In Vancouver, B.C. police decided that more officers were needed because gangs .
were becoming an increasing problem. When they brought in these extra forces .
gang related crimes decreased 19% from what it was a year earlier (www.cnn.ca, .
2003).
Another way for law enforcement to deter gangs is to toughen penalties for convictions. Penalties can range from boot camp, to community service and probation for first time offenders. Therefore, if there are more police on duty catching these criminals and the penalties are increased, gang members will think twice before committing a crime.
Secondly, better parental control is a key to gang prevention. Parents have the power to influence their children to join a gang or not to. Talking to their children about various topics such as drugs, alcohol and gangs will help them understand the wrongs and rights of society. Parents should understand that one of the main reasons teens choose to join gangs is because it offers them protection, friendship and a sense of belonging. .
Society often looks at lower-class minority teenagers as low-class street hoodlums, gangs only help reinforce this stereotype. Regardless of race or class, people associate material items with identity and status. And with these .
possessions, people use them as a means of competition to show off their status.
(Lang, 1999:66).
As teenagers growing up, they do not have nice sports cars and the nice clothes to show off as many other middle, upper-class teenagers do. What is more important is survival. Middle-class teenagers do not have to fear for their lives everyday. Instead they worry .
more about being accepted into the right crowds and owning lots of expensive items to show off. Most people fail to realize gang members are products of a bad environment that they are forced to live in. Immigrant families arrive with little money and have no choice but to live in bad neighborhoods (www.gang.