One of the largest growing epidemics in the world today is the growing popularity of gang activity and violence. A gang is a group or organization of individuals that form together to create an alliance in which to create a "family." The Department of Justice states that there at close to 27,400 gangs with more than 744,000 gang members (Trusty, 2013). This number is reaching new heights with the growth of poverty and the decline of a strong economic structure, which can create an atmosphere where everyone is at risk. This number is reaching new heights with the growth of poverty and the decline of a strong economic structure, which creates an atmosphere in which everyone is at risk. Members usually join gangs in their youth years for various reasons such as wanting a sense of belonging, poverty, protection, perceived respect, peer pressure, and family association which leads to a vast majority of crimes including drug dealings, murders, robberies, and other heinous crimes.
American gang membership began evolving in the early 1800s, originating in large urban cities like Chicago and New York. Along with gang membership comes gang violence, which is rising at a high rate due to many different factors. A variety of factors contribute to gang membership. Drugs became an essential factor in determining gang membership. People were not only using drugs, they were beginning to sell drugs. Drug use is often times associated with gang membership. For example marijuana and crack cocaine are commonly used amongst these group of people (Esbensen, Winfree, & Taylor, 2001). In the 1970s and 1980s, the crack cocaine epidemic spread profoundly through the inner-city streets in cities like Los Angeles, Harlem, and other parts of New York and California. This narcotic drug became more prevalent on the streets with an extremely high demand and a profit for it (Meacham, 2008).Youth gangs were instrumental in the increase in crack cocaine sales and their involvement in drug trafficking made a growth in youth violence.
