Gang Awareness

Overview

Youth gangs are not a new phenomenon in this community, or in this country for that matter. In the 19th and early 20th centuries in the northeastern United States, Irish, Italian, and Polish gangs, among others were commonplace in some immigrant communities, but they were not regarded as significant threats to public safety and law enforcement. That's where today's gangs cross the lines from those of the past. As our society has become more violent, so, too, have today's gangs. They are now regarded as an extremely serious threat to public safety and law enforcement.

Most gangs fall into one of four categories:

• delinquent youth gangs
• traditional turf-based gangs
• profit-oriented gangs
• violent/hate gangs

Youth get involved in gangs for different reasons. Lack of supervision and guidance at home is one of the most common reasons cited in studies. Most significant, however, is the need to feel a part of a group. In their search for respect and power, that group may take the form of a gang. Children who live in impoverished areas may get involved in profit-oriented gangs to be able to buy the clothing and shoes that other kids are wearing at school, while those children living in neighborhoods where there are turf-based gangs may be intimidated into joining to keep from being beat up.

School and parents work with the police to identify gangs and gang members in their area and to seek out a means for intervening with gangs. Often, the stumbling block seems to be in how you choose to define a gang or gang member. Though school officials are often concerned about their students being involved in what they describe as "gang-like activity," some are reluctant to call the groups in their schools "gangs." They think of the students involved more as "wannabe" gang members who are just mimicking what they see in the movies.

What is a Gang and how do gangs work?