JUVENILE GANGS
Laura Kallus
panZOu project
What is a Gang?
• “A formal or informal ongoing organization,
association, or group that has as one of its primary
activities the commission of criminal or delinquent
acts, and that consists of three or more persons
who have a common name or common identifying
signs, colors or symbols and have two or more
members who, individually or collectively, engage
in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal street
gang activity.” - 874.03 (1)
Gangs in the US
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An estimated 24,500 gangs exist in the US
772, 500 active gang members
Mostly males ages 15-17
Cities with emerging gang problems report
more females and more mixed race/ethnic
groups than those with long term gang
problems
– 2000 Youth Gang Survey
CharacteristicsofofHispanic
Florida Gangs
Characteristics
• Turf oriented -Adopt generic
names
such asmodeled
Players, Posse,
• Generally
after
Crew,
Mafia, Gang, and Bad Boys
LA gangs
and attach their particular street or
• Loosely organized
avenue name to it.
• Turf oriented
• Loosely organized
• Graffiti
• Graffiti
• Colors
• Colors
• Hand signs
• Hand signs
Turf Oriented
Vatos Locos on the subway entrance
Mara Salvatrucha on an elementary school wall
Graffiti
Getting In
• Jumped in
– “Everybody sets the rules: not to hit in the face and
to wrestle. The 1st person on the ground –that was it.
You don’t continue fighting.”
• Sexed In
– “Back in the day, the leader used to do the girls when
they tried to get in the gang. Sometimes, let’s say
you at a skipping party and there’s only 2 girls trying
to get in, all of them [the boys] will do it. If it’s like
4 guys, all of them will do it.”
Why join?
• What are the pressures that push youth
towards gangs?
• What does a gang have to offer our youth?
• What important needs are being met
through gang membership?
When does it start?
• Many youth are
introduced to the
gang culture at a
very early age
• Membership and
loyalty to the
neighborhood gang
becomes a matter
of family honor &
tradition
What are the pressures that
push youth towards gangs?
Family, Peer
Community, School
Individual
Impoverished Communities
• Chronic unemployment or
underemployment
• Drugs and weapons easily available
• Gangs, Crime and violence become
“normalized”
• Institutionalized prejudice/racism
Family Stress
• Unstable/broken home
•Family members in gang
• Economic instability
•Parent/sibling criminality
• Low educational
•Neglect
attainment &
•Violence
expectations
• Alcoholism/drug abuse
–Verbal, physical, sexual
abuse
“I never get along with my father…he used to beat my mom, you
know. And I didn't like that stuff and I used to fight with my dad
too. I used to fight him too when I seen my mom fighting with him.
When I was real skinny and tiny he used to grab me from my
throat and put me down on the floor like nothing...like a piece of
trash”. - Cristopher
Impoverished Schools
• Under-funded, under-staffed, underresourced
• Disorganized
• Limited enrichment courses
• Zero-tolerance policy
Developmental Theory of Gang
Membership
Community, Family, Individual, School, Peer
Domains
• Preschool
– Aggression, defiance
• School entry
– Aggression, defiance, conduct disorder, negative
early school experience, lack of pro-social peer
group
• Adolescence
– Low educational achievement, lack of school
bonding, aggression, defiance, violence, delinquency,
gang membership
What does the gang offer?
• Escape: “Problems at
home”
• Power: ”Nobody touch
you”
• Respect: “You don’t be
scared of nobody”
• Protection
• Fame
• Money: “I used to poor,
real poor. I used to be
wanting to have the money
because when you be having
the money people be
respecting you.”
• Fun: “You chill with all
your friends, go to parties,
you got a rack of girls”
• Girls
What needs are met by gang
membership?
• A sense of belonging
and commitment
• Love and acceptance
• The need for
unique/special identity
• Esteem and self worth
• Structure
• Empowerment
– collective
identity/group
membership
• Status
– individual identity
• Recognition
• Support
“So I said, ‘what the hell, I’m in the street. I ain’t doing shit. I ain’t worth
shit. Let me change my life around’...So I started selling that crazy shit
[cocaine]. Then I got more into the gangs because then I had money,
clothes. I became a member of La Raza. I was the man then…nice clothes,
nice perfume, Versace and shit”. - Chino
Profile of a Gang Member
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Apathetic/Fatalistic
Limited education
Criminal past
Substance use
No work history
• Teenage parent
• Weak family
bonds/support
• Tattooed
• Dialogue/mannerisms
Strategies appropriate for
developmental stages
• Window of opportunity – ages 7-14
– FFT, MST, Strengthening Families
Program
– Intensive case management
– Academic enrichment/tutoring
– Mentoring
– Pro-social peer groups – recreation, skill
building
Strategies appropriate for
developmental stages
Ages 15-18 – Patience and Tenacity
• Street outreach & intensive case
management that is long term &
consistent
• Multidisciplinary Intervention Team
• Opportunities provision – Jobs! Jobs!
Jobs!
Outreach
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Street Outreach
Case management
Court
Mediation
Crisis response
Community service
Referrals
Multidisciplinary Intervention
Team
• Outreach Worker &
Intervention Specialist
• Juvenile Probation Officers
• Trust Counselor - NMB
Senior High
• Asst. Principal - JFK Middle
• NMB Police Dept - Gang
Unit
• Dept. Children & Families
• GUESS Program Case
Managers
• Dade School Police
Online Resources
• National Youth Gang Center
http://www.iir.com/nygc/
• National Gang Crime Resource Center
http://www.ngcrc.com/
• National Alliance of Gang Investigators Association
http://www.nagia.org/
• Florida Gang Investigator Association
http://www.fgia.com/home.htm
• Gangs Or Us
http://www.gangsorus.com/
• The Coroner's Report
http://www.gangwar.com/