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Why Do Young People Join Gangs?

There are a variety of reasons why kids join gangs. Some of the reasons include power, pride, prestige, peer pressure, adventure, self preservation, lure of money, limited life options and generational. In many cases young people are not actively discouraged from gang activity by their parents. Often, parents don't realize that their children are engaged in gang activity.

Representation Through Sports Clothing

There are many ways a gang shows power. The most prominent way is through the wearing of its gang colors. The "colors" which, are worn, demonstrates unity and power of its membership. The colors distinguish them from rival gangs and displaying their colors shows pride throughout the gang. The most popular way of displaying colors is through the wearing of sports clothing, however, not every person who puts on sports clothing is a gang member.

How Are Gang Members Identified?

Although most gang members are proud of their gang, they seldom admit their membership. There are a number of signs that can assist in identifying a gang member's affiliation. Many gang members' display tattoos openly and dress in a style identifying their particular gang. Sometimes their personal belongings are frequently covered with graffiti and bear the gang's logo and the member's name. Gang members "throw gang signs" using their hands to make gestures which identified their gang, In many cases gang members will hand gesture rival gang signs to show disrespect.

Gang Monikers Monikers or nicknames are generally associated with the physical features or the personality of an individual gang member. Many times they will take a form that matches the macho image the member wishes to portray of himself. The gang member's monikers may represent his or her place within the gang. Similar monikers may be used for female members of the gang.

Monikers are very important to the gang member and are essential to the police officer's overall knowledge of the gang. Knowing a gang member's moniker may assist in identifying other gang members. Sometimes gang members only identify each other by their individual monikers. It is also quite common for gang member's of school age to write their monikers and slogan's on their homework assignments and school material

Make sure you really know who your son's/daughter's friends are. Emphasize the idea of avoiding drug-using friends. Make sure your children do not have gang members as friends. Don't believe in the "gang wannabe" fallacy. It's your house you have the right to know what your son or daughter has in their possession. Make sure you have adopted a "Zero Tolerance Policy" in your house. Work with the police. Get involved, by learning the early signs of gang involvement Emphasize education with an emphasis on self-esteem.

Prevention

Prevention is the key to controlling gang activity.Many parents are unaware that their children are involved in gang activity. Many of the younger gang members are not aware of the realities of the violence associated with gang membership. Although there are no positive ways to predict who will join a gang and who will not, there are some indications that a youth is headed towards gang membership. Parents should look for changes in their child's behavior. Such changes as truancy, a decline in grades changes in friends and attitude, late hours, graffiti in their bedrooms or in their school notebooks, the wearing of colors, body tattooing and frequent negative contacts with the police. As parents, remember to stay positively involved with your child.

Graffiti, What Does It Mean?

It is the first indicator of the gang's presence in the community.

It provides free advertisement for the gangs. It communicates the symbols of the gang, who its leaders are, who its enemies are, or commemorates the gang's fallen or deceased member(s). It becomes an "eye sore" for the community. A fundamental approach to the control of gang activity within the community is the prompt removal of graffiti. Graffiti is more then just an eyesore, it encourages violence. Gangs use graffiti to mark their territory, advertise their existence or claim credit for crimes. The prompt removal of graffiti discourages youths from writing it and prevents the intended messages from being transmitted or interpreted by others.

The West Chicago Police Department has adopted a policy of quickly removing graffiti on private property at no expense to either the home or business owner. Once graffiti has been identified and recorded, the police department sends a letter indicating the graffiti shall be removed within seven days. The home or business owner has the option of removing the graffiti or contacting the West Chicago Police Department to remove it for them.

Prepared by Officers from the Problem Oriented Policing Unit