Gang theory

Gang Theory al Affiliation Gang Theory Risk assessment is an integral part in any criminal’s life. An individual bases his or her decisions based on benefits compared to the implication the decision may carry. Gottschalk (2013) argues on the basis that the consequences to follow after committing a crime may be minimal and hence one decides to engage in the crime related activity. However, there is the issue of the non-ending menace of gang crimes. The model of assessing the benefits depends on the group gang and the decision on whether to engage in crime is based on individual choices.
Most gang members may decide to abandon their activities but faces other challenges that force them to continuously engaging in gang crime. There exist the notion of alternatives in than one may reverse his decision on grounds that those alternative methods are either unavailable or their rewards are lower than expected. With the full knowledge of the consequences may opt in taking a risk. The size of a gang may limit the probability of an individual being caught and increase the chances of benefits in that if a gang member is caught the remaining members may still reap from their actions. Farrall and Bowling (1999) attributes this to the failure of human beings to leave up to their decisions as circumstances changes over a given period.
Gang crimes operate mostly on assumption that their number creates a vulnerability effect to their victims in that they use their number to intimidate and organize their actions. The vulnerability aspect encourages the gangs to operate with less worry of the likeliness of being caught (Gottschalk, 2013). Those caught in crime gangs and then released due to either completing their jail term of lack of evidence may tend to ignore the risk involved in crime (Farrall & Bowling, 1999). The fear of uncertainty is what deters a person from committing crime and once experiences the consequences involved in crime some prefer to engage in crime life. Routine based crimes are what have attributed to the continuous growth of the gang-based crimes.
The social rationality is also, what determines an individual’s choice in joining a gang group. The existing social inequality from, the judicial service and the unfairness by the community in terms of revenue allocation may prompt individuals with similar grievances to from gangs and recruit a sizeable number. The social aspect at this point runs paramount to the risk assessment effect of the rational choice theory. Once a group is formed under same circumstances, they tend to bond from a long lasting partnership. The gangs tend to reduce the chances of being caught by monitoring and mastering police strategies including patrols (Gottschalk, 2013).
In conclusion, gangs operate in a manner that those joining them are aware of the consequence and asses risk with an effort of innovating new ways to reduce the probability of being caught. This fact explains why gang problem continues to escalate despite the consequences of gang crimes being obvious. People make decisions best on situation at hand and risk consequences to ensure they reap huge benefits.
Reference
Gottschalk, P. (2013). Policing White-Collar Crime: Characteristics of White-Collar Criminals. Massachusetts: CRC Press.
Farrall, S., & Bowling, B. (1999). Structuration, Human Development and Desistance from Crime. British Journal of Criminology, 39(2), 253-496.