General Reasons for Gang Membership The primary age group of gang members ranges
generally from 13 to 21 years. Interviews of gang
members indicate that joining a gang is seldom
understood by the gang members themselves, but
can vary from brotherhood to self-preservation as
listed below. 1. Identity Gang members cannot achieve an identity in their
environment, so they gain it in the gang culture. They
often visualize themselves as warriors against the
outside world, protecting their neighborhood. 2. Protection Joining a gang in a community with several gangs
offers considerable protection from violence and
attack from rival gangs. 3. Fellowship Studies indicate that a tight family structure is lacking
in the home environment. Gang activity offers that
closeness, that sense of family that is often lacking in
the home. 4. Intimidation Membership can become very dangerous at this level
of "recruitment." New members are forced to join by
threats, violent beatings, and initiations in order to
increase membership. No ethnic group or geographical location is excluded.
Unlike gangs in the past, we are seeing mixed ethnic
and socio-economic groups making up gangs. There is
an on-going struggle for territorial control and the
lucrative drug market among gangs in our
community. School personnel, parents and community members need to be aware of these dynamics in their
schools, homes, and in the community at large. Personal Reasons for Gang Membership There are a variety of personal reasons for young
people joining gangs. These include: the excitement of gang activity, the
need to belong, peer pressure, attention, financial
benefit, family tradition, and a lack of realization of
the hazards involved. This also is a way students with
poor self-concept increase their self-esteem. These
young people seek to attain recognition for their activities, whether criminal or not. Gangs supply that
extra pat-on-the-back that they might not receive at
home or at school. Parents need to be aware of what's going on in their
child's life. If young people cannot communicate their
concerns and problems to someone significant at
home or at school, they could make a negative
decision to join a gang, which would affect them for
the rest of their lives. Characteristics of Gangs Characteristics in gang behavior can range from a
poor general attitude to clear-cut personality
disorders that can at times parallel the criminal mind.
Caution is wise when thinking one can place all gangs
into one behavioral category. A gang member on his/her own "turf" in school or in
the community may be openly hostile. Outside the
turf, the gang member may seem likable, open and
friendly. But he/she has his/her own code and sense
of fairness and can easily turn on one when the code
is violated. This can often result in sudden noncooperation, or worse, violent retaliation. The gang member is a good con artist and can easily
manipulate his/her environment as it suits his/her
needs. Appearance can be very deceiving. But, a gang
member can also display poor internalizing skills, be
chronically angry, resentful of authority, and can be
an accomplished liar. The more violent gang member can be callused,
remorseless, lack realistic long-term goals, be prone
to easy boredom and have poor impulse control. Today in many mature, modern criminal street gangs
violence is often a means to an end. Material profit,
through drug trafficking and other criminal activities,
is the prime objective. Studies in modern gang behavior indicate that violent
gangs have a strong capacity to deal with fear and
are therefore not easily intimidated by authority. They
have cut fear off. They experience excitement at
every stage of a crime, are concrete thinkers, have
little interest in responsible performance or a display of ownership. They consider themselves basically decent human
beings, and therefore justified in what they do. Each
gang member wants to be in charge, but often has
poor leadership skills, is chronically angry and
defensive, cannot be structured or do tasks for a
protracted period of time. Gang Recruitment Tactics
Gangs pressure kids into gangs by using the
following methods: • Peer pressure, offer protection.
• Threaten safety of friends or family members.
• Offer money for what appears to be simple
activities.
• Challenge kids to take risks.
• Attend parties where gang related activities are occurring.
• Family members already belong to a gang. Consequences of Gang Involvement Short Term: • In trouble with the law
• Drop out of school.
• Withdrawal from family.
• Risk of injury in a "jump-in" by your own gang.
• Drug trafficking/weapons.
• Involvement in "dirty-work." Long Term: • Lose opportunity for education and employment.
• Spend time in jail or prison.
• Possibility of losing family and friends.
• Risk of personal injury.
• Risk your own family's life.
• Endless amounts of threats, assaults and drive-by shootings. SO PLEASE RESIST THE TEMPTATION

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