Influence Of Gangs On Theu.s. - 1296 Words

Influence of Gangs on the U.S Despite the discrete and sly manner of gangs, their presence and acts have affected and continue to affect the U.S in many aspects. Since their early beginnings in the 1780s, shortly after the Revolutionary War, gangs have had control and power in many areas of the U.S. When gangs were still a new idea in the U.S most had real jobs and few were involved in serious crimes (Wolff 6). It wasn’t until the nineteenth century, a time where the U.S economy was in a rut and people were fighting for jobs, until these gangs became a problem. Most of these gang formations sprung from European immigrants who came to America and were pushed aside. This led to them having to struggle with finding jobs, which in turn gave†¦show more content†¦One example of this is the time at which both modernized police organizations and gangs were formed. As Sutherland states, â€Å" It was not until the mid nineteenth century did unified, uniformed police forces resembling modern police organiz ations emerge in the United States† and that â€Å"the development of such police forces provided the specific service of controlling an increasingly anonymous and threatening ‘dangerous class’† (Sutherland 351). This â€Å"dangerous class† they speak of are these gangs which also arose in the nineteenth century, which shows that their presence influenced government to tighten up their police system and protection. This was a huge change and step for the U.S that we still see impacting us and our community today, but it was only one of the many changes that took place. Other changes that took place include the addition of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and The Continuing Criminal Enterprise Statute. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, also known as the RICO act, is an act that focuses on built on existing legislation regarding organized crime. This is different that other acts because it now allows the gove rnment to â€Å"seize assets before criminal defendants were brought to trial, needing only to prove probable cause to make such a seizure† (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act). A