An Environment for Gang Proliferation

1. An Environment for Gang Proliferation

2. Gangs: Not Just in Prisons and Big Cities Anymore. They’re Your Problem 2

3. March 11, 1988-The Subcommittee on Education & Health of the Joint Economic Committee Meet to Discuss the Issue of Latchkey Children Points of interest: • 2 to 7 million children are home alone each day after school • Many are lonely and not safe • These numbers are increasing • More than 11 million mothers with school age children are now in the labor force • By 1990 that number is expected to reach 75% of all mothers with school age children • “Aggressive action” needs to be taken or the number of children in “self-care” will reach 35 million by 1995(Latchkey children : hearing before the Subcommittee on Education and Health of the Joint Economic Committee, Congress of the United States, One Hundredth Congress, second session, March 11, 1988, 1988)

4. Where Are We More than 20 Years Later? “Estimates of the number of unsupervised or inadequately supervised children range from 3.5 million to 17.5 million for children between the ages of five and fourteen. The large discrepancy in estimates is mainly due to the variety of definitions. Some estimates include only children who have no supervision; others include those with no adult supervision. Still other estimates include those who are inadequately supervised, periodically unsupervised, or supervised by a parent or other adult who is emotionally or psychologically unavailable. No matter which estimate is used, it is clear that too many children do not receive the supervision that would maximize their physical, social, emotional, psychological, and spiritual development.”("Latchkey Children - Prevalence, Dilemmas For Parents, Mixed Empirical Findings, Programs, Conclusions," 2009)

5. Portion of a2004 Report by The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Entitled “REVERSING DIRECTION ON WELFARE REFORM:  President's Budget Cuts Child Care for More Than 300,000 Children” (Mezey, Parrott, Greenberg, & Fremstad, 2004)

6. Socialization: The process by which people learn their culture. They do so by entering and disengaging from a succession of roles and becoming aware of themselves as they interact with others. (Brym & Lie, 2007)

7. When both parents have to work and child care programs have been cut, who or what is socializing our children? The Internet • Social networking sites: Facebook, MySpace, and others • YouTube • Pornography sites • Any subject that a child may be curious about Television • Shows that glamorize sex and violence • Music videos that show ex/gang members promoting a gang lifestyle with expensive cars, many half naked women, and loads and loads of MONEY Video Games • Violence is abundant For example in Grand Theft Auto, you play a character that is “armed with a variety of firearms to deliver justice – justice in the sense of ‘gangland bloodletting.’ In both games, Tommy’s objectives don’t stray far from gangland hits and driving getaway cars. Yes, you can plough through pedestrians with your ‘jacked ride and shoot indiscriminately at cars and passers-by …” (Omni, 2003)

8. AND…. Gang Members are more than willing and able to recruit children that are in need of agents of socialization.

10. Gang Presence • 30,000 Gangs in the United States • Over 1,000,000 Members • Presence in all 50 States • Gang Presence in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas • Approximately 1 out of every 10 of Florida’s documented gang members are in Central Florida (Harrison, 2008)

11. Avenues Known to Law Enforcement Where Gang Recruitment Has and Is Taking Place • The Internet • Our Schools • All Types of Neighborhoods • Military Recruiting Offices • Our Troops • Politics • Music • Professional Sports (Harrison, 2008)

12. Type in the word “crips” on youtube you get 44,900 hits Crips “theme song” presenting gang paraphernalia

13. 50 Cent “Ya Life’s on the Line” Music video Check out the rating of this YouTube video Another point of interest is the comments that are posted (mostly by texts) on many violent videos. Rated

14. 50 cent “ya life’s on the line” Lyrics Nobody likes meNobody likes me, but that's okayCuz I don't like y'all anyway...And I don't like y'all anywayFuck all y'all!!My watch talk for me, my whip talk for meMy gat talk for meBLAT! WutuphomieFor bitches who don't know me...They wanna blow me cuz the shit I floss wit sayin a lot for me I came into rap humble, I don't give a fuck nowServe anybody like niggas who hustle uptownCoke price go up, cats is come downThe D's run in my crib, I'm nowhere to be foundThe bitch who hustle for me, they dont even stash tracksThey keep it on em, right there in they ass crackWhen I don't like a nigga, I don't pretend toI'll have the paramedics wrap your fuckin head like a HinduLook, I ain'tgoin nowhere, so get used to meOG's look at me and see what they used to beI'm that nigga that sold coke, the nigga that sold dopeThe nigga that shot Dice when he broke to So SoThe thug, they pop shitThe thug that pop clipsThe thug that went from three and a half to whole bricksNiggaain't in his right mind, goin against meMy picture's painted through words that make a blind man see [Hook]Scream murder! (I don't believe you!)Murder! (Fuck around and leave you!)Murder! (I don't believe you!)Murder, murder! (Your life's on the line!) Y'all niggas don't want no parts of meI'm tryna figure out how y'all started meMake me catch her on the late nightPop shots wit the fifth and slide off wit the six …… ("50 Cent: Life's on the Line Lyrics," 2009) Googled “50 Cent Life’s on the Line Lyrics” Results: 170,000 hits in .84 seconds

15. Factors Contributing to the Environment of Gang Proliferation

16. The factors contributing to gangs, gang violence, and its proliferation are extensive. Therefore, an Interdisciplinary approach must be taken to come up with viable solutions to these problems.

17. Whose Perspective Do We Need to Make an Impact? • Anthropologists • Economists • Educators • Gang Members • Historians • Judges • Lawyers • Parents • Police • Political Scientists • Politicians • Psychologists • Social Workers • Sociologists

19. Bibliography Brym, R. J., & Lie, J. (2007). Sociology Your Compass for a New World, The Brief Edition (2 ed.). Belmont: Thomas Higher Education. Harrison, B. S. A., F.D.L.E., Organized Crime Squad. (2008, 9/13/2008). Criminal Street Gangs Seminar presented at the University of Central Florida. Latchkey Children - Prevalence, Dilemmas For Parents, Mixed Empirical Findings, Programs, Conclusions. (2009). Retrieved 3/16/2009, 2009, from http://social.jrank.org/pages/363/Latchkey-Children.html Latchkey children : hearing before the Subcommittee on Education and Health of the Joint Economic Committee, Congress of the United States, One Hundredth Congress, second session, March 11, 1988, (1988). Mezey, J., Parrott, S., Greenberg, M., & Fremstad, S. (2004). REVERSING DIRECTION ON WELFARE REFORM: President's Budget Cuts Child Care for More Than 300,000 Children. Retrieved 3/20/09, 2009, from http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1557 Omni. (2003). Grand Theft Auto Double-Pack. Retrieved 3/17/09, 2009, from http://www.armchairempire.com/Reviews/XBox/grand-theft-auto-iii-vice-city.htm 50 Cent: Life's on the Line Lyrics. (2009). Retrieved 3/16/09, 2009, from http://www.absolutelyrics.com/lyrics/view/50_cent/life,27s_on_the_line/

20. Graphics Gang Violence (2007). Retrieved 9/18/08 from http://www.ourreality.org/gallery/d/27-2/gang+violence.JPG Child at computer File:Child and Computer 08473.jpg ...2048 x 1536 - 423k - jpg upload.wikimedia.org Retrieved 3/6/09 50Cent. (1998). Life's On The Line (Murder Inc Diss) (Dirty Version: Music Video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLMSke-FsX4 hockeyfan888akajoker. (2007). Crips C's Up B's Down: YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj078oCI6kA