If society unfairly labels people as useless or unacceptable, those who are disregarded stick together as forms of support. That is exactly what society does to gang members today. "Gangs are socially constructed entities. Their existence is inextricably linked to the larger society's politics; it's skewed relations of power, the limited access to its economic resources, and the systematic persecution and exclusion of certain populations from participation in it" (Phillips, 72). If society is unwilling to look past its own persecution and destruction, the actual motive of the "socially neglected", then how will it ever solve or abolish gang violence?

Ignorantly, most people think that, "a gang is a gang is a gang", or that all gangs are the same (Cummings/Monti, 28). This assumption that all gangs and all gang members are the same causes condemning stereotypes, wh

Social prevention basically includes police departments and schools. Many police departments have special units to deal with the problem of gangs and gang violence (Kinnear, 21). Although police departments carry special gang units they don't offer written information, such as handouts and resource guides. 1 in 9 police departments give written handouts and brochures (Sachs, 128). According to Kinnear, "Police departments use a variety of techniques to gather information about gangs and individual gang members" (Kinnear, 22). Police actions to prevent gang activity include staking out territory, patrolling and enforcing laws aggressively, surveying individual members, and infiltrating the locales of gangs. Law enforcement officials argue that improved data systems and coordination of information across different justice system agencies will lead to more efficiency, more gang members being removed from the streets, more rapid prosecution with "less hassle" for longer periods (Spergel, 195).

gang violence because of their aggressive meaning. According to Berkowitz, "...many of us associate guns with the idea of killing and hurting. Because of these associations, the mere sight of a weapon may elicit thoughts, feelings and perhaps even muscular reactions in us that we have previously learned to connect with aggressive behavior" (Kinnear, 17).

Knowing who gang members are, where they hang out, how they recruit, and why they kill often prevent unnecessary killings and gang violence (Fisher, 2002). Cities try to arrange gang treaties and truces to decrease crime. It's been found that truces don't seem to last long before something triggers their destruction (Kinnear, 23).

we know less about the current problem than we knew about gangs and gang violence in the 1960's" (Cummings/Monti, 28).

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Approximate Word count = 1529
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)