Protect Your Child from Gangs

Book Reviewed: "Trapped Between Innocence and Death, a guide to being free from gang life " by John Saroyan, Ed.D., and Paul Cosores, BSW/DPO.

The top 10 reasons why children are interested in joining a gang is to acquire: an identification, status, protection, women/rewards, and/or money. They may be unduly influenced by pressure from their neighborhood, family, or peers. They may seek fun in violence, a type of dysfunctional male bonding.

Some of the indicators that your child may be involved with a gang:

#1. Changing behavior or attitude, becoming disrespectful or violent.
#2. Displaying irritability and impatience with family members.
#3 Suddenly staying out all night long.
#4. Using strange new words, like: homeboy, phat and crib.
#5. Drawings of graffiti or gang insignia on personal property like clothes or backpacks.
#6. Flashing gang signs, which means holding one's hands in strange positions or "signs". Like American Sign Language, each gesture is a word or phrase, and hence "flashing signs" is a way of communicating in gang language.
#7. Tattooing or scarring yourself.
#8. Assuming an unfamiliar nickname.
#9. An increase in truancy, poor attendance at school or a sudden decline in grades.
#10. Having new friends who dress and act differently than your family.
#11. Refusing to wear certain colors, but insisting on dressing in the same color scheme, day after day.
#12. Replacing athletic posters with gang-style images depicting violence and the sexual objectification of women.
#13. Listening to music that features a gang related lifestyle, which includes; profanity, references to committing crimes, killing and shooting, drugs and alcohol, racial prejudice, and girls been depicted as sex objects.

Prevention is Possible

Prevention begins with observation, be aware of the changes in your child as they go through adolescence.

Forming a neighborhood watch group in your neighborhood will help to keep an eye out on everyone's children, and lets potential gang members know that the neighborhood is being watched.

The one thing all criminals have in common, no matter what their crimes, they don't want to get caught. And since being seen in the commission of a crime will certainly improve their chances of going to jail, being watched is an excellent deterrent to crime.

This involves a minimal amount of effort, as neighborhood watch groups can get together as seldom as once a month and still be an effective tool against crime spots in your area.

The police will attend these meetings, giving brief informational talks and taking notes. Keeping these observations in mind, they will cruise through the area more often. An increased police presence helps to curb potential gang violence.

You will also get to know your neighbors, and will be able to identify who is coming in and out of the neighborhood, whether they're strangers or family members and friends.

You cannot overlook the importance of eliminating graffiti. Graffiti is not only an eyesore, it is actually a means of communication between gang members and rival gangs. The gangs will post messages in "script" or "secret writing" whose symbols are familiar only to other gang members.

Rival gangs can read it, and they know whether it is a warning to rival gangs, marking a territory, or the announcement of an upcoming gain-related event, like a challenge to fight a rival gang. The graffiti will include the information about the fight, including the date, place and time.

By allowing these messages to remain public, you are encouraging the gang members to communicate with each other, which then helps to proliferate gang activities. Insist that your city council put together a graffiti removal unit. When funded properly by the city, these graffiti removal units can come out and paint over the messages within 24 hours, discouraging gangs from coming back to your neighborhood.

The book explains the history and values behind each gang, grouped according to race, along with a list of behaviors that are indicators of gang membership.

According to Deputy Probation Officer Paul Cosores, gangs are basically organized along racial lines. Each gang has a different set of values and goals. Understanding the individual gang member, his gang's values and goals, can expedite communication between police authorities and gang members.

Offer alternatives to gang life

Fortunately, the authors have provided a mini-handbook of alternatives to gang life, discussing the need for stronger parenting skills, close observation and communication with your teenager, and keeping them motivated with various mentoring programs. It is essential that they make healthy peer group choices and are exposed to gang-prevention awareness training.

If a child is raised with healthy self-esteem, they are less likely to conform to peer pressure, are more creative and less affected by outside criticism. These characteristics allow them to build the inner resources necessary to reject gang influences. Once your child is part of a healthy group of peers, there will be little desire to join a gang group.

Most children who already identify with a strong family unit by the time they're teenagers, are more resistant to joining gangs than those with weak parental support or lack of parental encouragement.

Activities such as athletic programs, church organizations, Big Brother or Big Sister, the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts of America, volunteer organizations, and last but not least, part time employment, are excellent diversions for teens full of youthful energy and nothing but time on their hands.