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This is some information about gangs how to get a teen out of a gang

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This is some information about gangs how to get a teen out of a gang

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One of the things that can greatly increase the chances of your teenager becoming involved in teen violence is involvement with gangs. Gangs account for a majority of the serious violence in the United States (1), and these gangs are not shy about recruiting teens. The number of youth gangs throughout the U.S. tops 24,500, and the number of teens and young adults involved in gang activity is higher than 772,500 (1). If your teenager is involved with a gang, chances are that he or she is also involved in teen violence.
Gang: a definition
Loosely described, a gang is a formalized group of people with similar interests and goals. However, gangs have become more narrowly defined to apply to groups that involve themselves jointly in criminal activity, usually of a violent nature. Gangs usually choose a common symbol, create special signs, and claim certain "territory." It is common for gangs to have "wars" with each other, increasing the chance of your teen committing violent acts if he or she is a member of a gang.
Gangs: statistics
Here are some quick stats regarding gang violence and teen violence due to gang membership (1):

With Denver as an example, it was found that even though only 14 percent of teens are in gangs, these teens are responsible for 89 percent of violent crimes. Teen violence is quite prevalent with involvement in gangs.

Gangs exist in every state, where in the 1970s they existed in less than half of the states.

A gang member is 60 times more likely to experience death by homicide than the general population

One-fourth of gang members are aged 15-17

The average age for a gang member is 17 to 18 years old

There are more males in gangs than females, although the number of females in gangs is on the rise.

Why teens join gangs
There are various reasons that teens choose to join gangs. Even though thoughts of violence may not originally prompt joining the gang, once a part of the gang a teen is expected to commit violent acts, such as joining gang fights and committing violent crimes (like armed robbery). Some of the reasons teens join gangs include the opportunity to make money, thrill seeking, protection from bullies, desire for prestige, and a chance to belong. Interestingly enough, few teens are actually forced into joining gangs. Most teens can refuse to join a gang and not fear retaliation (1).
Warning signs of gang involvement
There are warning signs that your teenager might be involved with a gang. Here are some of the tip-offs that your teen might be involved with violent, gang-related behavior (2):

Sudden changes in clothing worn by your teen, especially if it involves wearing the same color schemes all the time.

A desire to hide activities from you.

Changes in who your teen's friends are.

Loss of interest in family activities

Declining interest in school (including dropping grades) and extracurricular activities.

Having relatively large amounts of money without clear explanation

Run-ins with the police and other authority figures

Known gang symbols on belongings, including books and clothing.

Teen Gang Involvement Sources:

1. "Youth Gangs," National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center [online].

2. "Gang Involvement Warning Signs," National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center [online].

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One of the things that can greatly increase the chances of your teenager becoming involved in teen violence is involvement with gangs. Gangs account for a majority of the serious violence in the United States (1), and these gangs are not shy about recruiting teens. The number of youth gangs throughout the U.S.

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How to know if your teen is involved in a gang

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How to know if your teen is involved in a gang

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1. If your teen comes home with unexplained bruises especially from fights.
2. Change in clothing for your teen and only prefers few types of clothing.
3. Changes in friends
4. Police Encounters and are frequently in trouble at school from fights.
5. Lots of money earned from him because then you know that he or she has been dealing with drugs.
6. Declining performance at school because he is too busy with gang involvement.
7. Secrets are being kept away from you by your teen because it is usually involved in gangs.

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1. To get a place to belong.
2. To get money illegally.
3. For protection from other bullies.
4. For fun like hanging out at parties.
5.Drugs

This is the link where I found that out:

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America, we've got a problem facing our nation and this time it isn't the economy. It's our future. We are experiencing a hostile invasion on homeland soil and it's not a terrorist. It's an invasion that's causing a war on the very streets we walk during the day. Youth are getting jumped, sexed, drugged, stabbed, and even shot. Who's to blame for this internal American War? GANGS. Gangs, are creeping up on our teens enticing them, luring them, hooking them and killing them... Let's take a stand and stop the violence.

Gang Involvement
Gang involvement is on the rise. Reports show that gangs are present in every state in the US, where in 1970 they existed in less than half of all states. To date, there are approximately, 24,500 known youth gangs with about 772,500 youth members. That's about 7% of the US's teen population.

According to The National Gang Center and The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, boys are more involved in gangs than girls; however you might be surprised to find out that the number of female gang members is rapidly increasing. Gangs like to target young teens for recruitment. The most popular time for gang recruitment is during middle school and some reports show that children as young as 10 are joining gangs. A quarter of gang members are between 15 and 17 years of age and the average gang member age is between 17 and 18. Gangs target young vulnerable teens who are trying to fit in and be accepted. Once these teens are in a gang they are exposed to a life of violence and criminal activity.

Gangs are serious and they account for the majority of violence in the United States. Gangs get involved in theft, assaults, drug trafficking, and black market weapon exchanges. Just by being in a gang a teen significantly increases their chance of imprisonment and even death. Did you know that according to The National Gang Center youth gang members are 60 times more likely to die a young death by homicide? You can protect your teen from gangs by learning about gangs, identifying the signs of gang involvement, and knowing where to seek help.

Why Do Teens Join Gangs?
1. To Belong - These teens feel that they are misfits and have no place in the world. Gangs tap into these insecurities by promising the teen a family that will forever take care of them.

2. To Make Money - Gangs are an illegal money making industry. Teens can make a quick buck for dealing drugs, stealing, selling stolen goods, and even trading weapons.

3. For Protection - In socioeconomic challenged neighborhoods and areas with high crime rates, teens often join gangs in order to survive. Gang members "have each other's back" so they usually hang in groups to prevent rival members from "jumping them".

4. To Have A Place to Hang and Something to Do- Gangs instill their member that they don't need anyone else in life but their "brothers or sisters" and that the "family will always take care of them". So, members spend their time hanging out, getting into trouble and partying. Gangs throw some massive bashes with music, drugs, alcohol, sex and violence.

5. For the Thrill - Some teens like the thrill of doing something to see if they can get by with it. This can include engaging in illegal activities. Some teens may enjoy the "high" or "rush" they get from breaking the law and defying authority.

6. Peer Pressure - Gangs can put the squeeze on teens to join their life of crime. They will court, threaten and even entice their new recruits. Since they seek out young kids to join the group, oftentimes, these youth look up to the older gang members. So, the odds of joining a gang increase. Parents know who your kids are hanging with.

What Are The Signs That Your Teen's In A Gang?
1. Change in clothing worn by your teen. Is your teen or his/her friends dressing similar and/or wearing the same color all of the time? What about the same accessories, Rosary Beads with particular colors, colored shoe laces to match clothing apparel, only one brand of clothing?

2. Gang writing on belongings. Does your teen decorate his/her notebook, book bag, jeans, etc.? Gang writing typically looks like graffiti and block style alphabet, symbols and numerals are also used frequently by gangs.

3. Changes in friends. Is your teen hanging with a group of teens that exhibit any of the signs of gang involvement? Are these the type of peers that you want your child associating with? If your child's in Middle School are his/her peers older? A teen hanging with much older peers is never a good sign.

4. Police encounters and increased trouble at school. Gang members usually fight authority, because they like to be in control.

5. Decreased interest in positive social activities. Are you finding that your teen just wants to hang out all of the time with his or her negative peer group and pulling away from the things he/she used to like to do?

6. Declining performance in school. Is your teens having truancy issues, or struggling academically for no known reason. Is he/she getting into more trouble at school?

7. Lots of money and no job. Have you found large sums of money with no explanation on how he/she got it or some lame excuse about how it was obtained?

8. Items showing up that you know your teen can't afford. Is your teen wearing some expensive new sneakers or expensive clothing that you didn't purchase or you know he/she can't afford?

9. Secrets. Have you noticed that your teen's become more secretive and guarded with the information that he/she shares with you?

10. Drugs. Have you found or been suspicious of drug involvement? If so, have your teen tested. Read my previous blog "Is Your Teen Using Drugs" to determine whether or not your teen is abusing drugs.

What You Can Do If You Suspect Your Child's In A Gang?
1. Recognize the signs of gangs. Knowledge is power.

2. Know who your teen's hanging out with.

3. Get your teen involved in the community or extra-curricular activities. Idle time for teens can lead to boredom and trouble.

4. Develop a good relationship with your teen. Keep the lines of communication open.

5. If your teen's heading down the wrong path, get him/her involved with a mentor. Research has strong support for the positive influences that mentors have in a child's life.

6. Set high expectations regarding academics and behavior.

7. Rally with other parents to keep kids out of gangs. Together we can make a difference. Let your teen know who their real family is.

How Do You Get Your Teen Out Of A Gang?
http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/safe/gangproof/pdf/interventionsheet.pdf http://www.teenhelp.com/teen-violence/teen-gang-involvement.html
Information for Educators: http://www.great-online.org/
http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/ngic/violent_gangs.htm
The National Gang Center

English Pamplet - http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Content/Documents/Parents-Guide-to-Gangs.pdf

Spanish Pamphlet - http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Content/Documents/Gu%c3%ada-sobre-las-pandillas-para-los-padres.pdf
References:
The National Gang Center: http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: http://www.ojjdp.gov/programs/antigang/index.html

Gang Facts and Statistics: http://www.helpinggangyouth.com/statistics.html

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America, we've got a problem facing our nation and this time it isn't the economy. It's our future. We are experiencing a hostile invasion on homeland soil and it's not a terrorist. It's an invasion that's causing a war on the very streets we walk during the day.

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Gang involvement is on the rise. Reports show that gangs are present in every state in the US, where in 1970 they existed in less than half of all states. To date, there are approximately, 24,500 known youth gangs with about 772,500 youth members. That's about 7% of the US's teen population.

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The average age has decreased over the years to a average closer to 10 then teens. But the amount of youngs tooken into gangs has decreased.

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Teen involvement in gangs is rising, the reasons for it increases. This article talks about rising involvement and reasons.

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America, we've got a problem facing our nation and this time it isn't the economy. It's our future. We are experiencing a hostile invasion on homeland soil and it's not a terrorist. It's an invasion that's causing a war on the very streets we walk during the day. Youth are getting jumped, sexed, drugged, stabbed, and even shot. Who's to blame for this internal American War? GANGS. Gangs, are creeping up on our teens enticing them, luring them, hooking them and killing them... Let's take a stand and stop the violence.

Gang Involvement
Gang involvement is on the rise. Reports show that gangs are present in every state in the US, where in 1970 they existed in less than half of all states. To date, there are approximately, 24,500 known youth gangs with about 772,500 youth members. That's about 7% of the US's teen population.

According to The National Gang Center and The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, boys are more involved in gangs than girls; however you might be surprised to find out that the number of female gang members is rapidly increasing. Gangs like to target young teens for recruitment. The most popular time for gang recruitment is during middle school and some reports show that children as young as 10 are joining gangs. A quarter of gang members are between 15 and 17 years of age and the average gang member age is between 17 and 18. Gangs target young vulnerable teens who are trying to fit in and be accepted. Once these teens are in a gang they are exposed to a life of violence and criminal activity.

Gangs are serious and they account for the majority of violence in the United States. Gangs get involved in theft, assaults, drug trafficking, and black market weapon exchanges. Just by being in a gang a teen significantly increases their chance of imprisonment and even death. Did you know that according to The National Gang Center youth gang members are 60 times more likely to die a young death by homicide? You can protect your teen from gangs by learning about gangs, identifying the signs of gang involvement, and knowing where to seek help.

Why Do Teens Join Gangs?
1. To Belong - These teens feel that they are misfits and have no place in the world. Gangs tap into these insecurities by promising the teen a family that will forever take care of them.

2. To Make Money - Gangs are an illegal money making industry. Teens can make a quick buck for dealing drugs, stealing, selling stolen goods, and even trading weapons.

3. For Protection - In socioeconomic challenged neighborhoods and areas with high crime rates, teens often join gangs in order to survive. Gang members "have each other's back" so they usually hang in groups to prevent rival members from "jumping them".

4. To Have A Place to Hang and Something to Do- Gangs instill their member that they don't need anyone else in life but their "brothers or sisters" and that the "family will always take care of them". So, members spend their time hanging out, getting into trouble and partying. Gangs throw some massive bashes with music, drugs, alcohol, sex and violence.

5. For the Thrill - Some teens like the thrill of doing something to see if they can get by with it. This can include engaging in illegal activities. Some teens may enjoy the "high" or "rush" they get from breaking the law and defying authority.

6. Peer Pressure - Gangs can put the squeeze on teens to join their life of crime. They will court, threaten and even entice their new recruits. Since they seek out young kids to join the group, oftentimes, these youth look up to the older gang members. So, the odds of joining a gang increase. Parents know who your kids are hanging with.

What Are The Signs That Your Teen's In A Gang?
1. Change in clothing worn by your teen. Is your teen or his/her friends dressing similar and/or wearing the same color all of the time? What about the same accessories, Rosary Beads with particular colors, colored shoe laces to match clothing apparel, only one brand of clothing?

2. Gang writing on belongings. Does your teen decorate his/her notebook, book bag, jeans, etc.? Gang writing typically looks like graffiti and block style alphabet, symbols and numerals are also used frequently by gangs.

3. Changes in friends. Is your teen hanging with a group of teens that exhibit any of the signs of gang involvement? Are these the type of peers that you want your child associating with? If your child's in Middle School are his/her peers older? A teen hanging with much older peers is never a good sign.

4. Police encounters and increased trouble at school. Gang members usually fight authority, because they like to be in control.

5. Decreased interest in positive social activities. Are you finding that your teen just wants to hang out all of the time with his or her negative peer group and pulling away from the things he/she used to like to do?

6. Declining performance in school. Is your teens having truancy issues, or struggling academically for no known reason. Is he/she getting into more trouble at school?

7. Lots of money and no job. Have you found large sums of money with no explanation on how he/she got it or some lame excuse about how it was obtained?

8. Items showing up that you know your teen can't afford. Is your teen wearing some expensive new sneakers or expensive clothing that you didn't purchase or you know he/she can't afford?

9. Secrets. Have you noticed that your teen's become more secretive and guarded with the information that he/she shares with you?

10. Drugs. Have you found or been suspicious of drug involvement? If so, have your teen tested. Read my previous blog "Is Your Teen Using Drugs" to determine whether or not your teen is abusing drugs.

What You Can Do If You Suspect Your Child's In A Gang?
1. Recognize the signs of gangs. Knowledge is power.

2. Know who your teen's hanging out with.

3. Get your teen involved in the community or extra-curricular activities. Idle time for teens can lead to boredom and trouble.

4. Develop a good relationship with your teen. Keep the lines of communication open.

5. If your teen's heading down the wrong path, get him/her involved with a mentor. Research has strong support for the positive influences that mentors have in a child's life.

6. Set high expectations regarding academics and behavior.

7. Rally with other parents to keep kids out of gangs. Together we can make a difference. Let your teen know who their real family is.

How Do You Get Your Teen Out Of A Gang?
http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/safe/gangproof/pdf/interventionsheet.pdf http://www.teenhelp.com/teen-violence/teen-gang-involvement.html
Information for Educators: http://www.great-online.org/
http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/ngic/violent_gangs.htm
The National Gang Center

English Pamplet - http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Content/Documents/Parents-Guide-to-Gangs.pdf

Spanish Pamphlet - http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Content/Documents/Gu%c3%ada-sobre-las-pandillas-para-los-padres.pdf
References:
The National Gang Center: http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: http://www.ojjdp.gov/programs/antigang/index.html

Gang Facts and Statistics: http://www.helpinggangyouth.com/statistics.html

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America, we've got a problem facing our nation and this time it isn't the economy. It's our future. We are experiencing a hostile invasion on homeland soil and it's not a terrorist. It's an invasion that's causing a war on the very streets we walk during the day.