Leading The Fight Against Gangs In The United States

An Educational Guide

National Drug & Safety League

Crime and violence have always been part of society in the United States, but there is growing concern for their rise in relation to gang activity. Attributed to increased migration into the United States as well as the needs of the job market, gang-related violence and crime have renewed community interest in learning more about how to combat them.

Gangs flourish in an environment where basic social institutions such as family, role models, and education are not as strong as they should be. Although often found in poor, lower class neighborhoods or ghettos where there may be little chance for success in life, gangs can also thrive in suburban and rural areas. Some form of gang activity is found in almost every state. Gangs are now forming in small rural areas often consist of members from more populous areas who have traveled to new cities to form smaller extensions of the original gangs.

Exposure to violence is commonplace in the American home.

By the time a child is 10 years old, he or she will have seen 8,000 murders on TV. Children are exposed to sex, alcohol and other drugs, and violence at an earlier age than in previous decades. These dangers pose a substantial health risk for all young people and increased exposure to these elements makes it more likely that a child will yield to the pressures of today's society. Violence has become a learned behavior producing fighting and other forms of aggression in the early years of an adolescent.

Graffiti and an increase in violence are evidence of a gang's presence in the community. With weapon arsenals larger than some law enforcement agencies and their habitual disregard for law and order, gangs terrorize neighborhoods. Through fear tactics, intimidation, and retaliation, they make it perilous for citizens to report crime and take a stand against it. Some neighborhoods have gone into hiding because gangs have rendered them so unsafe. Drive-by shootings that take innocent lives cause more serious acts of revenge. Many states have passed concealed weapon laws in reaction to gang activity.

It is important to know that even though violence plays a large role in gang life, gang activity is not always violent. Lack of employment and few recreational outlets cause many gangs to substitute "hanging out" together as a form of socializing.

Gang members do not always need to seek new recruits as gang members. In today's society, gang life is idolized in movies, television, and fashion. Youngsters may emulate gang members hoping for the rewards of recognition and acceptance. Gang life offers power and quick money, acquisitions that usually take a lifetime to accumulate following the proper steps of accomplishment through education and the job field.

Because they tend to change their dress and customs periodically to remain secretive (which is part of the allure of gang membership), there is no exact definition of a gang. However, gang members are brought together by their inabilities and faults more than by a common goal. Having nothing to live for, such as a job or family, causes gangs to fight for recognition within their communities from their peers and rival gang members.

One of the most disturbing aspects of the gang situation is the age of the children involved. Law enforcement officers find children ages 8 to 10 implicated in a variety of street crimes. Because older gang members are subject to arrest for drug possession, they recruit juveniles for the job of selling them. The juveniles, both male and female, actually committing the crimes are not prosecuted because of their young age.

Gangs in America

In American history, gangs have most often been made up of men and boys whose parents were recent immigrants.

Immigration had many sources. Because of famine and failed crops in Europe, Irish immigrants fled to America in the 1800s seeking a better life. More people from other countries saw the industrial revolution as a new start and poured into the United States.

But these new Americans found life was not easy. Some found a harder life in America than they had expected. To help support the family, their children worked in sweatshops, and the dream of a better life would often start to dim. Language and cultural barriers made it difficult for them to adjust to their new home.

Their shared ethnic backgrounds led to the formation of gangs, a banding together for protection from harm and prejudice. To some degree, this pattern continues today.

In 1865-1866, a white supremacist group emerged in Tennessee. Called the Ku Klux Klan and also referred to as the KKK, they opposed the rights of minority groups such as African-Americans and people of Jewish decent. They resorted to violence to achieve their goal of prohibiting minority groups from exercising the rights granted to them after the Civil War. The Klan spread quickly in the southern states. Operating in the night, they also beat and murdered white people who sympathized with African-Americans. Klan members wore white hooded robes, hid their faces, and even disguised their horses under while sheets. The Klan continued to grow and terrorize until the U.S. Congress passed the Forced Bill in 1871, allowing the President to use federal troops to stop the Klan. The Klan has had several major time periods of activity and continues to this day. Some believe the Klan is responsible for starting the widespread violence we see today.

Child labor in factories continued until the Child Labor Reform of 1873. This act made it illegal for children between the ages of 5 and 15 to work, but its disastrous effect was to put over 100,000 children, now out of work, onto the streets. Because of this act, gang members became younger in age.

Gang-infested neighborhoods were affected by extortion, robbery, and other crimes. As more power money were obtained, gangs grew and spread. The older gangs kept control over the younger gangs to preserve order in the neighborhood.

Organized crime made its debut in the 1920s during prohibition. It supplied the demand for illegal alcohol and encouraged yet another wave of crime.

Gangs have become more sophisticated in the past decade. Since the 1990s, gangs have adopted clothing trends, traditions, graffiti, hand signals, as well as an arsenal of weapons. Arguments that once were settled by fistfights are now settled by gunfire.

Gang-Related Crimes

Gang involvement in the drug trade is largely responsible for the rise in violence and crime across the nation. Drug trafficking and gang membership come into play where poverty and a lack of jobs infest a neighborhood or community. Becoming a gang member can provide a teen with the opportunity to make large amounts of money quickly by selling illegal drugs. This is violent and dangerous business where the use of guns is a natural course of action.

The combination of drug use and easy access to guns is extremely dangerous and the cause of many gang related deaths.

Extortion: Some gangs require shop owners to pay for "protection". Members resort to vandalism, theft, arson, and murder when shop owners fail to pay.

Shoplifting: Stealing from stores is commonplace for many gang members. The more they get away with, the more blatant the attempts become. Shoplifting is also used as a form of recruitment. If someone wants to join a gang, they may be required to shoplift to prove their bravery and demonstrate how adept they are at not getting caught.

Assault and Harassment: Gang members often threaten and intimidate residents in their neighborhood or "territory". Witnesses who report a gang crime or testify against a member may be assaulted or killed. Sometimes these scare tactics are also used to recruit new gang members. Teens not belonging to a gang can be threatened and intimidated into joining one.

Rape and Sexual Assault: As a form of control and power, gangs members have committed rape and sexual assault on helpless victims. Sometimes these assaults occur with in the gang or as a part of initiation.

Drug Dealing What once was an illegal alcohol business in the 1920s and 1930s has turned into a black market drug operation in the 1990s. When the government became stricter on drugs and their availability, gang members saw an open door for big business and a guaranteed steady increase in profits. What is unavailable on the open market or only available by prescription is now attainable on the streets via the black market. Since addiction goes hand-in-hand with many drugs, a steady source of gang income is assured. To keep from being arrested, older gang members recruit children as young as 8 or 9 to deal and carry drugs. If the young children are caught by law enforcement officers, they cannot be prosecuted to the same extent as an older member. This tactic keeps the older members from being arrested for illegal activities.

Drive-By Shootings: Gangs, motivated by revenge, often shoot in the direction or vicinity of a rival gang's territory. They are responsible for numerous murders each year; many victims are innocent bystanders.

Grand theft auto and carjackings: Members may steal a vehicle for the sole purpose of committing a crime to which they cannot be connected. Car owners, especially in carjackings, are often victims of assault and murder as a result.

Destruction of property: To demonstrate their power over a rival gang or a community, gang members destroy public and private property through vandalism and graffiti and by breaking and entering.

Gun Trafficking: Today's gangs are involved in arms trading and are heavily equipped with a variety of dangerous weapons:

• Handguns
• Semiautomatic rifles
• Uzis
• AK-47s
• Bombs
• Grenades
• and more

Gang Member Profiles

Only a small percentage of gang members are actually recruited. Whether they have a relative or friend who is a member, desire the prestige, or want the money, most gang members join because they want to join.

The Female Gang Member

A young woman of any ethnic background may belong to a gang. In the past, a female's role in the male gang was primarily as a:
girlfriend
drug-trafficker
go-between

Many male gangs allow females to join their ranks, but others are exclusively female. These all-female gangs formed in reaction to the sexism and gender inequality found in the male dominated gangs. Frustrated by the absence of equal rights and dissatisfied with risking their lives without voice or influence, girls formed their own groups.

Female gangs are rapidly forming in all parts of the United States.

Interest in gang membership can begin as early as eight years old.

Initiation into a gang: Some initiation rites are the same as for male gangs, such as shoplifting, robbery, or beatings. Other requirements may involve sexual acts. One common initiation rite is to be diced in. After a member rolls a pair of dice, the one wishing to join must have sexual intercourse with the number of male gang members equal to the roll of the dice. Other girls are trained (a reference to railroad cars in a train) into a gang by choosing to have sex with one boy after another. If a girl tries to join a male gang, having sex with male gang members may lead to the girl being treated as a slave by the male gang.

Quitting to gang: Similar to the rules of a male gang, a ritual must be endured to leave. A majority of the females choose to face out (save face) by getting pregnant.

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 filled with poverty and joblessness and devoid of hope.

The Male Gang Member

Gang members may be of any ethnic group.

Young men form gangs to acquire companionship, gain peer respect, act-out biases, and express cultural identity.

It is becoming a common occurrence in both rural and urban communities across America to see evidence of gang activity.

Susceptibility to gang influence is possible from the early age of eight on to the middle age.

Initiation into a gang: Most youths who want to be gang members must first endure a test or ritual of initiation.

Jumpin' in is a common form of initiation that consists of a series of beatings over a set period of time by a certain number of members to see if the initiates are tough enough to join the gang.

Other forms of initiation may include robbery, shoplifting, rape, burglary, a drive-by shooting, stealing a gun, assaulting a rival, or self mutilation(cigarette or coin burns).

As a form of intimidation and means of control over the inductee, many gangs choose a criminal act as their initiation ritual.

Quitting the gang: Two of the very few options available for successfully leaving a gang are being beaten down or jumped out. These are similar to the "jumpin' in" initiation rite, except the beatings are often so severe that death results.

If a member chooses to leave the gang without being beaten down or jumped out, his former friends (gang members) may resort to murdering him.

When a member manages to get out of a gang with dignity (jumped out), he definitely loses the gang's protection but does not lose his former enemies.

The excitement of gang activity, which often involves violence, danger, and outward expressions of cultural biases, coupled with the acceptance give by fellow gang members, provide the social support and community involvement that are often lacking in the lives of young male gang members.

Children at Risk

Gangs can be found in almost any major city as well as in most rural areas. Areas that do not have many recreational activities for youth are at higher risk of inviting a gang to form. Many gangs wishing to branch out select this type of area to occupy. Is your neighborhood a possibility? Are your children safe from gang-influence and gang-violence?

Gang members seem to possess many common features and attributes that made them susceptible to gang recruitment efforts.

At-risk characteristics
that contribute to a youth's vulnerability to gang influence are:

• Male gender (males outnumber females 20 to 1); brought up to identify strictly with rigid masculine behavior
• Family member, friend, boyfriend or girlfriend are members; parents have disregard for obeying laws
• Alcohol or other drugs used frequently in the home
• Living with a single parent or grandparents (simply because one parent is less effective in supervising a child than two)
• Poor academic performance records
• Having poor to nonexistent job prospects, lack of opportunity, unemployment, underemployment
• Fighting and aggression in early adolescence, chronic delinquency problems
• Poor living conditions or poverty
• Lack of community involvement, socially isolated from neighbors and peers, or parental rejection
• Basic needs that have been neglected or are unable to be filled (including love, affection, praise, and encouragement)
• Marital discord (in the family is often associated with a child's behavior problems and related to juvenile delinquency)
• Abuse that creates a cycle of violence (violence produces more violence or causes a youth to leave a home to escape violence)

Possible traits of Gang members

Listed below are several common characteristics present in the backgrounds, social and economic environments, and motivational incentives of most gang members.

• Looking for surrogate family. Young people join gangs to receive 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 the siblings, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, or cousins, whom 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 favoring gang membership.
• Few recreational opportunities. Many teens and youngsters do not have any interests outside of school. Joining a gang provides friends with whom they can share their free time.
• Need for money. The monetary allure of gang membership is difficult to counteract. Gang members share profits from drug trafficking and other illegal activities. To a tee, money translates into social status.
• Poverty. Many people are without jobs or a source of income. Becoming a gang member can provide a teen with an opportunity to make large amounts of money quickly, because many gangs are involved in the illegal sale of drugs and firearms.
• Lack of educational opportunities. Many kids feel that time spent in school is wasted. Joining a gang becomes an alternative to studying or attending school.
• Use of intimidation and violence. To coerce others to join their gang, gang members may recruit through scare tactics. People are then forced into membership to protect themselves or their families from the local gang or the local gang's rivals.
• Need for survival. Gang membership could also be viewed as a safe haven to a child living in a gang-infested community.

As a form of identification, gangs select a dress code. The dress code may be either the universal dress code for their type of gang or as individual as the gang members themselves. The dress code is very important to the gang. It is a statement of loyalty. If an opposing gang member were to wear an opponent's fashion trends in a disrespectful way, such as a baseball cap worn backwards or shoes laces tied up the wrong side, it could result in a confrontation between the two gangs. Innocent bystanders may also be at the mercy of gang fashion. If a gang sees someone wearing a clothing item or style of an opponent, they may be mistaken for an opponent and attacked or killed.

The items listed below are for both male and female gang members but are NOT limited to gangs; many are just fads.

Hats and baseball caps (certain team names and initials same as gang, some worn backwards, certain tilt, style, and color.)

"New Wave Star" (sheets or shirts worn over the hair that hang down the back resembling a sheik's hood.)

Hair and facial hair (shaved or symbols shaved into them or groomed to indicate gang affiliation.)

Hair styles and color streaking or cuts

Combs (placement in hair)

Professional sports team jackets (reversed side showing gang membership, team names and initials same as gang, same mascot, same colors, etc.)

Baggy clothing (gang style to hide cans of spray paint.)

Combat-style clothing, fatigues (certain gang's style.)

Sweatshirts (layered in colors)

Sweaters (gang name, symbols, colors.) Gangs have 2 similar sweaters, one with their main gang color for social events, such as funerals, the other for war.

T-shirts (custom printed, airbrushed, or embroidered with gang names, symbols, messages, or a pro sports team with same name, initials, or symbols.)

Gloves (fingers cut out or worn on a certain hand.)

Belt buckles, (custom made or bought with gang symbols or initials, worn on certain side of the pants.)

Pant legs rolled up, shirt cuffs (certain leg, certain arm.)

Inside pants pocket (gang's colors.)

Gym shoes (certain name brands, often the same initials or name of the gang.)

Shoe or roller skate laces (tied on a certain side or in certain colors sometimes in combination with a specific brand of shoe.)

Eyebrows (shaved off, into shapes, or shapes shaved in them.)

Fingernails (2 painted in gang's colors on the presenting hand.)

Tattoos and branding (an extension of gang graffiti showing stars, crowns, rabbit heads, names, pictures depicting the gang.)

Hand signals and body swaggering (for nonverbal communication and to identify gang affiliation.)

Business cards (imprinted with gang name, symbol, nick name, turf area, etc.)

School I.D.s (in gang colors, logos, or names on the back.)

Buttons (with gang names, symbols, slogans.)

Bandanas (worn around arms, legs, head or hanging out of a pocket.)

Jewelry (five and six-point stars, crowns, Italian horns, or rabbit heads depicting gang symbols on rings, pins, pendants, and earrings.)

Earrings (in a specific ear, in a specific color, or several in a specific ear.)

Excessive amounts of gold (jewelry, teeth.)

Friendship beads (on clothing, shoes, in the hair, or earrings.)

Jelly bracelets (colored rubber/plastic loops.)

Claddagh ring (ring with hands, heart, and crown.)

Graffiti (displayed on public or private property, used to indicate locations of drug deals, mark territory, and warn rival members of possible death.)

Colors (dress predominately in two or three colors, and/or wear bandanas and jewelry in the same colors.)

Pagers and cell phones

Possessing large amounts of money

Buying expensive gifts or a car (without having a job to afford it.)

Possessing drug paraphernalia, weapons

Hanging out (groups of youths frequenting places and asserting territorial rights.)

Excessive swearing, rebellion

Curfew violations, cutting classes

Not participating in family activities, secrecy

Tattoos and brandings:

They may appear on the face, hands, neck, stomach, chest, arms, or hidden on the back, and they are common among gang members. Permanent, expensive and painful to remove, tattoos are sometimes applied using unsterile equipment, which poses the risk of infection. Many children who admire and wish to emulate gang members copy tattoos using pens or markers. They, too, risk infection.

A form of self-inflicted mutilation, branding is sometimes part of a gang's initiation ritual. Coat hangers are bent into the shape of a symbol or name and burned on the skin of the chest, back or stomach, usually hidden from view of parents, authorities, and rivals. Branding may also be accomplished by self-inflicting cigarette or coin burns. Infection as a result of the 2nd and 3rd degree burns are one of the dangers of branding.

Ear and body piercing:

Piercing the body is popular among gang members. Because it is not always performed by a trained expert or in a sterile atmosphere, piercing also presents the chance of infection.

Gang-Related Activity

The most noticeable type of gang-related activity found in a community is graffiti. Gang members spray paint various surfaces -- walls, buildings, bridges, sidewalks, fences, benches, street signs, subway corridors-- with their symbols and messages in order to mark territories and boundaries, which are usually bordered by main streets, railroad tracks or river beds. Some gangs do not claim any specific turf, while others operate in multiple locations.

Graffiti

Gangs use graffiti as a form of communication or message board to the community, other gangs, or to each other. They take great pride in their work and consider it to be sacred. The removal of such graffiti has led to beatings, drive-by shootings, and murder.

Some one who paints gang graffiti is called a tagger . Taggers often wear baggy clothing to conceal cans of spray paint. To test a neighborhood for public reaction, a tagger paints graffiti on the backs or sides of buildings where it is less visible to the community. If the graffiti is ignored by the community, the gang considers it accepted and begins placing it in more noticeable areas.

R.I.P. Walls are walls of graffiti painted in memory of a fellow gang member who was killed in a gang confrontation. These are usually elaborately decorated with the gang member's name and the letters R.I.P. representing Rest In Peace.

Walls of justice are meant to put down a dead member of a rival gang. They include the member's name and the initials R.I.H. for rest in hell. The dead rival's name may also appear on a tombstone or coffin to insult the dead rival and the gang. These begin or continue the stages of retaliation. Graffiti letters written upside down or backwards and rival gang symbols broken or disfigured often show opposition to a rival.

Taking action against graffiti:

1 READ THE GRAFFITI.
What is the message? It may tell of an impending conflict, show the name or symbol of the gang, or give a clue as to the tagger's identity.

2 RECORD THE GRAFFITI.
Take a picture of it to keep track of what has been shown and what has been said. This record will help you follow the gang activity in your area.

3 REMOVE THE GRAFFITI.
After the message has been recorded and understood, remove the graffiti within a short period of time. (It may keep a rival gang from seeing a threatening message, and it will send the community's message that gang activity will not be tolerated.)

20 Signs of possible pre-gang behavior A combination of these warning signs may indicate possible gang involvement.

1. Live in high-risk neighborhood
   • unemployment
   • high homeless rate
   • strong ethnic community
   • few recreational facilities
2. Sudden change in friends
3. Change of appearance
   • wearing gang clothing
   • unusual haircuts
   • tattoos
   • unusual eyebrow markings
4. Showing no interest in school
   • decline in grades
   • no longer active in school-related activities
   • disinterest in school
5. Skipping school
6. Disrespect for authority, family, and school
   • resentful of authority
   • bad attitude towards family and school
7. Frequent negative confrontations with the law
8. Withdrawal from family activities
9. Desire for excessive privacy
10. Staying out later than usual or reports of staying out all night
11. Evidence of increased substance abuse
12. Asking for or stealing money
13. Extravagant spending
14. Having unusually large amounts of money
15. Identifying with martial arts
16. Using unknown vocabulary, gang slang, speaking in fractured sentences, excessive swearing
17. Using hand signals
18. Using a new nickname
19. Drawing graffiti symbols and names on books, folders, on bedroom walls
20. Unusual pen marks, bruises or burns on arms, hands, and body

There is a growing concern about gangs in schools. Gang-related problems have escalated, and schools are now in the position of deterring gangs and gang-related activity for the safety of themselves and the students. Gang presence in schools can be seen by gang-style clothing and styles, guns and other weapons, graffiti, vandalism, arson, stabbings, shootings, extortion of fellow students, intimidation of teachers and administrators. Peer pressure can be in the form of a dare, harassment, coercion, taunting, brainwashing, persuasion, or threats.

Alternatives to violence

• Offer school centered programs
• Mediator
• Contact the parents at the first sign of gang involvement
• Counseling
• Offer alternatives to dropping out
• School Resource Officer (SRO)
• Conflict resolution
• Offer leadership programs like JA (Junior Achievement)
• Educate teachers about gangs and gang interaction

Mediators

Mediators in schools help to resolve conflict by using honesty, respect, and listening skills. Mediators are often rehabilitated gang members.

Conflict is a natural part of life and can be resolved if students are taught the proper techniques to avoid violence.

Mediation is an alternative to the traditional methods of discipline (suspension, detention, expulsion) such punish students instead of resolving conflict. Mediation allows students to maintain self-respect and to settle arguments in a dignified manner. Mediation is a skill that can be used for a lifetime.

The three R's of conflict resolution Conflict resolution solves problems without violence. Everyone gets angry sometimes; conflict is a normal part of life. Follow the 3 R's to manage anger and conflict.

1. Relax enough to recognize what is really bothering you. Give yourself a chance to calm down. Take time to be by yourself or to talk to someone about the situation. When you are not so angry, you can think about different ways to solve the problem.

2. Relate your side of the story to the person you are angry with and listen to the other side of the story.

3. Release your angry feelings by working out possible solutions and picking the best choice. Acting out your anger is a choice, but it usually hurts more than it helps.

Creating a Safer School

1. Improve security.

1. Metal detectors. May be used to confiscate weapons, although not totally effective because weapons get smuggled inside in other ways. (Some schools combine metal detectors with random searching.)
2. Locker and desk searches. Students need to know that, according to federal and state laws, desks and lockers belong to the school and may be searched.
3. Body searches. You must have a same sex witness present. (Strip searchers are a violation of decency and are not allowed.)
4. Video and audio equipment. Used as a means of locating contraband.

Family Strategies

Start today -- before your child becomes a victim or a statistic -- to learn more about gangs and the influences a child may encounter that could endanger his or her well-being. Wearing the wrong clothes or shoes in the wrong neighborhood at the wrong time could be hazardous to your child's life. Help your child understand the consequences of being in a gang. Build your child's self-esteem through strong family ties and participation in projects that benefit your community.

Educate yourself about gangs and violence in your area. Teach your child about the dangers of gangs and the possible circumstances involved with gang activity. Realize that gang activity does exist and that it is serious.

Communicate with your children. Listen to them. Make them feel comfortable about discussing any topic or problem. Allow them to express themselves.

If you believe your child is considering gang membership, seek help immediately. Some law enforcement or incarceration departments have programs that reveal the hard realities of gang life to a young person.

Learn about the law and legal issues in your neighborhood and become involved with your community. Help eliminate gang activity in your area.

Teach your child personal safety skills.

• Walk, play, or bike with a friend.
• Always use the same route; never take shortcuts.
• Know your neighborhood's safest routes and where to go for help.
• Never talk to strangers. Stay at least an arm's length away. Avoid people who call you to their car to ask for information.
• Never go with someone you do not know, trust, or who does not know your family's secret code word.
• Never tell anyone that you are home alone.
• Never open the door to anyone you do not know and trust.
• Trust your instincts. If you sense danger, get away fast and tell a trusted adult.

Help lines

Help lines are available if you are in need of information on prevention, intervention, or awareness. There are referral services and toll-free numbers to call if you or someone you know is involved with or contemplating joining a gang. Seek help as soon as possible.

Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse

1-800-638-8736

This organization provides resource information and materials on gang prevention.

Teen Help Adolescent Resources

158 West 1600 South, Suite 150
St. George, UT 8477
1-800-637-0701

Provides a national toll free hotline designed to assist parents, child care professionals, and others in locating appropriate resources for the treatment of struggling adolescents.

Tough love International

P.O. Box 1069
Doylestown, PA 18901
1-800-333-1069

Referral line of self-help for parents of children of 8 yrs. old and older who are causing problems in the family.

Statistics

50% of urban murders are directly related to the buying and selling of drugs.

Gang members commit 6 times as many crimes as people from similar backgrounds who do not belong to gangs.

Of the 22,000 inmates in the L.A. County Jail, gang members account for an estimated 40%.

The average life-span of a gang member is 20 years and 5 months.

A gang is only as strong as the community allows.

10% of all gang members are now girls, four times the amount in 1990.

On a typical day in 1992, seven juveniles were murdered.

Juveniles were responsible for 13% of all violent crimes in 1992 and 23% of all property crimes.

Statistics show that 1/3 of all guns owned are loaded; 53% are not locked up.

There are approximately 25,000 gangs in the U.S. with more than 650,000 members.

Quiz!

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