How does gangs start

Why: while males join gangs for the excitement and acceptance of the gang, girls are induced by gang membership as a way to:. Cure loneliness and secure warmth and affection. Satisfy the need to belong to a group, fulfilled in part by the dress codes and traditions imposed by gang membership as a sign of solidarity.

To express anger and frustration encountered daily in a life fuelled with poverty and joblessness and devoid of hope. Excitement and thrill. Looking for a surrogate family. Young people join gangs to receive the attention, affirmation, and protection they may feel they are lacking at home.

Breakdown of traditional family units. Many youngsters do not have a positive adult role model. Many see domestic violence and alcohol and other drug use in the home.

Lack of parental involvement and the absence of rules and family rituals allow older gang members to be viewed as authority figures by young teens and children. Identity or recognition problems. Because of low self-worth and self-esteem, some youth join gangs seeking the status they lack due to unemployment or academic failure at school. If young people do not see themselves as intelligent, leaders, or star athletes, they join other groups where they feel they can excel. Gang family history.

Many street gang members carry on a family tradition established by siblings, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, or cousins who they see as role models. Lack of alternatives. Few job opportunities, no positive recreational choices, or lack of effective responses to peer pressure can create a climate favouring gang membership.

Gangs are careful to identify themselves to each other and to others in their community. Members may dress similarly or wear the gang's colors. The Vice Lords wear black and gold, while the Crips vs.

Blood feud is often called "Blue vs. Gangs considering marking another gang's territory with their symbol, or defacing their symbol, an act of war, and this can easily lead to violent retribution. Gang signs are elaborate hand signals that indicate gang membership. Gangs also explore other ways of displaying gang loyalty, such as the "C-Walk," a sort of dance-like walking pattern used by members of the Crips gang.

Only a few gangs have far-reaching influences and run like a business. These are sometimes called "supergangs. However, age often divides gangs into groups, with senior groups, junior groups and younger initiates.

Senior members do not always have leadership over the younger groups, though — it all depends on street status. Female gangs were once rare and existed mainly as offshoots of other gangs. For example, the girlfriends of gang members form their own group to show loyalty to the original gang. However, female gang membership is rising, with all-female gangs forming and fighting male gangs for turf and respect. Some gangs accept members regardless of race or gender.

There is no easy way to stop gangs, because the underlying conditions that lead to gangs are complex. Police crackdowns can temporarily lower gang influence in a specific area. However, when poverty and despair remain, gangs will inevitably recruit new gang members to replace those who go to prison [ ref ].

Extra police enforcement in one area can simply drive the gang activity to another nearby area. As the head of a Buffalo community center said in a Buffalo News article, "The problem we have in this part of the community is that when they shut down a drug house, it just moves down the street. Furthermore, a police crackdown can help unify what was otherwise a loose, non-cohesive gang. Under outside pressure, the gang members turn to each other, take more pride in their gang affiliation and become capable of greater acts of violence.

While police presence is vital in keeping neighborhoods safe, a more successful long-term approach requires multiple tactics that all boil down to one thing: give people something to live for other than a gang. This can include helping at-risk youth or current gang members find decent jobs or obtain an education. Block clubs and community centers bring the non-gang members the majority of people together to clean and maintain their streets, get rid of graffiti and otherwise show pride in where they live.

Community events such as dances, football games and game nights give youth something to do other than hang out on porches with gang members. If held outdoors, they make those areas less attractive for gang activity because of all the non-gang members around.

The preferred method of gang suppression today is the Department of Justice's "Weed and Seed" program. This combines police enforcement weeding out the worst gang members with community activism and economic opportunities seeding the neighborhood with the means to overcome negative conditions.

More than 3, Weed and Seed programs are active in the United States. In the words of former Crip gang member Kody Scott who had the gang name Monster , "When gang members stop their wars and find that there is no longer a need for their sets to exist, banging will cease.

But until then, all attempts by law enforcement to seriously curtail its forward motion will be in vain" [ ref ]. For lots more information on gangs, gang members and related topics, check out the links on the next page. Sign up for our Newsletter!

Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Legal System. How Street Gangs Work. According to a report by the Department of Justice, there are at least 21, gangs and more than , active gang members in the United States. Many gangs exist mainly as a moneymaking enterprise. By committing thefts and dealing drugs, gang members can make relatively large amounts of money.

People who are faced with a lack of money may turn to crime if they can't earn enough with a legitimate job. This partly explains why gangs exist in poor, rundown areas of cities.

However, not everyone who is poor joins a gang, and not every gang member is poor. Peer pressure. Gang members tend to be young. This is partly because gangs intentionally recruit teenagers, but it's also because young people are very susceptible to peer pressure. If they live in a gang-dominated area, or go to a school with a strong gang presence, they might find that many of their friends are joining gangs.

It can be difficult for a teen to understand the harm that joining a gang can bring if he's worried about losing all of his friends. Many teenagers do resist the temptation of gang membership, but for others it is easier to follow the crowd.

Peer pressure is a driving force behind gang membership in affluent areas. With nothing else to occupy their time, youths sometimes turn to mischief to entertain themselves.

If gangs are already present in the neighborhood, that can provide an outlet. Alternatively, teenagers might form their own gangs. This is why many communities have tried to combat gangs by simply giving kids something to do. Dances, sports tournaments and other youth outreach programs can literally keep kids off the streets. Unfortunately, many youths and even gang experts use boredom as an excuse. Authors of articles about gang violence often write something like, "There's nothing else to do where they live.

But for every teenager who gets bored and joins a gang, there are 10 who find positive, productive ways to spend their time. Many communities have local gang prevention task forces. Police departments have Juvenile Officers who are willing to meet with parents to with early gang intervention. Juvenile Officers are familiar with gang behaviors and repeat offenders, and can tell you if your child is on dangerous path. A trained mental health professional can help parents evaluate and treat mental health problems that may have contributed to gang involvement.

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