National-What Should Be Done

Gangs and gang violence in the United States has increased drastically in the past decades, especially in the late 1980's and the early 1990's and even into the new millennium. The substantial increase in both these categories can be attributed to the influx of immigrants during this time. Not only is the increase in immigration leading to the increase, but more importantly illegal immigration is leading to more gang violence. Between 1999 and 2002 gang violence had risen 50%. So, what should the government do to turn this trend around? The government needs to continue its commitment to after-school programs around the country so that it keeps kids off the streets. Kids often join gangs because they come from broken homes and don't have a sense of family or belonging. They do not have any connection to school, and so they join gangs so that they can feel like a part of something.


Gangs realize that children need a sense of belonging so they target them specifically as young as nine years old.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKaPTns5dqE


The extent of this problem can be seen in the fact that in just Los Angeles it is estimated that there are between 800 and 1000 gangs with between 120,000 and 220,000 members. About 20% of gangs are dedicated solely to the sale of drugs, thus the government needs to step up the fight against drugs. The few resources dedicated to the DEA are not enough to eradicate the drug problem. Additionally, only 20%-30% of money dedicated to the war on drugs goes into the education, treatment, and prevention of drug use.Although the general public is largely unaware, Gangs are having a huge affect on our economy right now, and have been for over a century most notably during prohibition when Al Capone and other gangsters took control of the alcohol trade and made millions. Gangs may not have a direct effect on our economy but the amount of money that goes into cleaning up after them is extremely high; Gangs participate in robbery, importation of drugs, murder and many other activities that are detrimental to our economy. It is estimated that Americans spend about $655 billion annually on fighting crime alone in the United States. That number does not include the cost of treating people affected by gang violence or by the drugs dealt by gangs. A large percentage of a gangs income comes from theft specifically automobile theft; El Salvador, a country with a huge gang culture imports up to 80% of its cars from the United States illegally via gang trafficking.
The government has taken a number of steps to stop both the influence and the spread of gangs; The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. It is essentially a law making certain crimes that pertain to gangs more serious, thus gang members can be kept off the street for a longer period of time. unfortunately gangs exist in prison as well though.

Even communities can help stop the growth of Gangs simply by being vigilant. Instead of being intimidated by gangs, people need to make an effort to stand up to them. If gang activity is occurring in a neighborhood, than the residents have an obligation to call the police. Even within the home parents can take action by monitoring what their kids are doing and who they are doing it with. Getting kids involved in sports or hobbies can be a huge deterrent from getting involved in gangs.
If neither the government nor large cooperation’s take action the problem will only get worse. Gangs will control more and more “territory” and have a much larger impact on the way we live life and the way our kids and grandkids will live their lives. Kids will become even more afraid to go to school and our economy will spiral downward, while gangs continue to make increasingly large sums of money at our expense. Gangs will grow so large and powerful that we could end up seeing another civil war one day.