When most people think of gangs and the areas in which they reside, South Central Los Angeles comes to mind. However, there are numerous other cities where gang violence is quite large. New York, Chicago's South side, Detroit, and other cities in numerous states still have gang stricken areas.
Although today's young people are actually less likely to commit a violent act according to Professor Stineburg of Temple University, youth gang related violence has not declined since the 90s in the same way that general youth violence throughout the entire U.S. has. When one of the largest demographics of gang membership and activity is youth, there must be a need to determine the cause of the violence, illicit narcotics activity, and other illegal problems which plague the highly-influenced minds of still-developing youth. Singleton's film, Boyz N the Hood, presents the same struggles that face this demographic and some root causes of the activity of real life boys in the hood.
According to the Department of Justice - Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Survey, 37 percent of gang members are under the age of 18. The root cause of gang violence can be due to a lack of family structure but in particular, the lack a quality mentors in general. In Boyz in the Hood, there was only one mentor, Furious Styles, who taught his son responsibility and kept him out of trouble that was caused by his friends. The main reason for Tre's success in having a job, not selling cocaine like his friends, not killing anyone, and going to college when he was the only one in his group that did was his father, a solid mentor.
The following video shows a parks a recreation program that shows such mentors and programs which have led to success in preventing many children from joining gangs. According to the police force in Walla Walla, Washington, and Ken Wong, Teen Programs Administrator in Redmond, have seen success stories of youth not joining gangs in large part due to the athletic programs in children are involved. Boyz N the Hood presented a blatant lack for such programs, which have a key role in preventing youth gang members, especially by age 15, which is when most children decide if they want to join a gang says Wong.
Although today's young people are actually less likely to commit a violent act according to Professor Stineburg of Temple University, youth gang related violence has not declined since the 90s in the same way that general youth violence throughout the entire U.S. has. When one of the largest demographics of gang membership and activity is youth, there must be a need to determine the cause of the violence, illicit narcotics activity, and other illegal problems which plague the highly-influenced minds of still-developing youth. Singleton's film, Boyz N the Hood, presents the same struggles that face this demographic and some root causes of the activity of real life boys in the hood.
According to the Department of Justice - Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Survey, 37 percent of gang members are under the age of 18. The root cause of gang violence can be due to a lack of family structure but in particular, the lack a quality mentors in general. In Boyz in the Hood, there was only one mentor, Furious Styles, who taught his son responsibility and kept him out of trouble that was caused by his friends. The main reason for Tre's success in having a job, not selling cocaine like his friends, not killing anyone, and going to college when he was the only one in his group that did was his father, a solid mentor.
The following video shows a parks a recreation program that shows such mentors and programs which have led to success in preventing many children from joining gangs. According to the police force in Walla Walla, Washington, and Ken Wong, Teen Programs Administrator in Redmond, have seen success stories of youth not joining gangs in large part due to the athletic programs in children are involved. Boyz N the Hood presented a blatant lack for such programs, which have a key role in preventing youth gang members, especially by age 15, which is when most children decide if they want to join a gang says Wong.