Street Gangs of Los Angeles Essay - 1070 Words

Once we finished watching the documentary street gangs of Los Angeles two theories were most prevalent in my mind for why there was gang formation in that area. The first being Travis herschi’s â€Å"social bonds†. Second being Walter miller’s â€Å"focal concerns†. Social bond theory is not a crime causation theory but a pro social behavior theory that helps explain deviance. This theory identified four social bonds that promote adherence to society’s laws and values. The four bonds being: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. If there was any weakness in any of these four areas would be an explain for the cause of delinquency. Focal concerns theory is different than many other theories because it is not the rejection of middle-class†¦show more content†¦As seen in the video the one mother saw that the gangs were trying to pressure her son into a gang through school and his friends so she moved but the same thing happened once they moved to another school there was no avoiding it. So the kid’s peers have a very high influence on the individual. If the friends are already engaging in delinquent activity then it would be somewhat natural thing for the individual to mimic the same things. The second part of the theory is commitment. The theory explains that participating in activities the promote adherence to societies moral and ethical code of conduct will keep them from participating in delinquent behavior. Most of the kids are not engaging in after school activities or other activities that would promote behavior that is looked up to in society. The next part of the theory is involvement or preoccupation. Herschi related this mainly to school and doing homework to keep the kids occupied so they won’t get caught up in delinquent behavior. But many of these kids aren’t going to school on a regular basis or they gave up on the schooling system so they are not being preoccupied with anyth ing that is beneficial to achieving prosocial bonds. The final part of this theory is belief in the laws and moral code. As the one man said â€Å"people in gangs don’t care as long as they’re making money.† By that statement alone you can assume that they willShow MoreRelatedThe Crips Street Gang Essay552 Words   |  3 PagesThe Crips Street Gang How has the Crips Street Gang evolved since the 1960’s? Gone are the days when battles were over community control, when loyalty meant self- determination, not self destruction. In the 1980’s crack cocaine became a major source of income for many African – American gang members in Los Angeles. 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