Children and Street Gang

Gangs can be organized around race or ethnic group, money-making activities, or territory. Most gang members are male; they range in age from 8 to 22 years. Young people give various reasons for joining gangs. Among the most common: To belong to a group, For protection, To earn money, For excitement To be with friends.  For some it is even a family tradition.

A gang is a group of individuals who share a common identity and, in current usage, engage in illegal activities. Historically the term referred to both criminal groups and ordinary groups of friends, such as Our Gang. Some anthropologists believe that the gang structure is one of the most ancient forms of human organizations.

Some commentators use "gang" to refer to small, informal, and disorganized "street gangs", while "syndicate" or "organized crime" are used to refer to larger, more powerful organizations, such as the Italian-American Mafia, which may control entire legitimate businesses as "fronts" for their illegal operations. The word "gang" generally appears in a pejorative context, though within "the gang" itself members may adopt the phrase in proud identity or defiance. Most commonly, the word "gang" refers to street gangs or sometimes "youth gangs", groups who take over territory or "turf" in a particular city and are often involved in "providing protection", often a thin cover for extortion, as the "protection" is usually from the gang itself, or in other criminal activity.

Gangs signal their existence and solidarity through clothing and head coverings, a social vocabulary, tattoos, hand signals, and tagging their territory with graffiti.

"Gangsta" rap paints a realistic picture of daily gang activity. The lyrics glorify violence, abuse of women, and disrespect for authority, especially the police. Its popularity among the young has helped spread the culture of gangs, cutting across class, economic, racial, and geographical lines.

Since roughly the 1970s, street gangs have been strongly connected with drug sales (especially crack cocaine). Some commit burglaries, car theft, and armed robbery. Most members retain their gang affiliations when sent to prison (see prison gang). Many gangs use fronts to demonstrate influence and gain revenue in a particular area. These clandestine bases may include restaurants, bars, casinos, race tracks, strip clubs, or other business.

Gangs often spread by a parent or family moving out of the gang neighborhood, and the children taking the gang culture and lore with them to a new area and recruiting new members for their old gang. This concept has been referred to as satellite gangs.

Gang Structure
 

The internal structure of a street gang is loosely similar to the organizational structure of many corporations. The leader, sometimes referred to as the Chairman of the Board, is surrounded by a close knit and trusted groups of associates. These associates may have different titles such as generals or council members. Below the associates are the street soldiers or enforcers who are directly involved with defending the "turf", handling street level drug transactions, marking areas with graffiti, and recruiting new members.

It is quite common for the formal leader of a street gang to control the gang while in prison, and is in fact the case for most of the national gangs. The leader, who like all other prisoners, has phone and visitor privileges, will issue orders from inside the institution and these orders will be carried back to the next in command on the street.

This type of business-like organizational structure is not true for all street gangs. The Vice Lords for example are actually many individual factions, each having their own leader and operating independently (concerning day to day operations) from the others. Similarly, the Bloods and Crips, from the Los Angeles area, are really approximately 300 separate "sets" or gangs, each having its own leadership and no real centralized control.

Street Gang Identification
 

Most gangs have gang signals and other identifying characteristics specific to their clique or gang affiliation. Mid-20th-century gangs usually wore elaborate gang jackets (still common among motorcycle gangs, who have a practical need for leather jackets); these were known as their "colors". Any disrespect of a gang member's color by an unaffiliated individual is grounds for violent retaliation, often by multiple members of that gang. Tattoos are also common identifiers. Tattoos help a gang member gain respect and help add the essence of dedication for life. They can not only be inked on, but burned as well, with all matter of instruments from lighters and cigarettes to power-drill bits heated and then drilled into the flesh.

Graffiti Interpretation
 

Urban street gang graffiti is the most common way for gangs to communicate their message. Organized graffiti is one of the first signs that street gangs are taking hold in a neighborhood and is also an excellent way to track gang growth, affiliation, and sometimes even provides membership information.

Graffiti serves several purposes, all of which is understood by other "gangbangers," even members of rival sets. Graffiti has been called the newspaper or bulletin boards for gangs and communicates many messages, including challenges, warnings, and pronouncements of deeds accomplished or about to occur.  You will find graffiti almost anywhere. More specifically, you will find graffiti on books, binders, clothes, ball caps (especially under the bill), school lockers, tattoos, personal items such as cassette tapes, lighters, stereos, cars, combs, wallets, purses, walls, and fences in the area, street signs, picnic tables at the local parks, etc.

Note that graffiti will also include nicknames (monikers) such as Maddog, Dlocs, Sleepy, Smiley, Clown , Payaso, Flaco, C-Dog, Oso, Sniper, etc.

Other names which are derogatory include Cricket, Crab, Flue, Slob, Blob, etc. You will also see letters and numbers crossed out indicating gang rivalry.

Street Gang activities
 

Gang activity is criminal in nature and may involve drug trafficking, burglary, theft, criminal mischief, assaults, intimidation, and in extreme cases, even murder. As the gang becomes more organized and membership increases, the level and seriousness of criminal activity increases. Media reports bring daily instances of innocent bystanders, often children, injured or killed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes, the only reason for a violent incident was that the victim made the wrong hand sign, or wore the wrong clothing. Whenever gang members go to the mall, or to a movie, or hang out playing basketball at the neighborhood park, the potential for violence and criminal activity is much greater than for any other group of people. When a street gang enters a neighborhood it will immediately claim an area as its "turf" with boundaries most often defined by streets or landmarks. This area will be defended by the gang and no other gang is allowed to do "business" in, or enter its turf. The gang will then mark the area with graffiti to advertise its presence. Next, the gang will start recruiting new members either by intimidation or offering a sense of belonging or protection to impressionable youths. These youths will in turn be used to sell or carry drugs, steal, damage property, and through violence protect the gang's turf and recruit new members. These are instances where a street gang will allow someone who isn't a gang member to engage in drug sales on its turf. These independent contractors or "neutrons" (neutral regarding gang affiliation) must, however, pay a portion of their profits to the gang in return for being allowed to conduct business within the gang's neighborhood.

Neighborhood businesses suffer the effects of gangs because they must withstand the loss of customers who avoid known or suspected gang areas where businesses are located. The local business owner must also absorb the cost of thefts and the removal of graffiti from marked buildings and store fronts. Neighborhood residents will experience a drop in property values and peace of mind when gang related criminal activity increases. When a rival gang infringes on a local gang's turf, which is inevitable, the potential for drive-by shootings and gang fights increase and has, in many instances, led to innocent bystanders being injured or killed.

Street Gang Warfare
 

Gang warfare is the conflict between opposing gangs. Gang warfare is commonly held over turf boundary disputes, the takeover of an area in order to bring in narcotics to push on the streets, personal rivalries, or simply the fact that the opposing group is different in some way. Gang warfare takes a huge toll on cities, families, and communities involved, especially many cities in South/Central America and South Africa where the levels of gang violence have long dwarfed even American cities. All gangs that are composed of Pacific Islanders, Blacks or Asians are considered enemies.

Prison Gang
 

A prison gang is an unofficial term used to denote any type of gang activity in prisons and correctional facilities. The official term for this is Security Threat Group, or STG. Most prison gangs do more than offer simple protection for their members. Most often, prison gangs are responsible for any drug, tobacco, or alcohol handling inside correctional facilities. Furthermore, many prison gangs involve themselves in prostitution, assaults, kidnappings, and murders. Prison gangs often seek to intimidate the other inmates, pressuring them to relinquish their food and other resources.

In addition, prison gangs often exercise a large degree of influence over organized crime in the "free world", larger than their isolation in prison might lead one to expect. Prison gangs can also be responsible for laundering money from outside gangs, usually the free world branches of the same gangs "on the inside". Most correctional facilities have policies prohibiting the formation of prison gangs; however, many prison gangs continue to operate with impunity.

Most prison gangs follow the policy of "blood in - blood out."

Gang Injunction
 

A gang injunction is a court-issued restraining order prohibiting gang members from participating in certain activities. It is based on the legal theory that gang activity constitutes a public nuisance that prevents non-gang members from enjoying peace in their communities.

Gang injunctions form the most important aspect of what is referred to as the "suppression model" of anti-gang enforcement. The suppression model was criticized in a 1994 report by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which stated that in communities where suppression is used, alternatives and diversion programs for at-risk youth diminish, and that the labor market is not sufficiently able to absorb under-educated adults who were involved in gangs during their youth. It also stated that while injunctions may be effective in decreasing gang activity in neighborhoods and small towns, they have little effect on gang activity in large cities such as Los Angeles.

In 1997, the case of People ex rel Gallo v Carlos Acuna challenged the constitutionality of gang injunctions. Lower courts had held that provisions disallowing gang members to associate with one another violated their first amendment right to free assembly. However, the Supreme Court of California upheld the constitutionality of the use of gang injunctions, finding that gang activity fell under the definition of a public nuisance. Nonetheless, a dissenting opinion authored by Justice Stanley Mosk warned that "The majority would permit our cities to close off entire neighborhoods to Latino youths who have done nothing more than dress in blue or black clothing or associate with others who do so; they would authorize criminal penalties for ordinary, non-disruptive acts of walking or driving through a residential neighborhood with a relative or a friend." In a similar case, the 1999 case of Chicago v Morales against a 1992 anti-"Congregation Ordinance" in Chicago resulted in the high court's upholding the Illinois Supreme Court's ruling that the ordinance violated due process and arbitrarily restricted personal liberties.

Since 1999, to prevent rulings against injunctions in the name of constitutionality, city attorneys have carefully worded their filings so that they individually name every gang member, establish a designated area where the injunction applies, and enumerate the exact activities that gang members are prohibited from doing. These generally include association with one another, wearing certain clothes, making certain hand gestures, acting as lookouts, fighting, drinking, and using drugs. Some prohibited activities are already illegal, but the injunction means that violators can be held in contempt of court, which would demand additional sanctions. Violators who conduct activities that are normally legal are charged with violating a court order, which can carry a six-month jail sentence in California.

Child Gang Involvement Indicators
 

The first and most important step is to become aware of gangs, gang members, and theiractivities. As a parent or concerned citizen, you need to know that prevention is the key to controlling gang activity. Learning the warning signs of gang membership will prepare you to better direct your children away from gang involvement. While many of these indicators, viewed separately, are not signs of gang involvement,viewed together they may indicate gang involvement.

Associating with a new set of friends while ignoring old friends. Usually will not talk about new friends, who they are or what they do together. This would also include achange in places that your child frequents, such as going to public parks or differentclubs, or just wanting to "cruise" with friends in vehicles not going anywhere specific.  

Change of hair style and/or clothing or associating with other youths who have the same hair style and/or clothing. Usually some of the clothing, such as a hat or jacket, will havethe gangs initials, and/or the youths "street" name on it.

Increase in amount of money they have, without explanation where it came from, orother possessions that youth could not have bought themselves.

Indications of drug, alcohol or inhalant abuse. Signs of inhalant abuse will sometimes bepaint or "white-out" found on the youths clothes, or the smell of chemicals on theirclothes.

Change in attitude about things the youth used to enjoy such as sports, scouts, orchurch. Youth becomes a discipline problem at school, in public, or in the home. Youth no longer accepts parents authority and challenges it frequently.

Problems at school, such as failing classes, "skipping" school, causing problems in class, orbeing disrespectful to teachers. Usually will show fear or disrespect of the police.

Signs that youth has been in a fight, such as cuts and bruises or complaints of pain, butyouth won't explain what happened. Graffiti is present on or around the youth's residence, or on notebooks or otherpossessions of the youth. Sometimes the family will be threatened by rival gang members, or more tragic, thefamily will be a victim of a drive-by shooting before they realize their youth is in a gang.

Gang Involvement Prevention
 

The National PTA states that by age five (5) you should start teaching your child that gangs are dangerous, and they do not provide positive support or positive role models, and may be involved in criminal activity.

Gang Prevention for Parent::

Drug Abuse Prevention Tips
 

Preventing drug abuse really begins with preventing drug use. Some children as young as third and fourth graders feel pressured to try drugs ” especially gateway drugs like alcohol, nicotine (tobacco), and marijuana. Research shows that each of these can increase the chance that the user will turn to even more dangerous drugs like crack or other forms of cocaine, and stimulant or depressant pills. The average age of the first use of illicit drugs (including alcohol) is 12 years!

Constructive communication is one of the most effective tools you can use in helping your child avoid drug use. The very act of regular two-way communication shows your child that he or she means a great deal to you.

Shows physical deterioration (memory losses, difficulty in concentration, loss of weight, unhealthy appearance)
 

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