Gangs: Is Your Child a Target?

Gangs shatter lives and often leave a trail of blood to mark their territory.

Too often we read stories such as the following and we must all take responsibility

for these atrocities and stop the violent assaults on innocent children.

A drive-by shooting has left three teens dead and eight wounded.  One teen has been blinded and another paralyzed from the neck down.  A three-month old baby girl, in a house a block away, was killed by a stray bullet.   Houston, Texas.

Shorty joined his neighborhood gang when he was 9 years old. The gang rewarded him with a gun when he turned 13.  After that he thought nothing of shooting members of other gangs.  Shorty, age 15, was found dead in an alley yesterday.  He was apparently killed by a rival gang member.

The Facts and Stats: 

• About 7 percent of teens belong to gangs
• The average age is 17 with a general age range from 12-25 years of age
• Some ages are diversified in regard to ethnicity and age groups, while others are homogenous regarding race and culture
• About 20 percent of all teens know someone who has been killed or injured by gang members 
• In some regions, 70 percent of teens killed by guns are gang members 
• While gang growth declined in 1999, since 2002 gangs have been increasing, especially Hispanic and Asian gangs
• Gangs are becoming more organized, sophisticated and dangerous
• Signs of a Child's Gang Involvement:

1. Associates with gang members
2. Uses secret codes or signals to communicate with friends
3. Fixates on particular clothes, colors, logos, tattoos, jewelry or other icons
4. Shows a decline in academic performance
5. Becomes secretive and no longer communicates openly
6. Possesses more material things and money than is logical
7. Withdraws from the family and school activities
8. Becomes interested in gang-related activities, music and media
9. Shows physical injuries that have no logical explanation
10. Becomes defiant and exhibits behavioral problems

Gangs: The Way In Is Easier Than the Way Out

Gangs are growing the fastest in the suburbs where children are an easy target for they are not psychologically immunized. Kids often join a gang for protection against them. However, they are entering a terror zone for a gang is not your family and the opposing gangs deem you as the enemy.  Don't be deceived by false promises of security, material things, purpose, respect, recognition, action and family belongingness.

To earn membership many must steal or even kill another and be beaten by their own gang members before proving themselves as a worthy of membership. Girls are often forced into sex or into fights with other girls.  

Gangs stake out their turf and defend it like a wild animal.  They lack identity and therefore crave image which they express in their clothes, tattoos, secret codes, styles, colors, and where or how they wear their hats or bandannas. Hand signs or handshakes are signals that when not properly given could lead to a beating.

 If you think the rules and regulations at school and at home are tough, try following those of a gang. If you break a gang's rules and don't obey, the punishment is often death.  Unfortunately, many teens are forced to join and feel no choice as there are often threats of getting hurt or killed. Fear and intimidation are powerful influencers. Children are often forced to pay "protection money" so be aware if your child is requesting money without accountability.

Gangs encourage illegal activities such as selling drugs, robbing people and stores, selling the stolen goods and trading illegal weapons that often lead to calling prison "home." Some never make it to prison because they first are murdered. In a recent report from Los Angeles. Seventy percent of the teens who were shot were gang members.  Don't play the odds unless you have made plans for your funeral.

Recruitment never ends and schools and chat rooms are breeding grounds for soliciting new members as are prisons. Monitor you child's online activities and insist on supervision his school.

How to Protect Yourself and Your Kids from Gangs:

1. If threatened by gang members, do not overreact.  Take a deep breath and stay calm.   Keep your cool and do not act scared.  Clarify that you have no conflict with gang members.
2. If threats continue, tell your parents, school officials and the police and insist that they take immediate action.  Be your own advocate and as a parent insist that protection is provided.
3. Don't act or dress like a "wanna be." You will be inviting trouble.
4. There is strength in numbers.  Don't stand alone, but rather have others who resist gangs stand together.  Peer pressure is a powerful tool.
5. Get involved in healthy activities such as sports, band, scouts, debate, drama, community groups and hang around with others who have goals and a sense of purpose.
6. Never forget the power of CHOICE.   The choice is yours. One good choice is to simply avoid gang members. You know where gangs hang out. Don't go there.

Edie Raether is an international keynote speaker and best selling author with several books, including Stop Bullying Now. For more information on gangs and how to be a bully buster, visit www.stopbullyingwithedie.com.