Gangs can be found in every state, and some estimates place their numbers at nearly 1 million members nationwide. Still, the average American somehow has very little familiarity with gangs. Those who are informed on the topic realize that gangs are a very real problem that affects us all, not just those who live in neighborhoods experiencing the most obvious signs of gang activity. In a minimum of 5 pages, explain how and why gangs should matter to everyone, as well as provide tangible steps YOU can personally take to mitigate the gang problem our country faces.

Approximately the first half of your paper should be spent articulating the extent of the gang problem and why everyone should be concerned about it. You can identify as many or as few examples that you feel are necessary to give your reader a realistic understanding of the seriousness of gangs. What matters here is that your information is factual and compelling.

Approximately the second half of your paper should be spent explaining what you, as an individual informed on the destructiveness of gang activity, can do to help in the current season of your life. This is an opportunity for you to proactively take ownership of the course material and theoretically apply it where you see your own skills and influence most passionately put to work. If you’re most troubled by the drastic effects gangs have on their own neighborhoods, maybe you want to consider ways you can get involved there as a community volunteer, coach, or mentor. If you see big opportunity in addressing the fact that gang members disproportionately occupy space in the justice system, maybe you want attend a certain program in graduate school and do research on recidivism for gang members. If you care deeply about the relationship between gang membership and education, maybe you want to get involved in an after school program. Maybe you have seen examples where religious faith provides a pathway away from gang membership, so you plan to get involved at your church and create a place where those affected by or involved in gang activity can come for renewal. What matters here is that you are specific about what you can do, AND you use course material/credible source material to support the reason why your plan of action makes sense. For example, it is not enough to simply say, “I’ll volunteer in an after school program because I know education is important.” Instead, cite specific school programs that have been helpful with addressing gang problems and then explain how you can use your own skill set to either contribute to or create a similar program.

As always, please adhere to APA guidelines when writing your paper. The only exception is the use of first person.

The paper must adhere to the following guidelines:

APA formatting and citation style (Note: you do not need to include an abstract)

Separate title page including student name, course and section, and paper title

1. Microsoft Word Document
2. 1’Inch (72 points) Margins all around
3. The overall indentation should be set left and right at a 0 pt, while the first line of the paragraph at 18 points, tabs should also be set at 18 points (however, in cases of using extended large direct quotes the tab should be at 36 points)
4. Do not justify the paper since that causes spacing issues. Always align the paper to the left
5. Times New Roman font
6. 12-Point font
7. Double-spaced (Sometimes word documents are automatically defaulted to have extra spacing. In order to make sure this is not the case, click on Page layout, and in the spacing section make sure that the before and after are set to 0 point)
8. Include page numbers.
9. Pictures, graphics, figures, and/or tables should not be included in the text. If you choose to include these in your paper they should be in an appendix. Please note that Appendixes do not count toward the assignment minimum/maximum page requirement noted in point 11 below.