Since the 1970s’, gangs have evolved into a wide spread of social problems that desperately need to be resolve. No longer are we seeing gangs operated in major city such as Los Angeles, Oakland, Detroit, New Orland and New Jersey. Smaller cities such as Marysville, Chico, Modesto and Fairfield are also being impacted by this rising problem. What make this issue problematic are due to the facts that gangs have the power to ruined communities, by creating criminal activities and drugs usage among teenagers and young adults (Winkelman, 1999). The impacts of gang’s violence have affecting the lives of innocent’s people across the country, causing communities to live in fears. Fears of being victims to drive-by shooting, murders, theft, robbery and rapes are making the community unsafe and difficult for many parents to raise their children.
One way of resolving this problem, is the creations of gang preventions and intervention programs, to combat and educate gang members, young adults and at-risk youths about the negatives lifestyle of gang. Prevention programs can help prevent young teenagers and adults from joining gang and save them from the life of criminal. These programs can also help deterred people who grew up in a gang community, and those who thought of joining gang.
Through decades, law enforcement agencies, with the help of community services organizations have come up with several gangs’ preventions programs to fight this growing concern. Programs such as Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T) and Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) are great examples of gang preventions programs.
The goal of G.R.E.A.T is to help youths develops positive life skills that will help them to avoid gang involvement and violence behavior (GREAT, 2011). The G.R.E.A.T program is instructed by uniform law enforcement officers. Their goal is to teach students of positives life living skills to help them avoid using criminal behavior and violence as a method of solving problems. Not only does the program aim at educated students, but it also help parents and the community learned about gangs and their negative effect on the community.
DARE is a drug prevention program between law enforcement officers and local schools officials, joining together to informed students about the personal and social consequence of substance abuse and violence. Their primary mission is to provide students in grade school with the information on how to live a drug and violence free life (DARE, 2011). The D.A.R.E program is developed to educate students with knowledge and skills to allow them to avoid the negative influences of drug usage and peers pressure, and instead help them to focus on the positive things that matter in their life. Moreover, DARE influences students to makes good decisions by saying no to drugs and gangs, and to help ensure that students can grow up with a safe and secure life.
Beside preventions program, another way of making the community safer is gang Intervention programs. Gang Intervention programs focused on helping those who are already members of a gang. The program is great, because it gives the gang members the opportunity to rehabilitate and live better lives.
In conversely, not all gang prevention and intervention programs will reduce problem involving gangs. However, these programs do helps educated students, parents and the community of the issues and makes them more aware of the negative impact that gang makes on society. Overall, gang’s preventions and interventions programs vary from one program to the other and therefore, not all programs will have the same effect.
References:
Winkelman, Susan (1999, July). Poverty and Prejudice: Gang Intervention and Rehabilitation. Ethnic of Development in a Global Environment. July, 1999. http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/ganginterv/ganging.htm
D.A.R.E (1996). Drug Abuse Resistance Education. December, 2011. http://www.dare.com/home/InsideDAREAmerica/Story43fd.asp?N=InsideDAREAmerica &S=13&S=28
G.R.E.A.T (2011). Gang Resistance Education and Training. December, 2011. http://www.great- online.org/Default.Aspx
