. These territories are for use in dealing with illegal drugs and substances, which are used as revenue generators by most of these groups. These illicit drugs are affecting both the members of these street gangs and most of the consumers in the society through addiction and affecting their health. The need to abolish the existence of these street gangs is second to none since it is imperative to have a safe and secure society for the human being to thrive.
References
Ayling, J. (2011). Gang change and evolutionary theory. Crime, Law and Social Change, 56(1), 1-26.
Bellair, P. E., & McNulty, T. L. (2009). Gang membership, drug selling, and violence in neighborhood context. Justice Quarterly, 26(4), 644-669.
Smith, C. F., Rush, J., & Burton, C. E. (2013). Street gangs, organized crime groups, and terrorists: Differentiating criminal organizations. Investigative Sciences Journal, 5(1).
Taniguchi, T. A., Ratcliffe, J. H., & Taylor, R. B. (2011). Gang set space, drug markets, and crime around drug corners in Camden. Journal of research in crime and delinquency, 48(3), 327-363.
