Teen Gangs: The World of Canadian Street Gangs
In a family, one of the more important functions when talking about youth and their family is the assurance that the youth is satisfactorily socialized into the norms and values of society. The bond between parent and child is formed in the first five or six years of their life. Without sufficient care to complete this function, the youth is at a high risk of forming this bond with someone else. Children pay more attention to what an adult does than to what he or she does. When parents who are already apart of a street gang or who are engaging themselves in criminal activity, they send a message of acceptance of the actions they make to their own child. But what can society contribute to families across Canada? The answer targets the parents. A broader array of programs on parenting skills should be offered to all Canadian parents so that they are trained and supported to take care of their children. Enforcing structure and rules upon their children help them distinguish what is right and wrong. If these actions are taken in the family, this could help solve this teen gang problem.
For many Canadian youth, the sight of gangs within the school's walls and on the school's fields is common. Challenged adolescents take their issues to the school ground and relate them with others, thus forming gangs through their own anger. Schools are meant to educate children so that they have a future full of many opportunities. It is their chance to explore what interests them and what doesn't, but with the on going and increasing amount of violence, drug use and other gang related activity inside the school, Canadian adolescents are wasting their talents and futures away. In 1995, a grade 8 student named John was the first student to be expelled 'for life' in Ontario because he tried to slash a classmate with a knife (Duffy, 1995, p. 117). It is said that one of riskiest times for a teenager for being involved in gang related activities is between the end of school and when the parents return home from work. Research shows that during 3:00 and 7:00 p.m. is the riskiest times for substance abuse, theft and other juvenile delinquency (Chettleburgh, 2007, p. 212). Schools need to provide solid after school programs to keep teenagers busy and active during these times. If they can gain interests in their youth, then it will encourage them to stay off the streets and do something that will benefit them and others.
In every community and in every society across Canada, there are thousands of unique opportunities for youth to take. Opportunities to help expand their own futures, contribute to their society and to provide a personal income. But instead, youth are turning to gangs because of the profits that are made illegally by selling weapons, illegal substances like drugs and alcohol, and even their own bodies. Since street gangs across the country are dynamically engaging in street level sales of crack and powdered cocaine, there is an on going motivator for gang members to stay within their groups much later in their life (Chettleburgh, 2007, p. 115). Thus the battle over Canadian streets is becoming increasingly more difficult because of these great profits members make. To solve this issue, the powerful business communities must create more meaningful economic opportunities for both at-risk and gang involved adolescents. This provides programs to teach youth high demand skills such as building trades, so that they build their own futures and make a profit. By targeting these two groups of adolescents, it helps reduce current gang members off the streets and also prevents youth from joining a gang.
Unquestionably youth gangs are a major problem in Canada. The assorted institutions in each community must all perform their own functions that are required to maintain the society. If this doesn't happen, youth gangs will continue to roam the streets of Canada. By addressing the issues of youth gangs with children who are trying to find their way, possibly Canada can control our juvenile problems and reduce these gangs. Street gangs and their members are here to stay. They will remain an ever present feature of Canadian life despite the best efforts of police to suppress them, of courts to punish them and of communities to prevent them. Perhaps it is simply part of the human nature to make the same mistakes over and over again, despite the aching lessons learned by our ancestors. Nevertheless actions can be taken within these institutions and as a result the problem will be reduced.