Throughout the reading I noticed one pattern which is gangs are developed due to specific ethnic or racial groups seeking survival. For example many immigrant gangs that were developed like the Mexican gangs were created in order to secure a neighborhood as there own, therefore protecting them from outside forces. Other racial gangs like those created by black people were used to provide them with financial security as many ended up living on welfare, and in project buildings due to not getting enough or low wage jobs, and being blocked from buying homes when moving up north from the Jim Crow south. Even prison gangs were made as prisoners were looking for protection to survive prison.  I feel that the chapter did not go into detail about why different racial, mainly street gang members, felt that being apart of a gang was necessary. For example; many gangs organized by black people were created to combat the poverty that was inflicted on them due discriminatory laws and practices. So many felt that they had to involve themselves in acts such as narcotics, weapons, and more recently human trafficking as a way of providing for their families, and maybe even getting themselves out of the projects. Although the chapter did mention that many gangs like immigrants were constructed to congregate against assimilated ethnic groups, they also did not mention that gangs like the CRIPS were established to fight police brutality, and to protect the neighborhood from unfair treatment by law enforcement. Although the ulterior motive of gangs was a sense of financial and security protection from outsiders, there overall production lead to heinous crimes that have hurt innocent bystanders, even the people within the gangs.

Although law enforcement, and the federal government have been cracking down on gang activity, I am skeptical of their actions because many of the attempts to catch gang activity have been aimed towards stopping street level gangs, which in many cases end up being minority who live in impoverished neighborhoods. I am questioning if it is easier to find street level gang activity because it is more out in the open, or because of the stigmas that are carried by minorities that live in low income areas, law enforcement feels more justified to crack down on them? I also wonder for the more organized gangs like biker or mobs, who are mainly white, does their whiteness play a role in them not being arrested for gang activity, or their activities and business tactics protect them from being caught by investigators?  Even though they implemented using injunctions on potential suspects to protect them from being profiled as gang members, I wonder if they will instill those same rule on all gang organizations. One activity that was developed to combat gang involvement is using ex cons and gang members to talk to young men about the consequences of joining gangs. Even though some are skeptical that the program may be secretly promoting gang activity, I feel that people listen to those that they can relate to not those who they feel threatened by like officers. An issue with gangs that is troubling me is the new tactic of human trafficking to generate money. I find it to be disturbing that they would utilize mainly teenage and adult women to make their profit especially because those women can be their mother, sister, daughter, and friend. I do wonder if the thousands of black and Latino women missing in the US has a connection to gang activity? Also, I want to know what is being done to detect it, and protect women from being kidnapped and sold into it? Overall I found the chapter on gangs to be quite insightful, even though I am questioning what is being done to stop all gang activity.