A group of people who form an alliance for a common purpose and engage in violent or criminal activitiy.
What are the ages of gang member?
The average age of gang members is from 14 to 21 years of age. Gang members, however, can be as young as 8 years old or as old as into their 30's, 40's or even 50's. Recruitment into the gang usually starts in the middle school and into the early years of high school. Most gangs target youth that are easily talked into doing work for the gang.
Why do kids join gangs?
Acceptance- Many kids feel that they are not getting the attention they feel they deserve at home. They start looking for this attention and love in other places and often find what they are looking for in a gang. The gang essentially becomes their family.
Excitement- This group of kids love the high of committing crimes and getting away with it. They often do their crimes just to be chased by the police. These individuals are adrenaline junkies and love the thrill of criminal activity.
To earn money- More and more, we are seeing gang members turn towards using the gang to make a profit throught illegal activities. Selling narcotics, robberies, burglaries, auto thefts and other property crimes are common in many gangs. Many gang specialize in certain criminal activity.
Peer pressure- If your kids are hanging around gangs and gang members you can almost guarantee that they are being pressured to join the gang. It is important to know who your children are associating with.
To Socialize- The best parties in town are gang parties. Easy access to liquor, narcotics, and girls are attractive to potential gang recruits. Young males who have a hard time socializing and talking to girls find girls often like gang members.
If my kids joins a gang, what are some warning sings to look for?
- Withdraws from family members
- Breaks parental rules consistently
- Grades have dropped/ trouble at school
- Lack of hobbies or interests
- Develops and unusual desire for privacy
- Obsessed with Gangster rap/ gangster movies and videos/ guns
- Possible use of alcohol/ drugs
- Hanging out with known or suspected gang members
- Frequent negative contact with police/ other authority figures
- Admits to gang membership
Gang Clothing
It should be noted that gang members often wear clothing that is currently popular amongst juveniles in general. The wearing of the clothing that is described in this section does not automatically make that person a gang member.
- Wearing one color all the time, such as blue, red, brown, black, orange
- Replacing shoe laces with a color such as mentioned above
- Wearing bandanas on head or hanging out of back pocket
- Shoes such as British Knights, Converse (Chuck Taylors), Adidas
- Customized T-Shirts and baseball hats
- Beaded necklaces made out of gang colors
- Wearing long belt with old english lettering or numbers on it
- Wearing hats, jewlery, bandanas to one side (right or left)
North Side Varrio gang members from Yakima County, Washington.
Vatos Locos gang members from Salem, Oregon.
As a parent what can I do?
- Praise your children for doing well
- Encourage them to participate in positive activities
- Get to know your children's friends and their families
- Set the example/ be a positive role model
- Talk to your children about gangs/ discourage participation
- Talk and listen to your children
- Spend quality time with your children
- Put a high value on education
- Involve your children in positive group activities
- Be a good observer
- Learn real names of your children's friends
- Monitor living spaces for gang paraphernalia, weapons, and drugs
- Seek the facts- kids will tell you what you want to hear
- Set clear limits- follow through with discipline if they break the rules
- Teach your children decision making skills- help them make the right choice
- Team up with other parents