Drug Laws Essay -- Drugs

1. In 1988, Father Greg Boyle made a commitment to help at-risk gang members’ change their criminal ways. Through program he developed, Homeboy Industries, gang members were offered legal jobs in order to become functional members of society. Father Greg felt that if these gang-affiliated individuals could have some alternate opportunity, they could turn their life around and end their criminal behavior. Since 1988, Father Greg has enhanced and re-developed the structure of the program, but it has definitely been a success story for many Los Angeles gang members. Father Greg was right. The control theory suggests that if individuals are raised in good morals and granted opportunities and legal paths to success (external controls), they will develop the internal controls that they use to avoid criminal behavior (Traub & Little, 1999, p. 303). Walter Reckless took the â€Å"control theory† and developed it a little further, presenting the â€Å"containment theory†. He insists that there are external and internal containments that either push or pull an individual to commit crime. An individual must be given boundaries and moral limits in order to process their desires in acceptable ways. In order to develop these limits, they must have a connection with the influential group, but the lack there of will push them into criminal behavior. Additionally, the individual must develop positive awareness and esteem (Traub & Little, 1999, p. 307). The gang members that have joined Homeboy industries, like many other gang members, have been missing a large portion of both internal and external containments. Through their own confessions they recognize that they had hard lives growing up and the gang scene was where they found a second family... ...How An Athlete's Death Led To Shoddy Drug Laws. NPR. 20 June 2011. Radio. Stamper, N. Interview by Amy Goodman. Citing Failed War on Drugs, Former Seattle Police Chief Calls for Legalization of Marijuana and All Drugs. Democracy Now. 30 March 2009. Radio. Traub, S. H., & Little, C. B. (1999).Theories of deviance (5th ed.). Itasca, Ill.: F.E. Peacock Publishers. Traub, S. H., & Little, C. B. (1999). The Current State of Differential Association Theory. Theories of deviance (5th ed., pp. 261- 285). Itasca, Ill.: F.E. Peacock Publishers. Traub, S. H., & Little, C. B. (1999). A Non-Causal Explanation: Containment Theory. Theories of deviance (5th ed., pp. 306-311). Itasca, Ill.: F.E. Peacock Publishers. Traub, S. H., & Little, C. B. (1999). A Control Theory of Delinquency. Theories of deviance (5th ed., pp. 312-325). Itasca, Ill.: F.E. Peacock Publishers.