Gangs and their activities are extremely harmful to our social order. “Gangs are groups of people – mostly young men – who band together to protect themselves and develop a sense of belonging. Gangs are often associated with violence and crime. In fact, the United States Department of Justice officially defines a youth gang as a group of young people involved in criminal activity. (Gangs, 2003). According to www.fbi.gov, some 33,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs, with approximately 1.4 million members, are criminally active in the United States today (FBI, 2010). This should be grounds for greater action by our society to stop the rise of gang-related crime in America. What types of people participate in gangs? “Gang members are generally young people of color living in working-class neighborhoods. Law enforcement reported in 1999 that more than 800,000 youths were involved in gangs in the United States. About 50 percent of these gang members were from the lower class, and 35 percent were from the working class. Forty-seven percent of youth gang members were Hispanic and 31 percent were African American. The average age of a gang member is seventeen or eighteen years old” (Gangs, 2003). Gang associates dress alike; they usually wear a t-shirt, sometimes a specific color, tennis shoes, and either blue jeans or khaki pants or shorts, usually loose-fitting. A gang member usually wears a decorative bandana that hangs from one of their pockets, also of a specific color. An additional item that most gang members have is at least one tattoo that shows their dedication to the gang. Most gangs induct their new members by tattooing them with a marking that distinguishes them from other gangs. violence will be totally hindered. With the help of the people of each municipality and township, it may be possible to stop and reduce the unnecessary number of gang followers and gang-related crimes. We must consider that there are actually countless ways to reduce the magnitude of gangs in America. Various substitutes for gang membership are the availability of school and community programs, educational programs for parents and children, and the capture of the most loyal gang members and gang directors. It is essential for our protection as U.S. residents that we begin to make progress in gang management and restriction now. If gang involvement is not stopped, America will become a brutal and treacherous nation to the innocent masses...