Gang Violence- Teen Beaten To Death In Chicago

The beating death of honor student Derrion Albert in Chicago has been making headlines. Yet Albert's violent death is only the most recent in a wave of teen gang violence in Chicago that has claimed thirty-seven lives in the past school year alone.
The recent teen gang beating death of honor student Derrion Albert in Chicago has been the news lead at Drudge, MSNBC and the Chicago Tribune, among many other media outlets. The shocking cellphone video of the event has gone viral. In the wake of that fatal attack, four suspects have been arrested and charged with murder based primarily on the captured video of the event. Chicago Police say they are searching for three other suspects in the homicide.
As MSNBC reports, Chicago school officials are now under tremendous pressure to address the issue of chronic teen violence in the Chicago school system, an epidemic that has claimed the lives of thirty-seven students in the past school year alone. The numbers have been escalating sharply the past four years. According to the MSNBC report, prior to 2006 there were an average of 10-15 violent deaths per school year. That rose to 24 deaths in the 2006-07 school year, 23 deaths and 211 shootings in the 2007-08 school year, and 37 deaths and 290 shootings in the most recent 2008-09 school year. Chicago Police and public officials believe the problem will only continue to get worse.
The victims have been predominantly Hispanic and African-American. Derrion Albert was black. According to Chicago Now's Redeye blog, Albert was only one of six teenage homicide victims in a four-day period. Eleven teenagers, ten males and one female, have been victims of homicide in Chicago this month. All but Derrion were shot to death. Overall, teens account for 30% of all homicide victims in Chicago in September.
Father Michael Pfleger, perhaps best known for his past close ties to President Obama and Rev. Jeremiah Wright, flew the American flag upside down outside the Saint Sabina Church in Chicago last May in protest of the violence. Though that action enraged many Veterans' groups, Fr. Pfelger explained that according to the United States Flag Code, flying the American flag upside down is a recognized legal signal for distress:
"The whole country reacted aggressively to the possibility of the swine flu. But we have remained silent to the reality of the killing of our children," said Pfleger.
In a gruesome twist on the story, the Atlantic Online posted in its new October 2009 edition an article by Chicago author Linnet Myers Burden titled Mourning in Chicago, in which Linnet describes how the Leak & Sons Funeral Home, a longstanding establishment on Chicago's South Side, is experiencing a boom in business for all the wrong reasons. Last year, Leak & Sons Funeral Home buried 85 homicide victims in all. Among many other local civic, religious and political leaders on Chicago's South Side, Leak & Sons proprietor Spencer Leak, Sr., is calling on President Obama to devote some attention to the problem:
In particular, Leak is convinced that most youths who become violent can’t read above the third-grade level. “They have this hatred for themselves, because they’re not going anywhere.” He hopes that his fellow South Sider, President Barack Obama, whose Chicago home is about 30 blocks away, will devote some attention to low-income children who can’t read. “They are our future murderers,” Leak says. And his future customers.
Mr. Leak, an African-American who holds a master's degree in criminal justice, is a former chairman of the Cook County Jail system and now serves in that capacity as chairman of Black on Black Love, a local anti-crime organization countering teen violence, in addition to his responsibilities as proprietor of Leak & Sons. From January 1st to August 1st of this year, Mr. Leak's funeral home buried 56 homicide victims, many in their teens. Overall, there were 509 homicides in Chicago in 2008, a rise of about 15% over 2007

Youth Gang Violence

Teens join gangs for a variety of reasons. Some are seeking excitement; others are looking for prestige, protection, a chance to make money, or a sense of belonging.[2] Few teens are forced to join gangs; in most cases, teens can refuse to join without fear of retaliation.[3]
Membership on the RiseThere has been a dramatic increase in gang activity in the United States since the 1970's. In the 1970's, gangs were active in less than half the states, but now every state reports youth gang activity.[4] And, while many people think of gangs as just an inner-city problem, that is clearly no longer the case. In the past few decades we have seen a dramatic increase in the growth of gang problems in smaller cities, towns, and rural areas.[5]
Since 1996, the overall number of gangs and gang members in the United States has decreased. However, in cities with a population over 25,000, gang involvement still remains near peak levels.[6]
Age of MembersMost youth gang members are between the ages of 12 and 24, and the average age is about 17 to 18 years. Around half of youth gang members are 18 or older, and they are much more likely to be involved in serious and violent crimes than younger gang members. Only about 1-in-4 youth gang members are ages 15 to 17.[7]
For most teens, gang membership is a brief phase. Three studies that tracked teens over time found that one-half to two-thirds of youth gang members leave the gang by the one-year mark.[8],[9],[10]
Girls in GangsMale youth are much more likely to join gangs than female youth. It is hard to get a good estimate of the number of female gangs and gang members, however, because many police jurisdictions do not count girls as gang members. While the national estimates based on police reports indicate that only about 8% of gang members are female,[11] one 11-city survey of eighth-graders found that 38% of gang members are female.[12] Female gangs are somewhat more likely to be found in small cities and rural areas than in large cities, and female gang members tend to be younger, on average, than male gang members.[13]
Female gang members are involved in less delinquent or criminal activity than male gang members, and they commit fewer violent crimes.[14] However, female gang members are still an important concern. In one survey, 78% of female gang members reported being involved in gang fights, 65% reported carrying a weapon for protection, and 39% reported attacking someone with a weapon.[15]
Not Just an Inner-City ProblemAlthough many people think of gangs as a problem confined to the inner-city neighborhoods, that is clearly no longer the case. In the past few decades there has been a dramatic increase in the growth of gang problems in smaller cities, towns, and villages.[16] When surveyed in 1999, 66 percent of large cities, 47 percent of suburban counties, 27 percent of small cities, and 18 percent of rural counties reported active youth gangs.[17]
Gangs in suburban, small town, and rural areas are different than gangs in large cities. They include more females, white, and younger youth, and are more likely to have ethnically and racially mixed memberships.[18]
Gangs at SchoolYouth gangs are linked with serious crime problems in elementary and secondary schools in the United States. Students report much higher drug availability when gangs are active at their school. Schools with gangs have nearly double the likelihood of violent victimization at school than those without a gang presence.[19] Teens that are gang members are much more likely than other teens to commit serious and violent crimes. For example, a survey in Denver found that while only 14% of teens were gang members, they were responsible for committing 89% of the serious violent crimes.[20]