Week 5 sociology ind wrk - Essay Example

Urban Gangs in the United s Insert Semester The police department has defined a gang as generally a group of individuals with close association who posses identifiable peculiar leadership and organizational characteristics, where they control a given territory within a community and engage in illegal or delinquent behavior. The authorities are always on the lookout for sprouting gangs. It is a major issue of concern in the Los Angeles state as they seem to have literary taken over. There are underlying reasons as to why these often illegal groupings are formed with a greater percentage of them being the youth (Chapman. 2002). Gangs operate under a veil within the society.

These informal groupings arise as a result of many different reasons which are categorized into social theories. There are prudent methods that can be used to address issues that the gangs tend to propagate in the society in a just and peaceful way for stronger cohesion of society. This paper seeks to look into the functions that gangs fulfill in the society and how their needs can be fulfilled by the society in a peaceful manner. It attempts to seek ways in which the different groups of socio-economic classes in the society can live harmoniously and interdependent for the common social good.

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, there are a number of fulfillments that every individual seeks to attain. Many gangs come up as a result of neglect and sometimes abuse of these aspects of human needs (Levy, 2010). The youth, who form majority part of the gangs, join gangs to have their physiological needs such as hunger, need for liquids, sex, and other physical needs that they are not able to find in the traditional societal platform. Next in the hierarchy of needs that these youth seek to satisfy in joining gangs is the need for safety.

As human beings they need to feel secure where they are and in whatever they do. Gangs act as a good platform to make them feel secure. Every human needs to have a sense of protection. Other individuals find solace in gangs since they pretty give them a sense of belonging. The absence of properly structured families, unconditional love and proper discipline fuels the gang uprisings. In essence, once a need is fulfilled, the next need in the hierarchy is inevitable until self actualization is attained.

There are sociological theories advanced by scholars such as the functionalist theory which advocates that society is a social system made up of interdependent parts that rely on each other. Both gang members and the normal society to some extent need each other to thrive (Santos, 2009). Therefore they need to coexist peacefully in order to attain the complete functionality of the society. The other theory is the conflict theory that suggests the existence of different societal classes. Those that have access to important resources and those that doesn’t with the former oppressing the latter.

The symbolic interaction theory suggests that, individuals develop and rely on a certain characteristic as a tool of symbolic interaction. They develop a sophisticated set of symbols to try and give meaning to the world. In general, it does not matter where a gang sociologically falls; they deviate from this and delve into unlawful and criminal activities to justify their cause.In conclusion, gangs exist in the society in an attempt to fulfill certain needs as articulated in the hierarchy of needs by Maslow.

Sprouting of gangs is a function of society and can only be eliminated through proper understanding by each party. The authorities need to ensure the societal needs are provided and that it is a responsibility of society as a whole. Through this, proper solutions can be arrived at amicably by both parties in the divide.ReferencesChapman. R. (2002). Culture Wars; an Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints and Voices (volume 2). USA: M. E. Sharpe, incHaines.D.W & Rosenblum. (1999). Illegal Gangs in America; A Reference Hand Book.

USA: Greenward press. Levy. J. (2010). Illegal Immigration And Amnesty; Open Borders And National Security. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, inc. Santos .K. (2009-2010) American Government and Politics Today. Texas: Wadsworth, cengage learning.