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Juvenile Corrections System: Chicano Street Gangs
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Essay Subject:
Examines the contributing factors & possible solutions to youth crime, especially Chicano youth gangs.... More...
3 Pages / 675 Words
2 sources, 7 Citations, APA Format
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Paper Abstract:
Examines the contributing factors & possible solutions to youth crime, especially Chicano youth gangs.

Paper Introduction:
The American system of juvenile corrections has numerous failures and few successes, and it is a system in crisis as the inner cities produce more and more street gangs, violence, and troubled youth. There are many reasons for the increase in these problems, and the programs developed to cope with them have not kept pace with the rate of change and have not served well to control juveniles or to address their problems. Yet, new programs are suggested all the time, showing a realization of the need and attempts to come to terms with it. Vigil (1988) writes specifically about Chicano street gangs in Los Angeles, but much of what he says about these young people apply as well to young people in other urban situations and other ethnic groups. He notes the increase in gang violence and crime and considers some of the reasons for this increase, reasons found

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The very mandated sentences that are supposed to make lifeharder for criminals make it much more difficult to prosecute a youngster"(p. Much of this intention has withered away to be replaced moreand more by mandated prison sentences and an emphasis on punishment. Bennett offers some hope based on demographics if nothing else,noting that as zero population growth is reached early in the next century,the crime rate will enter a stage of permanent stability or decline for theyounger population. Vigil states that many young peoplelearn that incarceration is not to their liking even though a certainamount of peer respect and personal prestige is gained because of it sothat they attempt to avoid further contacts by seeking other channels forfulfillment. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1988. She also feels that get tough policies, though, willactually contribute to teenage crime rather than reducing it, sinceresearch shows that jailing juveniles simply speeds the commission ofsubsequent crimes (p. Family stress is cited as a factor, and suchstress can result from other social forces such as unemployment. Yet, newprograms are suggested all the time, showing a realization of the need andattempts to come to terms with it. Experiences with the juvenile justice system often do notproduce the changes in behavior that are desired and instead may reinforcethe antisocial attitudes and behavior of young people. The American system of juvenile corrections has numerous failures andfew successes, and it is a system in crisis as the inner cities producemore and more street gangs, violence, and troubled youth. Most juveniles tried in adult courts don't see the inside of ajail cell. As early as 1978, public dissatisfaction had causedall fifty states and the federal government to enact statutes under whichjuveniles could be tried in adult courts, but even this has not worked asintended: "Of all the juvenile cases waived to criminal courts, themajority are traffic, fishing, boasting, drinking, and other minorviolations. Vigil surveyed gang members and found that more thanhalf his key informants had some type of experience with arrest, detention,and/or incarceration, and regular gang members were more likely to haverepeated police contacts and periods of detention and incarceration. 68). 42-63). Vigil also notes that there is constant friction between lawenforcement and the criminal justice system on the one hand and people inthe barrios on the other, and barrio youth and gangs are regularly broughtinto contact with police and sheriffs serving as street "social control"specialists. Some gang members have spent years rather than monthsin various institutions--juvenile hall, camp, youth authority, and prison.The juvenile justice system serves to change the behavior of the few whilereinforcing the behavior of many more. New York: Anchor Books, 1989.Vigilo, James Diego, Barrio Gangs. ReferencesBennett, Georgette, Crimewarps. Vigil (1988) writes specifically about Chicano street gangs in LosAngeles, but much of what he says about these young people apply as well toyoung people in other urban situations and other ethnic groups. An antipolicebias stems in part from a broader anti-authority and anti-Anglo attitude(p. Vigil feels that most young people follow this pattern:"Many, however, continue a cycle of crime and incarceration well intoadulthood, continuing to find willing accomplices among their barrio peers(and sometimes juniors) or impelled by the demands of their drug abusepatterns" (p. Vigil also found that gang members viewed themselves as beingharassed by the police, ranging in their perception from how the policeapproach them to the actual verbal and physical exchanges. 141). Otherfamily problems can include parental criminality, family breakup,alcoholism, and so on. 68). Vigil writes: "As a result, law enforcement personnel havetended to be especially vigilant in their patrolling routines, and somebarrio residents, especially youth, perceive this as unnecessarilyintrusive" (p. He notesthe increase in gang violence and crime and considers some of the reasonsfor this increase, reasons found in social forces at work across thecountry in some degree. are not respected, and will never achieve anything.Prejudice against certain racial and ethnic groups plays a role in creatingyoung criminals and in fostering an "us-against-them" mentality (pp. Some young peopleencountering juvenile hall or a camp facility have been helped and have hadtheir lives turned around, but more have learned new criminal behavior andmade new contacts. Police contacts can often addto the honor and prestige of a youth's image, and going to jail involvesthe acquisition of even more respect. 142). One way this isseen is in the fact that "doing time" is seen as a badge of honor ratherthan a punishment and a shameful experience. 148). Bennett (1989) notes that one of the consequences of increasingteenage crime and drug use has been a new intolerance expressed in thejuvenile justice system through programs emphasizing punishment.Rehabilitation had been a strong objective in juvenile justice even afterit had become discredited for adult offenders, with the idea being thatrehabilitation should be possible for young offenders before they becometoo hardened. Peer pressure is part of this and can play asignificant role in guiding most gang members into criminal roles.Schooling plays a role when it is problematic, leaving young people feelingthey are not learning. Studies have shown a continuityamong drug life, prisons, and the barrio gang. By1983, 48 states and the District of Columbia had taken away much of thediscretion of judges in setting sentences: "Mandated prison sentences havedisplaced a host of indeterminate sentences and unreliable parole boarddecisions" (p. 69). There are manyreasons for the increase in these problems, and the programs developed tocope with them have not kept pace with the rate of change and have notserved well to control juveniles or to address their problems. Vigil cites street socialization as a problem asyoung people have no one to associate with except gangs which prey onyounger people and force them to join at an early age and be socializedinto gang activities.

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