Investigating the Impact of Social Class and Ethnicity on Gang Culture in London
Background
Gang membership has been a significant issue across the world, considering that there is the development of specific measures that promote individual development. The presence of gangs across different settings has played a significant role in creating a highly disorganized society where there is poor maintenance of law and order. Therefore there has been a considerable association between gang culture and social class. In the United Kingdom, the class has been a major issue that creates division among individuals in society (Armstrong and Rosbrook-Thompson, 2016). The white working class has been a common term that is used to define the elite members of society. Understanding gang culture presents a greater understanding of the reasons that lead to the development of these gangs. Marginalization, especially the minority groups, has been a critical factor associated with the increasing gang culture. . Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The objective of the study
Social class has been a significant unit of measure when grouping individuals within British society. The substantial alienation in the low social class has presented the development of negative traits that are contributing to the current gang development. The majority of the Native whites form the white working class, while the majority of the minority groups form the classless communities within British society. Minority groups that are made up of Blacks, Asians and Arabs leave in poor neighbourhoods where there is a high level of lawlessness. Therefore the research focuses on determining the impact of social class and ethnicity on gang culture in London.
Significance of the study
The level of engagement within society presents a strong basis where it is possible to understand essential changes that help in improving the level of societal development. However, social classes and ethnicity present vital aspects within the society which define individual wellbeing based on the underlying level of engagement and ideologies that are developed. There exist significant stereotypes against minority groups who are faced with constant racism. Hunt (2014) highlights that the idea of race is embedded in people’s ideologies. Thus the race or ethnic thinking informs the decisions made by individuals and are explained based on social interaction. Therefore racism is entangled in the mind of people because of how they think and relations that are formed where even the blind can make a conceptual sense of what entails race or racism.
Law enforcement officers have been unable to effectively develop better strategies that focus on improving the wellbeing of individuals within the society as well as eliminating lawbreakers. The difficulty in understanding the underlying factors that are contributing to youth involvement in crime makes it difficult to develop policies and strategies that help in promoting the overall level of development within society. The increased participation of youths in crime is a serious issue across all states in the country, which means that it is a public concern with a significant focus on controlling the behaviour of youths and children through behavioural and behavioural development. The presence of gangs within British society has been a detrimental aspect, especially in low-income neighbourhoods, where individuals are easily swayed to join these groups at the detriment of education and overall societal harmony. The development of gangs in London has been a significant issue within criminal justice over the years. Gangs have members from diverse settings and ages. The development of better interventions provides a unique emphasis on essential concepts that help define a strong focus on positive changes (Gruber, Levitt, and Lochner, 2013).
Literature review
The harsh environment that these individuals live presents a more strong environment where it is possible to form gangs. Gang culture in London has been a constant security threat since the 1970s when the initial gangs were formed. Gang culture in the United Kingdom is concentrated around cities of London, Liverpool and Manchester, although there is also the development of gangs in other cities such as Leeds (Choak, 2018. These gangs operate in groups and create a chain where individuals are recruited across different areas to join by declaring their allegiance. Gangs in the United Kingdom account for 65% of firearm homicides, with the majority of these occurring in London. The gang culture in London over the years has seen the recruitment of many teenagers who form the majority of these gangs. Despite the major crackdowns on these gangs, there has been a steady increase in number over recent years. Most of the gangs in London are based on the same ethnicity and mainly from the low social class (Whittaker et al., 2018).
The existing link to these crimes across different parts of the world presents a difficulty in determining essential measures that can help define a strong system that improves the level of engagement. The initial gangs in London in the 1970s included subcultures from different ethnicities, which included punks, Rasta as well as football hooligans, mainly form low social class or from minority groups who were referred to as the classless communities (Armstrong and Rosbrook-Thompson, 2016). The two major gangs that have evolved significantly in recent years within the city include the Peckham boys and the Tottenham Mandem, which were entirely black criminal gangs. Asian gangs such as the Brick Lane Massive group, which was initially developed to protect their local communities from racism perpetrated by the native white, have evolved into becoming gangs. A recent gang membership report showed that around 78% of members were black, 12% native white, 6% Asians and approximately 2% composed of Middle Eastern Arabs. The presence of many gang groups in the city has led to massive territorial conflict within these neighbourhoods (Blum-Ross, 2017).
The gang culture in London identifies that these gangs have an identity which is defined by their local areas and take names from the housing estates, districts as well as postal code areas in settings where they are located. These gangs are involved in the black market dealing in drug trafficking, firearms and executions. The profitability of these businesses has been key motivators of these gangs, helping them to attract new members who are lured by the promise of quick wealth (MacDonald et al., 2013).
Densely (2012) identify that there is increasing evidence about street gangs in London, although there is no clear understanding of the current prevalence as well as the definition of gangs. The house of commons has identified that there is an increase in proportionality in the number of gangs who are effectively developed based on territorial development. The Metropolitan police have labelled the gang repeated youth violence as the biggest threat facing the capital after terrorism within the city. The territorial alignment of these groups presents a different context where it is possible to identify specific measures that promote gang development based on social class development.
Densely (2012) identifies that recruitment into these criminal gangs provides an emphasis on these gangs, which present a stronger focus on the level of change and integration of better changes that help improve the level of commitment. The author identifies that the majority of the youths avoid gang life, which means that participation in these gangs is a selective process. The author further explains that youths in low income or marginalized areas are likely to share defiant individualist traits as gang members. Gang members have a lower life expectancy as well as an increased level of victimization and incarceration based on their behaviours. Different gangs have different recruitment procedures that identify their ideology and overall maintenance of better measures that focus on promoting their development. In most cases, gangs are made of the same ethnicity within the same social class, which helps identify unique traits that improve the level of development. Initiation rights are organized in a more pertinent and straightforward considering that there is an exceptional understanding of different processes that influence their engagement within the society.
According to Campana and Varese (2018), gang membership is a high-risk life that is associated with adverse health risk behaviours. These behaviours are common in youth gang memberships. The study sought to evaluate the prevalence, frequency, and turnover of gang membership among children aged between 10 and 17 years in the United Kingdom. Different studies have shown there is a relationship between gang membership and high health risk behaviours. However, the extent of gang membership has not been conclusively determined. This presents a strong emphasis on better measures that help identify elements that can be integrated to help combat the increasing incidences of gang membership. The findings indicated that poverty and lack of formal education had influenced youth involvement in criminal gangs in the united kingdom.
However, an important consideration that is made in this case is that gang demographics are shifting in the recent past with children joining by the age of 10 years. Policymakers have an essential role in creating an emphasis on crucial factors that help improve the level of commitment to control gang participation. Therefore prevention programs must be developed with a specific focus on significant changes that help identify critical processes that determine a positive change development process in the society. The author recognizes that support prevention programs need to be developed before the children reach their teens. Thus the main emphasis on these process focuses on suppressing the existing challenges which create a challenging environment for change development in the community.
Harding (2014) identifies that an economically marginalized neighbourhood is associated with a disorganized social environment that is characterized by a significant emphasis on positive development on substantial changes that help define a firm commitment to the existing challenges within the society. The findings from the study showed that 100% of the boys who participated in the survey were gang members. Approximately 74% of the participants agreed to hang out with gang members. The gang membership culture has created a difficult focus on essential elements in society, especially among youths. The majority of the gang members are aged between 11 to 16 years. Children are influenced to join criminal gangs based on different reasons such as living standards and social influence through interacting with gang members.
Individuals within the same ethnic group are influenced by a common thought process that informs their opinion regarding race and the existing perception (Hunt, 2014). Thus based on the findings from the article, it is evident that the basis of racism has shifted from physical as seen in slaves to a more complex system, as observed in the current mass incarceration. The race is defined mainly by physical traits such as skin colour (Grigoryeva and Ruef, 2015). However, the changes that have taken place provide a different understanding of factors that determine race, considering that individual opinion and perception are essential in deciding essential elements that help explain a committed understanding of these changes.
Ethnic profiling has a negative influence on the development of individuals from minority groups because they limit individual interaction within society. Ethnic profiling is associated with decreased confidence and self-belief among individuals (United Nations Development Programme, 2016). The classification of the classless members of society presents a different perspective, which offers a unique level of engagement within the societies. The identification of individuals as being classless is already formed f discrimination that limits the level of development among individuals from this group. This study will help identify the influence of both social class and ethnicity on gang culture among individuals from London.
Methodology
The section will outline critical research approaches that will be effectively developed to ensure that there is an understanding of the research problem and develop specific elements that improve service delivery. The key factors that will be assessed in this case include research design, the selected sampling technique, sample size, data collection, study procedure and the analysis plan. Clear identification of these elements presents a stronger emphasis on research problems and the identification of better results.
Research design
Research design presents a transparent research process that will be used to describe the whole research process based on the research objective and the need for quality results. The research design that will be employed in this case will be a cross-sectional research design. A cross-sectional research design allows for data collection within a given point in time to understand the causes and effects of a given problem that is investigated (Marvasti, 2018). Understanding the impact of social class and ethnicity on gang culture will be possible based on this approach.
The target population
The study will target youths from 18 to 35 years across different neighbourhoods in London to help understand the influence of social class on gang culture. The study will also include individuals across different ethnicities to identity their assertions regarding gang culture. This will help in attaining a better outcome based on diverse processes that help identify critical changes that are associated with a more significant commitment to improved outcomes.
Sampling
The sampling provides a greater focus on how the sample size will be obtained from the target population. Therefore the random nature of the target population means that the research will adopt a simple random sampling method that will provide an effective environment where it would be possible to recruit study participants. Random sampling is an important technique that helps in controlling the level of bias in the study (Moen and Middelthon, 2015). Simple random sampling is appropriate in this case because of the large sample while also ensuring that every eligible participant in the target population has an equal chance of being selected, thus reducing the degree of bias (Halcomb and Hickman, 2015).
Ensuring that the sample obtained is representative of the total population within the city requires an understanding of important elements that help improve outcomes. The sample size is a representation of the total population, and thus it is essential in ensuring that major traits in the total population are also found in the sample population. Therefore the study will employ Fischer’s sample size formula (Vogt, 2015).
Z- Is the corresponding confidence level (i.e., 1.96 for 95% confidence interval)
d- Is the margin of error (5%)
p- Is the estimated value for the proportion of a sample that has the condition of interest (0.5)
= 384
The population is greater than 10,000, which means that the sample size of 384 will be reliable.
Data collection
The study will include a semi-structured research questionnaire that will consist of relevant questions aimed at understanding the impact of social class and ethnicity on gang culture in London. The researcher, with the help of research assistants, will target recreational centers within the city of London where consent will be sought from the randomly identified individuals to participate in the study. The researcher will explain the purpose of the study to the participants and allow them to consent. The researcher will focus on different recreational venters based on the different neighbourhoods to ensure that every individual has an equal chance of participating in the study. The use of a researcher administered questionnaire based on face to face approach will help in ensuring that there is a greater level of organization and determination of research outcomes.
The data analysis presents a crucial factor in identifying essential elements that help attain better outcomes, which help define a higher assessment of improved concepts in research development. The analysis will be analyzed based on descriptive and inferential analysis, which will ensure that the findings in the study can inform, which help create a more straightforward emphasis on better processes that define positive changes. Descriptive statistics will be used to calculate frequencies and percentages of demographic details, which is vital in helping identify critical characteristics that determine the sample population identified (Halcomb and Hickman, 2015). The analysis will include descriptive and inferential statistics, which will focus on different aspects of providing a better understanding of the research topic, which is essential in informing policy development. Descriptive statistics will give a better understanding of underlying social demographics that identify better emphasis on critical processes that help identify specific measures that help define a vital management approach. It will help us understand the characteristics of the sample population. The inferential analysis will include regression analysis and a chi-square test for association. Qualitative data will be analyzed using content analysis where the statements will be assessed for meaning and develop themes that will help in informing the study objective (Fitzmaurice, 2016).
Ethical consideration
The study will seek approval from the internal review board, which will ensure a higher understanding of better processes that help attain improved focus on better elements that can provide a greater emphasis on the underlying scientific outcomes. Permission will also be sought from the local authorities to grant data collection since the data collected will be used only for research and educational purposes. Participants in the study will sign a consent form showing that they have not been coerced to participate in the study as well as ensuring that they provide accurate responses. The responses from each of the respondents will be protected and ensure a high level of privacy and confidentiality.
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