In Los Angeles majority of the young people are uneducated. That being the case, there has also been an emergence of drug abuse in the area bringing forth gangs. Moreover, the high levels of crime in the area have resulted in the high rates of crime and murder (Braga, 2015). Adults have tried their best in making sure that the gangs do not influence the young people. This paper concentrates on the methods that have been successful in lowering of gang violence and participation in Los Angeles.
Pull and push factors have contributed significantly to the decline of gangs. Pull factors are the factors that contribute to making the gang member lose interest in the gang and be attracted to other vocations (Braga, 2015). Push factors, on the other hand, take the individual from the gang. People who were members of gangs in Los Angeles in the past believe that family commitments enabled them to be more mature and therefore feel as if they did not belong to the gangs (Fischer, & Teutsch, 2014). This process made them leave the gangs (Cahill et al., 2015). This is a form of desistance strategy. A desistance strategy shows the factors that can cause a gang member to leave his life of crime.
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The methods that are used in the mitigation of gang violence are the prevention of the youths from participating in gangs and the intervention strategies that are used in stopping a young person from being a member of the gang. The reform methods are also used in re-entering a former young gang member who has been in prison and the prosecution of the leaders of such gangs (Cahill et al., 2015). Prosecution of the gang leaders will bring about the disintegration of the gang. The law enforcement also arrests and gives warnings to young members to change their behavior. The government has also increased the level of education in the area whereby the young people can go to school instead of being idle (Fischer, & Teutsch, 2014).
- Braga, A. A. (2015). Police Gang Units and Effective Gang Violence Reduction. The Handbook of Gangs, 309.
- Cahill, M., Jannetta, J., Tiry, E., Lowry, S., Becker-Cohen, M., Paddock, E., & Serakos, M. (2015). Evaluation of the Los Angeles Gang Reduction and Youth Development Program.
- Fischer, K. N., & Teutsch, S. M. (2014). Safe summer parks programs reduce violence and improve health in Los Angeles County. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.
