Monthly Highlight: How Parental Involvement May Prevent Gang Membership

The increase in gang activity led Mayor Garcetti to allocate an additional $5.5 million to this year’s budget to fight the trend. – Courtesy photo

By Mary Mcnulty

As the new school year begins, it’s important to consider the possibility that your child may be considering gang involvement, and if so, what you can do to help steer them in the right direction.

There is no debate that strong family involvement can prevent the need for a sense of belonging often associated with gang membership.

There are ways a parent can prevent their child from gang involvement. The first is to recognize that yes, your child could be a member. According to stats, there are 450 active gangs in the area with membership estimated at 45,000. If your child isn’t a member, he without a doubt knows someone who is; or has ties to the gang. Knowing the friends of your son or daughter is essential to fighting the gang’s hold.

Notice the “daughter” acknowledgement above. Do not believe females are exempt from membership. Female divisions exist for the most notorious Los Angeles gangs. The Bloods’ have the Bloodlettes just as the Crips’ have the Cripettes. Pay attention not only to your son but your daughter as well.

Many of the old school methods we were taught to look for to identify membership may or may not be in play in 2016. There is some debate if the wearing of colors and flashing of signs is still in use but is obviously something to take note.

So what can you do to help your child gear away from gang membership? Your kid may not be interested in school in the least. However, many afternoon and evening sponsored programs lead to the discovery of their true passion. Many Olympians developed their skills through community organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club at little or zero cost. The key message – Keep them busy. It doesn’t matter what they do as long as they are productive.

“It is also very important to realize that school-based programs are unlikely to reach kids who are at the greatest risk of joining gangs: kids who have dropped out of or are not fully engaged in school. To expect school-based programs to reach kids in schools with very high dropout rates is unrealistic,” states the National Institute of Justice.

Unfortunately, the 8 year winning streak has ended. For the first time in almost a decade, gang violence increased in Los Angeles. The reasons for the blip is of course being debated but the facts remain, recent statistics are trending upward.

According to the LAPD, “Gangs are not a new phenomenon. During the last three years, there were over 16,398 verified violent gang crimes in the City of Los Angeles. These include 491 homicides, nearly 7,047 felony assaults, approximately 5,518 robberies and just under 98 rapes.” The increase in gang activity led Mayor Garcetti to allocate an additional $5.5 million to this year’s budget to fight the trend.

Obviously the government will do what it can to prevent the damage this subculture creates. However, it is the parents who face the ultimate challenge considering involvement generally begins between the ages of 11 and 14.

Perhaps the best way to detour your child from gang involvement is to sit with them and discuss this ABC 7 site. Simply entitled Gang Violence, http://abc7.com/tag/gang-violence/ – it demonstrates the ruthlessness of the lifestyle.  Show your child the clip of the 10 year old Boyle Heights girl killed in gang cross fire. Explain to them with a $50,000 reward offer individuals involved will be turned in if not by the community by a member looking solely at the money.

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