Kids and Gangs
What Is A Gang?
A gang is a group of three or more people who have a common name, sign, or identifying symbol, and engage in criminal activities. People who join gangs come from every neighborhood, race, religion, culture, age, and economic level. Many gang members have dropped out of school, but some young people who join gangs have "straight A's." The most important part of identifying a group as a "gang" is the behavior of its members. Groups who commit crimes are gangs, no matter what they look like.
How Can I Tell?
Law enforcement officers use specific criteria to identify gang members.
- The person admits that he/she is a gang member.
- The person has tattoos or clothing and uses hand signs or graffiti that is only
associated with certain gangs. - The subject has been arrested while committing crimes with gang members.
- Information from a reliable informant places the subject with a gang.
Parents should look for any drastic changes in their child's behavior, including associating with a new group of friends, using a different style of language, desiring a great deal of privacy, acquiring new possessions without the parent's knowledge, claiming gang affiliation, or dressing in gang-related clothing.
What Can I Look For?
Everyone wearing "Raiders" clothing is not a gang member. While it is true that some gangs will wear clothing from professional or college sports teams, it is also fashionable to wear these items. Parents should look for any clothing items that have been customized with extra letters, words, phrases, numbers, or symbols. Baseball hats may be altered, or gang names and phrases may be written under the brim or inside the hat. Parents should not allow their children to wear clothing that glorifies violence or drug use (look closely at shirts and hats), or any pants or shorts that sag below the underwear line. Popular brands include "Dickey" and "Ben Davis." Bandannas in a variety of colors are used to identify gang membership, and can put your child at risk. Young people should not dress in one color exclusively. Gang colors to look for in this area include blue, white, brown, black, red, green, and purple. Gang-involved youth may also write graffiti at home on notebooks, their homework, or walls.
What Can I Do?
If you suspect that your child is a gang member, don't try to deny your suspicions. Your gut feelings are probably right. After all, you have known this child longer than anyone. When a child joins a gang, it can turn their family upside down. Don't try to deal with your child's gang membership alone. There are many agencies, support groups, and even school programs that can work with your child and the rest of your family to provide support, encouragement, and gang intervention. You can contact the Salt Lake Area Gang Project for referral to groups that can help you.