If one talks about the way criminology works, the term chronic offender has many interpretations and meanings. The key aspect that tends to differentiate the chronic offender from some of the other criminals is that they have frequent interactions with law enforcement agencies as well as a history of lengthy arrests. It does not matter if the chronic offender has been arrested on the seminar or on different charges. Law enforcement agencies at times have the rationale that if there is a higher crime percentage in any community despite the fact that the population is on the smaller side, then most of the time, it is the chronic offenders who tend to create this situation (McGloin & Decker, 2016).
Causes of Chronic Offending Behavior
Now coming towards the chronic offenders and the regularity of their behaviour, one of the biggest problems when it comes to the chronic offenders is that they have a history of substance abuse. At the same time, a lot of times, the chronic offenders are the ones who have severe mental and psychological issues. Most of the time, both of these issues are mutually exclusive in their nature. Due to the severe depression and mental anxiety that they are facing, they resort to drugs to find solace in their problem. That is not the lasting solution, though, and in a bid to obtain drugs, they commit a life of crime. There are socio-economic factors as well, such as lack of economic resources as well as lack of education due to which they are inclined towards these crimes. There are people who resort to these means to gain quick and easy money and them illicit into the life of crime. Thus there are some very particular traits of the chronic offenders (McGloin & Decker, 2016).
Part 2
History Of Gangs, Describe Gang Criminal Behaviour
If one wants to trace the history of gangs in the United States, they started during the course of the 17th century. As people from diverse ethnic backgrounds and religions started to enter the region, the immigrant population joined these gangs so that they could develop a sense of identity. With the evolution of cities, the gangs got the opportunity to expand their clout (Schauss et al. 2015). Despite their massive presence, they were not a greater threat to public safety and instead used to operate in their own confines. It was during the start of the 20th century that they became a huge problem for law enforcement agencies. The criminal activities of these gangs started to develop delinquent acts as well as getting into petty crimes such as brawling with the rival gangs (Schauss et al. 2015). The severity of the crimes, though, increased with the passage of time, and they were regarded as serious criminals with the passage of time. They started to have a subculture as well as each of the gangs had their own symbols, racial identity, an area or vicinity in which they used to operate as well as some sort of unique and different modus operandi. The clout of these gangs and the demographics in which they reside also varies from one situation to another (Schauss et al. 2015).
Theories of gang formation
There does not exist a primary obstacle as far as the universal definition of the gang is concerned and what actually represents a gang (Schauss et al. 2015). The theories of the formation of gangs are divided into two classes, which include the social aspect as well as the economic aspect of the crime. Whereas the other set of theories tends to discuss the mental side of the crime.
References
Covey, H. C., Menard, S. W., & Franzese, R. J. (1992). Juvenile gangs (p. 101). CC Thomas.
Hamparian, D. M., Davis, J. M., Jacobson, J. M., & McGraw, R. E. (1985). The young criminal years of the violent few. Washington, DC: Department of Justice.
McGloin, J. M., & Decker, S. H. (2016). Theories of gang behavior and public policy. Criminology and public policy: putting theory to work. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 150-165.
Mednick, S. A., & Kandel, E. (1988). Genetic and perinatal factors in violence. In Biological contributions to crime causation (pp. 121-131). Springer, Dordrecht.
Schauss, A. G., Bland, J., Simonsen, C. E., Acad of Orthomolecular Psychiatry, & Canada. (2015). CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE DIETS OF CHRONIC JUVENILE OFFENDERS (ISSUED IN TWO PARTS). Journal of Orthomolecular Psychiatry, 8(3), 149-157.
