Identifying and Addressing a Gang Problem National Crime Prevention Council 2006

Objectives Look at a definition of a gang Look at prevention and intervention strategies Learn several indicators and risk factors of gangs in your community Explore tips of what can be done by parents, schools, and neighbors to prevent gang activity

What is a Gang? There is no nationally accepted definition, but most agree on the following elements: A group of three or more people These people share a common identifying sign, symbol, or name Gang members individually or collectively engage in an ongoing pattern of criminal or delinquent activity They are often between 12 and 24 Covers all types of gangs, from copycat to traditional criminal gangs (see slide 6) Usually a self-formed group of peers The identity of a gang is solidified by hand signs, symbols, graffiti, and clothing. Two-thirds of gang members are 18 or older, according to a national youth gang survey conducted by the National Youth Gang Center. There is no single, accepted nationwide definition of youth gangs. It has been firmly established that the characteristics and behaviors of gangs are exceptionally varied within and across geographical areas (Klein, 2002; National Youth Gang Center™, forthcoming; Weisel, 2002) and that a community’s gang problem—however affected from other areas—is primarily and inherently homegrown. Thus, state and local jurisdictions tend to develop their own definitions.

Crime and Gang Involvement Serious and Chronic Offenders Gang Leaders Illegal Gun and Drug Suppliers   Share of Illegal Activity Other Active Gang Members and Associates Youth may be attracted to, and influenced by, local gangs, but the large majority are not active gang members. Most crime is committed by relatively few gang members who are often perceived as gang leaders.  Children and Adolescents at High Risk for Gang Involvement  General Population of Youth and Families Living in High Risk Areas Relative Share of Population

Types of Gangs Traditional gangs Business/profit gangs White hate gangs Copy-cat gangs Delinquent social gangs Traditional gangs include Crips, Bloods, MS-13 – gangs that have been around for generations and have strong foundations. Business gangs – gangs that are purely formed for the purpose of making money (drugs, prostitution, etc.). White Hate gangs – skinheads, gangs that target gays, Aryan Nation. Copy-cat gangs and delinquent Social gangs – don’t have a strong foundation. These two types of gangs may pop up one day and disappear the next. These two gangs are the easiest to address and prevent.

Conditions that Enable Gangs To Grow Socializing agents are ineffective Abundance of free and unstructured time Limited exposure and access to good jobs and careers A place to congregate, a well-defined neighborhood Socializing agents in communities include families, schools, and supportive communities. The lack of positive adult supervision and positive role models also encourages the growth of gangs. Prosocial use of time is not encouraged or supported. Lack of good jobs and opportunities for developing job skills, which may exist across generations so it becomes the norm and lead to a sense of hopelessness. Moore, J. W. 1998. “Understanding Youth Street Gangs: Economic Restructuring and the Urban Underclass.” In M. W. Watts (Ed.), Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Youth and Violence (pp. 65-78), Stamford, CT: JAI.

Do we have a gang problem? Are our children at risk of joining a gang?

Indicators of Possible Gang Involvement Purchasing or desire to buy or wear clothing of all one color or style Changing appearance with special haircuts, eyebrow markings, or tattoos Using hand signs Gang clothing may just be the color of the clothing. It may be the way the clothing is worn. Gang paraphernalia may include jewelry, beads, or friendship bracelets. Obsession with one particular color of clothing or showing a desire for a particular logo over and over may also be a sign. The color blue is most often seen in the form of a blue bandana. Also, red, gray, black, and white can also be colors that show allegiance to a gang. Gang members may wear clothing in a specific manner such as wearing a specific ball cap worn to the right or to the left. A pants leg rolled up may be an indicator. The wearing of baggy pants may be another indicator. One indicator may not mean anything. It is the totality of the indicators that needs to be taken into consideration. Tattoos are common and usually have at least one, identifying gang. The three dots tattoo means “My Crazy Life.” Hand Signs – Non-verbal communication between members. Uses hand signs while with friends and practices them at home

Indicators of Possible Gang Involvement (cont.) Gang graffiti on folders, desks, walls, and buildings Developing a bad attitude towards family, school, and authorities Staying out later than usual Carrying weapons

Indicators of Possible Gang Involvement (cont.) Withdrawing from family activities Changing friends; spending time with undesirable people Having more money or possessions

Hand signs are used to show allegiance to a specific gang.

Some gangs also use symbols to identity their gang Some gangs also use symbols to identity their gang. This gang is called “Mara Salvatrucha,” clique-Centrales

“Mi Vida Loca”- My Crazy Life Tear Drop

Is All Graffiti Gang Graffiti? No, some graffiti is tagger graffiti.

What is Tagger Graffiti? It is usually more artistic.

What Can We Learn From Graffiti? Gangs may use graffiti to claim a particular area as their turf.

Graffiti may show what gangs are fighting, arguing, or “beefing.”

Graffiti may present the gang roll call.

Why Individuals Join Gangs Fun and excitement Identity and sense of belonging Peer pressure Financial gain/drugs Protection A family tradition A failure to understand what being in a gang means These are the reasons the gangs like to promote. Fun and excitement - Gang members, recruiters, and the news media glamorize the gang life style. Youth who lack self-esteem, do not have a sense of belonging, or lack interests and direction could be drawn to gangs. Identity and a Sense of Belonging - Gangs provide a sense of identity for their members. This sense of identity may be a sense of belonging or a source of recognition that they are not getting at home or elsewhere. Youth who do not have strong ties to their families, communities, schools, or churches may turn to gangs as a “substitute” family. Gangs satisfy the need for recognition and power. Peer Pressure - If their friends are gang members, youth may be pressured to join a gang. Financial Gain - Being in a gang is often seen as way to obtain money or possessions. A Failure To Understand What Being in a Gang Means – Youth see only the fun, excitement, and power that gang members claim to have. They very often do not fully understand the danger, risks, and legal problems associated with being in a gang. Protection - In neighborhoods and areas where gangs are present, youth sometimes feel, or are told, that belonging to a gang will provide protection from other gangs. A family tradition – We are now seeing some second- and third-generation gang members.

Who Joins Gangs? Recruits generally range in age from 12 to 24 years Most members are boys, but 10 percent of all gang members are girls All ethnic groups and income levels are represented, and gangs are found in all parts of the country Certain risk factors increase the likelihood of gang involvement Two-thirds of gang member are 18 and older according to a national survey; this varies from gang to gang, community to community. Certain risk factors include poverty, unmet basic living needs, the need for protection, and an unhealthy home life.

Associated Risk Factors Living in an area with a high level of gang activity, drug/alcohol use, available firearms Lack of a positive support system at home Violence against family members Exposure to TV shows, movies, and/or music that glorifies violence

Associated Risk Factors (cont.) Lack of alternative activities, such as community youth programs Lack of positive role models Low self-esteem and/or a sense of hopelessness about the future Poor decision-making and communication skills Too much unsupervised free time

Associated Risk Factors (cont.) Poor school achievement Problematic child-parent relationship Lack of respect for authority (parents, teachers, law enforcement officers) Family members who are or were gang members

Responding to a Gang Problem Prevention Primary and secondary Intervention Suppression Reentry Primary Prevention: Targets all youth or all youth in high-risk areas. Examples: Prenatal and early infancy home visits by health professionals, GREAT (Gang Resistance, Education and Training), Boys & Girls Clubs, Big Brothers Big Sisters, mentoring, Police Athletic League Secondary Prevention: Targets high-risk children, based on prior record of delinquency, drug/alcohol abuse, child abuse, or poor school achievement Intervention: Targets active gang members and close associates; requires coordinated services from family services, probation, social services, law enforcement, and community-based organizations Suppression: Targets gang leaders for aggressive supervision, enforcement, prosecution, removal of leaders from the community; requires coordination by law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, corrections; relies heavily on gang-related intelligence. Reentry: Targets gang members returning from confinement; requires close supervision by corrections with support of law enforcement. Coordination of services (employment, housing, transportation, employment training, life skills training) to support ex-offender is required.

TIPS What Parents Can Do

What Parents Can Do Be a positive role model. Do everything possible to involve your children in supervised, positive group activities. Praise your children for doing well and encourage them to do their very best. Get to know your children’s friends and their parents. Some youth are sons and daughters of gang members. Always show by example the type of person you want your children to be. If the family is the source of love, guidance, and protection that youth seek, they will not be forced to search for these basic needs from a gang. The more confident a child is in his or her ability to achieve success, to be a leader, to make good decisions, the less likely he or she will be to fall victim to a gang lifestyle. Help them develop good self-esteem. Monitor friends and activities. Establish rules, then be consistent, firm, and fair in punishment.

What Parents Can Do (cont.) Set limits for your children, and enforce them. Do not allow your children to dress in gang-style clothing, to practice gang hand signs, or to write gang graffiti on any surface, including their bodies.

What Parents Can Do (cont.) Know where your children are at all times, and schedule activities to occupy their free time. Get involved in your children’s education, and encourage them to stay in school. Be active in the PTA. Teach your children to set positive goals, to hold high standards, and to prepare for a positive future. If your child looks like a gang member, he or she can be mistaken for a gang member. Be on the phone constantly with other parents. Collaborate.

What Parents Can Do (cont.) Explain to your children that only a very small percentage of youth join gangs. Help your children to understand the natural consequences of being involved in a gang. The more connected a child is with family, school, community, and positive activities, the less likely he or she will be attracted to gangs.

TIPS What Schools Can Do

What Schools Can Do Identify at-risk students and students who are already gang members. Encourage them to participate in sports, drama, music, art, and other positive activities that will increase their confidence and sense of belonging. Don’t allow anyone to wear gang clothing, paraphernalia, or other items associated with gang activity at school; don’t permit gang hand signals. Photograph and remove all graffiti from the school grounds and property. Promote afterschool programs that address the prevention of violence.

What Schools Can Do (cont.) Work with parents, counselors, School Resource Officers, and school personnel to determine when intervention is necessary and what steps should be taken. Ensure that gang and drug prevention are part of the curricula, and present gang and drug awareness programs to parents.

What Neighbors Can Do Get to know your neighbors and their children. Communicate. Maintain a standard for your neighborhood’s appearance that tells gangs that they are not welcome. Work with your local law enforcement agency to develop a community strategy against gangs.

Getting Out of a Gang Speak to a counselor, police officer, clergy, or other professionals about ways youth can create distance between themselves and the gang. Relocate. Get information about tattoo removal programs.

Notable Quotes “Knowing gang life was so surrounded by death, I don’t know how anyone could WANT to get into a gang.” Miss Moni, former gang member “The way out is not by guns and violence. It is by using [your] minds. Educate yourself.” EZ-T, former gang member Quotes taken from Gangstyles; www.streetgangstyle.com Before moving on to the resource pages, review the objectives of the session (Slide 2).

Gang Program Resources National Youth Gang Center Website www.iir.com/nygc OJJDP Summary: Youth Gang Programs and Strategies (Howell, 2000) www.iir.com/nygc/PublicationLinks.htm#YGPI Addressing Community Gang Problems: A Practical Guide (BJA, 1998) www.iir.com/nygc/PublicationLinks.htm#CAYG

Gang Program Resources (cont.) G.R.E.A.T Programs www.great-online.org National Crime Prevention Council: Teens, Crime, and the Community www.ncpc.org/tcc National Youth Gang Center www.irr.com/nygc Latin American Youth Center www.layc-dc.org National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center www.safeyou.org

for much of the material in this presentation Special Thanks to Fairfax County, VA Police Department for much of the material in this presentation

National Crime Prevention Council 1000 Connecticut Avenue, NW Thirteenth Floor Washington, DC 20036 202-466-6272 202-296-1356 (fax) www.ncpc.org Used with permission from the Bureau of Justice Assistance September 2006

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