Gang Formation Fighting: Race and Ethnic-Specific Strategies

Race and ethnicity are not necessarily inseparable from gang formation and gang crimes. Nevertheless, they are closely connected to this social phenomenon and addressing race and ethnicity would be beneficial for controlling activities of local crimes. From this perspective, there are several arguments, which would be helpful for supporting the statement that race and ethnic-specific strategies might contribute to solving the problem of gangs. First and foremost, ethnic and race-specific strategies might be valuable for gaining an understanding of the reasons for joining a gang. For instance, creating alternatives for youth with the focus on their background might prevent them from becoming involved in gang activities, which are commonly the only way of getting in touch with people of the same race and ethnicity (Walker, Spohn, & Delone, 2012). More than that, recognizing ethnic and racial specificities of gangs might be helpful for apprehending the frequency of some crimes, which are culture-specific. In this way, targeting them might as well contribute to addressing the challenge (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d.). Finally, in some cases, it is racism that leads to the formation of gangs. It means the implementation of ethnic and race-specific strategies contributes to the integration of minorities into a community, thus minimizing risks of their crime activities (Walker et al., 2012).