After narrowing all of the topics down, I decided to research gangs. I think that this topic will keep me entertained for the six months that we have to follow it. It's one of those things that you never know what's going to come of it, so it's always exciting to hear what's going on. I can always research back in a time a little and see what types of things have happened with gangs in the past, as well as how much they have changed over time. I thought that if I researched serial killers, then it would potentially get boring after a while with no new information coming in. Then if I researched underage drinking, I felt as if I would get the same information over and over again. I could still get information about recent accidents which could be interesting, I just don't think I could be interested in it for the six months. I overall think that gangs is a good choice for me because I think some of the things that they do is really cool, and I would be able to get a lot of info.
There definitely is enough happening right now with gangs for me to have updated information. Gangs are apart of the whole world, so even if there isn't much going on in the United States, there might me something interesting happening in Mexico or the Dominican Republic. I decided that I won't necessarily be exclusive with the Bloods and the Crips, but also look at the other types of gangs in general. When I looked them up on the Internet, there were a lot of recent stories about gangs and accidents with them. There were stories about murders, assaults, and court summonses. There was a lot of information that I found and it was all easy to access. There was a lot of information in google news and a few in some newspaper websites as well. Believe it or not, there are gangs everywhere and things going on that you never would have guessed.
The topic of gangs is a very good candidate for ongoing research. Everyday there is something new going on with them like I said. It's such a broad topic. There are tons and tons of gangs throughout the US and the world so finding information daily shouldn't be a problem. Just because the police and school headmasters are trying to limit gang activity and get rid of it all, doesn't mean that they are going away any time soon. Time will definitely make a different with the research. Hopefully there will be changes in what's happening over time so that could be really helpful with my research. I also think that with the economy, there will be more gang activity then before. People are losing money, so I think that crime rates and drug dealing will be increasing.
I think that the topic of gangs will stretch my brain a little bit. I don't understand them completely and why they do the things they do, so that's one way that I can think outside the box. One thing that I think is really cool will be trying to spot out gang members. After learning about them I think it would be sick to be able to see a gang member in action. I want to go to a high school around the Portland area to interview a principal to see what they have to say about their gangs. I might gain a new perspective about gangsters.
