My Conclusions....

Through this course, and my research on these topics, I have learned that things are not always black and white.  I think that because my husband is an officer I have seen the bad guy as the enemy.  As I have taken a deeper look, I have seen that there are many reasons why people make the choice to join a gang or live a life of crime.  Many seek a place to belong, some need a way out of their current situation, and others simply do it to survive.  If we take a deeper look we are able to be more open minded and have more empathy for the person and their situation.  Maybe if we are able to do that, we can come up with better solutions to fight the gang problem and prison over crowding.

Prison Overcrowding

Prison overcrowding is a very interesting topic to me.  There is a definite increase in gangs in our area. Every time I turn on the news is see more and more acts of violence.  The more acts of violence that occur, the more room we need to house the criminals.  When prisons run out of room, they are sometimes forced to reduce prisoners sentences to free up room for incoming convicts.  Since my husband is a police officer, I worry about what happens when these prisoners are released before their sentences are served, and how that will effect his safety on the streets.

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world.  We have 2.3 million people behind bars, which is 1 out of every 100 adults.  What has caused this increase?  Prison overcrowding is caused by a variety of issues, such as not enough room in prisons, fluctuating crime rates, changes to laws and improvements to law enforcement tactics. There are also harsher penalties for criminal activities, changes to laws that make new actions illegal, high incidences of repeat offender rates and improvements to the penal system itself.

I found this article on the internet.  It discusses the causes of prison overcrowding and the dangers that the overcrowding can cause.  Not only can it pose health and safety risks for the inmates, but it can cause safety risks for the corrections officers as well.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/14/prison-overcrowding-report_n_1883919.html


These are some eye opening images of prison overcrowding I found.....

This is a great video on the causes of prison overcrowding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-lq1zAuCK2U

This is a very informative website on prison overcrowding.

http://www.jailovercrowding.com/index/the-problem

I included this link on how we can improve overcrowding conditions.

http://www.pfi.org/cjr/downloads/ten-keys-to-improving-conditions-in-overcrowded-prisons


I love this quote by Nelson Mandella...

“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”

REFERENCES:

Prison Overcrowding is a Concern in the U.S. (n.d.) Retrieved from
http://online.ccj.pdx.edu/ccj-careers-resources/criminal-justice-resources/news/prison-overcrowding-is-a-growing-concern-in-the-u-s-800675443/

Deviant Behavior and Gangs

I chose the topic of deviant behavior and gangs for a couple reasons.  The first reason is my husband is a police officer in Coeur d'Alene.  Although it is a relatively safe area, gang violence is on the rise.  The other reason is I have a teenager, and work with teenagers every day.  It was very a topic that I felt could be very beneficial for me to research further and find the warning signs to be able to possibly prevent this from happening or even just help the children around me.

According to Mosby's Medical Dictionary, deviant behavior is defined as actions that exceed the usual limits of accepted behavior and involve failure to comply with the social norm of the group.  In our textbook, it states that it goes farther then simply not conforming to society, that it is behavior that dramatically differs from expectations (Anderson, 144).  It goes on to say that there are 4 defining characteristics in the sociological perspective:

• Deviance not only applies to the person's behavior, but to the group's judgments of that person by the group.
• Not all behaviors are seen as deviant in all groups. What is deemed deviant in one group, may not be seen as deviant in another.
• The rules and norms of a group are socially established, not morally decided upon by group members.
• Deviance also includes the group members reactions and behaviors towards the deviant behavior.

So, what happens when individuals are rejected by their social group?  Those individuals will look elsewhere for acceptance.  They seek a family structure if they don't have one, and the love and support from others if they don't feel it from those around them.

This is a great article about why and how teens join gangs.
http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/gangcolor/paloalto.htm

When I thought about gangs, this is the image I saw.....

However, after looking a little deeper, this image seems more realistic...

It is a family.

Here is a link to a Fox News segment on gangs

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4311069/transnational-gangs-terrorizing-american-cities/

I love this documentary because it gives not only a back story on Crips and Bloods, but a lot of information about joining gangs, how they started, what they do, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl3QhUHDM90

This is a great article/site about teens and gangs and how to get them out.

http://youthservicesslc.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/why-teens-join-gangs/

This is a very informative website about gangs

http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/

I found this quote that I believe sums up gangs...

I believe that I understand gangs better than others. Because they're formed out of necessity. They're formed by people to keep from being suppressed.

 Jack Bowman 

REFERENCES

Deviant Behavior (n.d.) Retrieved from
Mosby's Medical Dictionary

Deviance (n.d.) Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deviance_(sociology)

Gang (n.d.) Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangs

Conflict Theory

The book defines  conflict theory as a theoretical perspective that emphasizes the role of power and coercion in producing social order.  When we began our readings, this topic immediately jumped out at me as one I wanted to focus on for my blog.  When I was growing up, I was the target of bullying.  I then married a very controlling first husband.  I am now married to a police officer, and his job is to maintain social order. Through years of counselling, reading books and talking to several people, I found the premise of conflict theory fascinating.  I am amazed at people and groups using intimidation and fear to control others.

I think this link is a good representation of how conflict theory evolves.
http://www.epjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/ep07208233.pdf

The mafia is the accurate symbol of the conflict theory.  There have been countless movies and television shows depicting the mafia.  They are seen as bullies, who use scare tactics and intimidation to get what they want.  These tactics often include beatings and even murder. They make people fall in line and do what they want because they are fearful of the repercussions if they don't.

Although the exact origins of the mafia are a little sketchy, it is thought that its early days began in the 1860's in Sicily, Italy.  Italy annexed Sicily, redistributed the land to private citizens and removed their armies from the island.  With more property owners, there were more disputes that needed settling, contracts to enforce and properties to protect.  There were only about 350 law enforcement officers for the entire island.  Some cities were only visited by police every few months.  Property owners turned to people outside the law to arbitrate disputes and protection.  These people eventually organized themselves into the first Mafia clan.  They use threats of violence to protect their clients from fraud, thieves, and competitors.

This is a very interesting YouTube video on the mafia and its code of conduct.

I liked this article in the Smithsonian because it gives an in depth look at the mafia and a society that once looked at them as the only people they could trust.  It shows their struggle to break free from their controllers.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/In-Sicily-Defying-the-Mafia.html

This site has a vast amount of information on different aspects of conflict theory.
http://conflicttheory.com/

The FBI site gives a lot of background information on the mafia, different families and links to other related topics.  I found it very helpful.
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/organizedcrime/italian_mafia

“Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly encountered, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all the dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brain of the living.” 
― Karl Marx

References

Conflict Theory (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_theory

Sicilian Mafia (n.d.). Retrieved from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia