Parents’ Guide to
GANGS
A guide designed to
provide parents with
answers to common
questions about gangs
to enable them to
recognize and prevent
gang involvement.
A guide designed to
provide parents with
answers to common
questions about gangs
to enable them to
recognize and prevent
gang involvement.
NATIONAL GANG CENTER
Prevent Gang Involvement
Introduction
Parents play an important role in keeping young people out of gangs.
There are many things parents can do to help their children stay
away from gangs, including monitoring their acvies, fostering
close relaonships with them, and using posive and consistent
discipline. However, parents oen lack factual informaon about
gangs. This guide is designed to provide parents with answers to
common quesons about gangs to enable them to recognize and
prevent gang involvement.
Why do youth join gangs?
There are a lot of reasons why youth get involved in gangs.
Somemes youth get “pulled” into a gang because they think
they might earn a lot of money and gain status, or they may think
it is a good way to show family, neighborhood, or cultural pride.
Other mes youth get “pushed” into a gang because they are
afraid for their safety and think a gang will provide protecon from
neighborhood crime and violence, or they have been pressured by
the gang to join.
What are the consequences of
gang involvement?
Even though some youth believe that gang involvement might
provide safety, protecon, excitement, and opportunies to earn
money, the truth is that gang involvement is very dangerous and
limits opportunies for the future. Research has shown that youth
who are gang-involved are more likely to commit crimes, which
increases their chances of being arrested and incarcerated, and
to be vicms of violence themselves. Young girls are especially
vulnerable to sexual vicmizaon. Youth who get caught up in gangs
are also less likely to graduate high school, less likely to nd stable
jobs, and more likely to have alcohol and drug problems and even
health problems later in life.
How do I know if my child is
involved in a gang?
The most common age that youth join a gang is around 15, but the
early adolescent years (12–14 years of age) are a crucial me when
youth are exposed to gangs and may consider joining a gang. While
it is more common for boys to get involved in gangs, girls also face
similar pushes and pulls and can also become involved in gangs.
Gang involvement can be uid, as some youth move in and out of
gang-involved friendship groups. Thus, parents should pay aenon
to even small changes in behavior.
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Common Gang Identifiers for Parents
Colors
While some gangs have reduced their use of specic colors to avoid
idencaon by law enforcement, many gangs sll use one or more
colors as a symbol to represent themselves. These colors may be worn
on shirts; bandanas; mulcolored or single-colored beads; and belts,
hats, shoes, shoelaces, hair bands, and jewelry. These colors may
also appear in other possessions such as school supplies and room
decoraons.
Symbols and Numbers
Symbols and numbers have special signicance within the gang culture.
Common symbols of some of the large gangs in the United States
include stars (ve- and six-pointed), crowns, pitchforks (poinng up
or down), three dots in a triangle, and numbers. These characters do
not have the same meaning across the country, and symbolism varies
regionally. Contact your local school resource ocer or other law
enforcement representave to get specic informaon on the meanings
of unidenable symbols or numbers you may see in your area.
Clothing and Apparel
Gang-involved youth may dress a specic way to idenfy with a
par
cular gang, set, clique, or crew. This might include clothing or
bandanas worn only in certain colors; pants worn well below the waist;
gang-themed T-shirts with pictures of gangs, prison scenes, gra, or
slogans; two- or three-toned bead necklaces; or colored fabric belts,
occasionally with metal buckles that bear the inial(s) of the gang.
However, gang clothing trends change and are oen dierent from one
place to another, so clothing alone may not be enough to indicate a
youth’s aliaon with a parcular gang.
Graffiti
Gangs use gra to mark their territory, brag about their reputaon,
mourn fallen friends, and threaten or challenge rival gangs. For this
reason, gra can be very dangerous and should be removed as soon
as possible. Youth who are engaging in gra may have items such as
spray paint, spray-paint plasc ps, wide-pped markers, or sketchbooks
with graffiti works in progress. They may also have paint on their
clothing, backpacks, or other items.
Social Media
The Internet has provided a new medium for gang communication
and promotion. Social media Web sites, such as Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter, YouTube, and others allow gang-involved individuals to
represent their gang affiliation, taunt others, post threats, and organize
and promote their gangs’ activities. Social media escalates the potential
for violence, since it reaches such a large audience.
Gang-Inuenced Music and Movies
Gangsta/gangster rap is a style of rap music characterized by violent,
tough-talking lyrics that glorify street-gang culture. Popular movies also
focus on street gangs and their activities. Youth may show their interest
in gangs through fascination with music and movies that portray street-
gang culture. However, interest in these types of entertainment alone
may not be enough to indicate involvement in a gang.
Sports Items
Leers, colors, or symbols associated with professional
sports teams may have specic gang meanings in local
street gang culture. Sports apparel may be purchased in
nontradional colors to correspond with a gang’s colors or
may be altered with gra or extra symbols or wring.
Tattoos
Gang-related taoos are used to show aliaon, rank,
crimes commied, racial and ethnic alliances, and loyalty
to a gang. These taoos oen include the name, inials,
or symbols of a specic gang and may be found on the
hands, neck, face, chest, back, or arms.
Hand Signs
Some gangs use specic hand gestures and handshakes
to communicate their aliaon with the gang, to issue
threats or challenges to rival gangs, or to communicate in
code when authority gures are present. These gestures
can be known as “throwing up” or “stacking.”
Other changes to look for:
Withdrawing from family acvies and planned events.
Changed academic performance or declining school
aendance.
Deant or confrontaonal behavior, such as talking
back, verbal abuse, name-calling, and disrespect for
parental authority.
Staying out late without reason.
Unusual desire for secrecy.
Angry outbursts, excessive aggression.
Excessive worry about safety; constantly surveying
surroundings for danger.
Sudden negave atudes about law enforcement
or adults in posions of authority (school ocials or
teachers).
Change in atude about school, church, or other
normal acvies or change in behavior when aending
these acvies.
Drasc changes in personal style.
Withdrawal from longme friends and forming bonds
with an enrely new group of friends.
Suspected use of drugs, such as alcohol, inhalants, and
narcocs.
Possession of rearms, ammunion, or other weapons.
Nonaccidental physical injuries (such as evidence of
being beaten or injuries to hands and knuckles from
ghng).
Unexplained cash or goods, such as clothing, video
games, or jewelry.
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Institute for Intergovernmental Research
How Can I Help My Child?
Talk to your child about the negative consequences of gang
behaviors and ways to avoid them
Be clear that you disapprove of gangs and do not want to see your child
hurt or arrested. Be rm in your expectaons that your child should
NOT:
Associate with any gang-involved individuals.
Hang out where gang members congregate.
Aend any party or social event sponsored by gangs.
Use any kind of hand or nger signs that may be meaningful to
gangs, especially in pictures (even as a joke).
Wear clothing that may have meaning to gangs in your area.
(Explain to your child that these clothing items can put him or her
in danger and that you will not purchase them or allow them to be
worn.)
Get to know your child’s friends and the friends’ parents
Be aware of their atudes toward drugs, alcohol, and gangs. When
children start to feel pressure to use drugs or join gangs, it usually comes
from their friends.
Familiarize yourself with the Internet, popular slang terms,
and your child’s online activity
Communicate with your child about the potenal negave consequences
of online acvity, including what he or she may post online. Spend me
online with your child. Ask your child to show you his or her favorite
online acvies, sites, and online contacts. Finally, keep the computer
in a common area and ulize the computer’s and Web sites’ parental
controls to limit the child’s access to Web sites and social media.
Talk to your child about ways to deal with pressure from
friends
Help your child pracce simple ways to respond to peer pressure. For
example, if your child is challenged by a peer who says, “If you were my
friend, you would,” your child can respond, “If you were my friend, you
wouldn’t ask.” Then, he or she should walk away.
Limit interaction with gang-involved individuals
One of the strongest risk factors for joining a gang is living in the same
house as someone who is involved in gangs. If your child has older
siblings or other relaves in your home who are associated with gangs,
be very watchful of the inuence they have on your child, and intervene
immediately if your child starts to copy their dress, atudes, and/or
behaviors.
Set firm limits with your child
Children and teenagers need to clearly know what is expected of
them and the consequences for acng otherwise. When your child
misbehaves, be sure to use fair and consistent discipline, while
demonstrang uncondional love and support for your child.
Plan family time
Make me for your family to play, eat meals together, take trips (even to
local parks or acvies), keep family tradions, and have family meengs
to talk about plans, feelings, and complaints.
For More Information
For more informaon, please visit our Web site at
www.naonalgangcenter.gov. There are addional
resources, such as the video “Why Youth Join Gangs” and
a page dedicated to “Frequently Asked Quesons About
Gangs,” that will provide informaon regarding gang joining
and gang membership.
This project was supported by Cooperative Agreement No. 2014-MU-MU-K011,
awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of
Justice Programs. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations
expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Version 1, 07/2015
www.nationalgangcenter.gov
