available on campus than those without gangs.
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In Gaustads words, gangs create a tenacious framework within which school violence
can take root and grow.
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Erickson argues that school does not only suffer from gang-related violence, it’s also functioned as a place for recruitment, induction, and
socializing.
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As an interview-based study conducted by Boyle, he reports that gang members see school as the best place to do recruitment and to
commit crimes. Although they acknowledge the importance of the educational objectives of school, school is much more important to
them as a place for gathering with fellow gang members.
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Finally, gangs can spread unexpectedly from school to school as students transfer from gang-impacted schools to gang-free schools,
causing an unintentional spillover of gang activity in the new school.
4. Why Gangs Develop and Why Students Join Them
Gangs develop in school because they attract students to respond by giving some excitement. They also provide them with a sense of
family and acceptance that they do not get in their lives, and it can maintain a strong ethnic identity.
According to William Gladden Foundation, there are four factors of juvenile gangs.
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First
, youth experience a sense of alienation and powerlessness because of a lack of traditional support structures, such as family
and school. This can lead to feelings of frustration and anger, and a desire to obtain support outside of traditional institutions.
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Bodinger-deUriarte C., Membership in Violent Gangs ……………., p. 73.
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J. Gaustad, Schools Respond to Gangs …………, p. 24.
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R. Arthur, E. Erickson, Gangs and Schools FL: Learning Publications, 1992, pp. 85-86.
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K. Boyle, Schools a Rough Place: Youth Gangs, Drug Users, and Family Life in Los Angeles, Washington DC: Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and
Improvement, 1992, p. 90.
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William Gladden Foundation, Juvenile Gangs New York: PA Author, 1992, pp. 165- 167.
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Second
, gang membership gives youth a sense of belonging and becomes a major source of identity for its members. In turn, gang
membership affords youth a sense of power and control, and gang activities become an outlet for their anger.
Third
, the control of turf is essential to the well-being of the gang, which often will use force to control both its territory and
members.
Finally
, recruitment of new members and expansion of territory are essential if a gang is to remain strong and powerful. Both
willing and unwilling members are drawn into gangs to feed the need for more resources and gang members.
Taken together these four factors interact to produce gangs that become more powerful and ruthless as they work to maintain and
expand their sway over territory and youth.
5. Gangs and School Response
Because gangs have bad influence on school, it is strongly recommended that school always monitor and supervise its pupil, and
it should find a strategy to mobilize the gang appearance.
6. Effective Interactions for Combating School Gangs
