MS-13
The Virginia residents and the police are the most interested groups on matters to do with the activities of the MS-13 group. This study has put together a collection of several publications on the criminal activities that MS-13 has been engaging in currently. The group has been identified as an extremist group with strict beliefs and engages in horrible crime activities such as sex trafficking and murder of teenage boys. The rampant cases of teenage killings have in particular motivated this study. The residents require information that will guide them on handling their teenagers and warning them about engagements with the MS-13 members while the police require information that will help them to know the whereabouts of the group members and facilitate their arrests.
Previous studies on MS-13 have been based on word of mouth from indirect victims and have left considerable gaps in the information required. For example, researchers have been using the excuse that victims of MS-13 activities are traumatized and most of them are unable to share their experiences. Also, the threats given by MS-13 group members have frightened several researchers who have ended up abandoning their research works incomplete. The gaps left have presented significant challenges to the police department since the information provided concerning MS-13 sometimes misleading. The difference existing in the already done literature has been the primary motivation for this study. The closing of the gap has involved the extensive use of internet sources to gather information on MS-13 and to put together the information to come up with a reliable description of the activities of MS-13. Also, the study identifies several areas that have not been considered in previous researches and encourages other researchers to invest in the areas. The study has considered a bright selection of a target population that fits in the objectives of the study.
The selection of the target population for this study has been made cleverly to meet the achievement of the objectives of the study. First, the study seeks to help in curbing teenage murders, which have been on the increase and have been associated with MS-13. The victims have been young boys who meet with the offenders through online platforms and are then lured into areas where the teenagers are murdered and the bodies disposed of in nearby bushes. The perpetrators begin their hunt by becoming social media friends to the victims, and their business is mostly done through facebook. A case in hand is the murder of two teenage boys murdered and their bodies dumped in the Fairfax County park by members of the MS-13. Reports have shown that the murderers were facebook friends to the victims and immediately stopped following them on social media after the incidents. The murders are said to have happened after the boys were lured with a possible meet up with MS-13 members and discussing undisclosed business. The meeting, however, appears to have turned out bloody with the boys losing their lives to MS-13 members. After the murder, the suspects who are already in custody are said to have dumped the bodies in a park, and no tangible evidence has been provided so far. The research, therefore, targets creating awareness among the parents to warn them against spending a lot of time away from their children.
Figure 1 one of the boys suspected to have been murdered by MS-13 gang members
The police need to have a clear picture of the criminal activities that MS-13 group has been involved. The group members are notorious and have on several occasions conned unsuspecting residents, and the use of violence is specific where parents fail to comply. The enlightening of the police concerning the activities of MS-13 has helped in contacting relevant arrests and detention. Currently, the police have put to custody several suspects in connection with various murder cases and have relied on online sources to assess the criminal records for such offenders. The effectiveness of the police investigation can only happen when the police are aware of the problem that they are dealing with at the moment. Therefore, the primary audiences for this project are the parents and the local police that will be required to have a just judicial system. However, the police unit appears to be undertaking significant steps in fighting the illegal group members since most of them have been in custody awaiting hearing and provision of evidence.
Cases of sexual assault and trafficking have also been associated with MS-13 members. Recently, a young girl suffered severe battering from suspected members of MS-13 under unclear circumstances. The incident involved a fifteen-year-old daughter who has been identified to have been a victim of human trafficking, and her resistance could have cost her the beating. The girl is said to have been left with severe injuries, and several suspects were arrested according to reports. The involvement in human trafficking is a severe offense that calls for the immediate intervention of the police to curb the practice before it turns out to cause more casualties. Reports from various outlets have associated a local MS-13 leader locally known as Ayalla with the mistreatment of several underage girls and forcing them to engage in sexual business for his benefit. Ayala has been the key suspect in the battering case and has been in custody since then. Most of the MS-13 victims are illegal residents in the US, and this study recommends immediate deportation to do away with the gang menace.
This study recommends various actions by the target groups to either curb the gang or protect the teens from the horrific activities by the gang. The parents and guardians are the first in the list that requires vigilance in assisting the teenagers to overcome the challenge posed by the gang. The gang has been seen to prey on young unsuspecting victims who actively engaged on social media platforms. Facebook has been termed as the primary hunting ground for the gang. Parents are therefore advised to ensure that they track their children’s activities on social media as well as monitoring their social media friends. On the other hand, the police are required to be vigilant in bringing the culprits to book. The fact that most of the MS-13 members are illegal inhabitants of the US means that the policy should aid in the deportation of the culprits since the severity of their activities has already been seen.
In sum, the MS-13 gang is a menace that should be wiped in the shortest time possible since it is endangering the lives of teenagers. The parents have a responsibility to play in monitoring their teenage children’s social media engagements. The police, on the other hand, should be vigilant in hunting down the members of MS-13 and deporting the illegally residing gang members while bringing the other gang members to justice. Generally, MS-13 can only be fought by joint efforts of the victims, the parents and the police.
Work Cited
Petrus, Theodore, et al. “Rethinking occultism and crime: satanism, the occult and youth gang subcultures in the global and South African context.” Acta Criminologica: Southern African Journal of Criminology 31.2 (2018): 168-185.