Why Do Children Join Gangs

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Why Do Children Join Gangs?

• Significant Numbers of Our Children Involved in
  Gangs and Influences Effecting Membership.
• Gang trends and the popularity of
• the Gang Lifestyle. The School Perspective
• Sociology of Juvenile Gang
• Members and Prevention/Intervention.

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GVS PO DUITES

• SUPERVISE 30 VALIDATED GANG MEMBERS
• WORK WITH SPD GANG DETECTIVE IN INVESTIGATING
  GANG RELATED CRIMES IN GVS TARGET AREA
• WORK WITH SCHOOL GANG PREVENTION SUPERVISOR, AND
  SROS ON AND OFF CAMPUS WITH INTERVENTION,
  PREVENTION, EDUCATION AND SUPPRESSION
• PROVIDE PRESENTATIONS ON GANG AWARENESS TO ALLIED
  AGENCIES, TEACHERS ADMINISTRATORS, CHURCHES,
  PARENTS AND COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS
• ASSIST PROBATION, SPD, AND SHERIFFS GANG UNITS
  WITH SURVEILLANCES, SEARCH WARRANTS, AND ARREST

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HOW DOES A CHILD BECOME A VALIDATED GANG MEMBER?

• Contacted by law enforcement and must meet two of
  ten criteria.

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What is a gang validation?

• The process that law enforcement uses to identify
  gang members

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Validation Criteria

• Admits his/her membership in a gang
• Tattooed with gang logo
• In the company of a validated and/or admitted
  gang member
• Involved in gang crimes
• Named by 2 or more members of a gang, as a member
  of their gang
• In a photo indicating gang affiliation
• Custody correspondence where the individual
  identifies him/her self as a gang member (CYA,
  Juvenile Hall, Jail, Prison)
• Contacted in the field by police participating in
  gang related activity
• Has gang graffiti
• Wearing gang clothing

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NUMBERS

• 20,000 PROBATIONERS
• 14,000 ARE ADULTS
• 6,000 ARE JUVENILES
• 3,000 ADULT GANG MEMBERS
• 1,300 JUVENILE GANG MEMBERS
• 700 TOTAL GANG MEMBERS SUERVISED BY GANG UNIT

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Sobering Stats

• In 2006, 56 of all homicides in the City of Los
  Angeles were gang related
• (272 out of 481)
• 33 of all homicides in the City of Sacramento
  were gang related in 2006

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Increasing Numbers

• 4,145 validated gang members in Sacramento County
• Approximately 2000 gang members that have not
  been validated
• 65 validated sets in Sacramento County

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Target Area over a 6 Month Period

• 133 arrested (71 adult, 62 juveniles)
• 897 active gang members
• 4 new gangs
• 81 gang related crimes investigated by GVS

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Influences on Children Joining Gangs

• Generational
• Monetary
• Protection
• Peer Pressure
• Excitement (satisfying me)
• Power/Control (guns/weapons)
• The New Cool (everyone wants to be a gangster)

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GVS SUPERVISOR DUTIES

• LIASON WITH SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS, GVS LAW
  ENFORCEMENT PARTNERS
• ASSIST WITH INVESTIGATIONS REGARDING GANG RELATED
  CRIMES ON CAMPUS AND IN THE COMMUNITY
• PROVIDES STAFF, STUDENT AND COMMUNITY TRAINING IN
  GANG AWARENESS AND PREVENTION
• COORDINATE PREVALIDATION PARENT CONFERENCES
• GANG SPECIALIST TO SACRAMNETO CITY UNIFIED
  SCHOOL DISTRICT

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Gang activity on campus

• GRAFITTI
• LANGUAGE
• CLOTHING
• NOTE BOOKS, BACKPACKS
• TATTOOS, PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY

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Impact on Campus

• Decreased sense of safety
• Tension
• Increased truancy rates
• Suspensions
• Fights and weapons
• Vandalism

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What can you do?

• Prevention, intervention and suppression is an
  overlapping continuum
• Focus needs to be on early prevention
• Recognize that gang representation fills a need
• Provide opportunities for youth to choose
  positive friends
• Learn about gang activity in your community
• Encourage youth that mistakes are opportunities
  to learn
• Develop positive relationships with youth
• And so much more.

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Gangs Arise and Persist Out of Human Need

• Gangs serve a purpose.
• Legitimate Human Needs
• Survival
• Acceptance
• Belonging
• Power
• Fun
• Freedom
• (Glasser).

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Gangs Arise and Persist Out of Human Need

• Legitimate Needs Served by Gangs
• Survival
• Acceptance
• Belonging
• Power
• Fun
• Freedom
• (Glasser).

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Gangs Arise and Persist Out of Human Need

• Basic premise prevention and intervention
  efforts must be targeted at providing at-risk and
  gang involved youth with legitimate alternatives
  for fulfilling basic needs.

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Good News

• In even the most at-risk communities the vast
  majority of youth do not join gangs.
• For the majority of youth who join gangs, gang
  membership is a transitory experience.

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The Historical Context of Gangs

• Gangs in existence since at least the middle
  ages modern youth gangs traced to mid
  nineteenth century shift from agrarian to
  industrial society.
• In the United States, social and economic
  pressures of rapid industrialization,
  urbanization and immigration give rise to
  organized gangs.

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The Historical Context of Gangs

• Heightened attention during World War II. Race
  riots in 1943 lead to minority youth banding
  together in ethnic gangs.
• 1950s - gangs characterized by
• ethnic and racial affiliations,
• control of territory, and
• greater use of violence
• against rivals.

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The Historical Context of Gangs

• 1960s youth gang activities slow.
• 1970s youth gangs resurface in response to
  economic downturn in inner cities and growing
  drug culture.

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The Historical Context of Gangs

• 1980s 90s Rapid proliferation
• of youth gangs, greater incidence
• in suburbs and small towns,
• greater mobility and use of
• more lethal weapons.
• Modern day gangs racial/ethnic composition
  continues to change, significant differences
  among earlier onset jurisdictions and later
  onset jurisdictions.

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The Prevention, Intervention, Suppression
Continuum

• Accurate assessment/make necessary distinctions
• Build Community Support
• Provide opportunities and supports for positive
  youth development
• The critical role of schools

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The Prevention, Intervention, Suppression
Continuum

• The value of community policing
• Catch 22 correctional
• facilities as gang factories

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The Prevention, Intervention, Suppression
Continuum

• Worth repeating provide youth with legitimate
  opportunities for fulfilling basic needs
• Evaluate progress/make necessary corrections