Once in a gang, a child's behavior may change suddenly or gradually, but it will follow a pattern. At school, a gang member lets everyone know of his new status. They become more disrespectful towards teachers and others. When at home, the member becomes more defiant, disrespectful, and behavior problems continue to get worse. Some signs of gang membership are:

Monikers

Gang members generally have nicknames that highlight some trait about them. Gangs share common characteristics such as wearing distinct clothing or using hand signs. Because hand signs and clothing vary, check with your local law enforcement officer for current and more in depth information for your area.

Attitude

Many gang members have an arrogant and defiant attitude. One of the main weapons of gang members is intimidation. Gang members highly value their reputation. Because of this, they generally act tough and aggressive.

Clothing

Gangs share common characteristics such as wearing distinct clothing or colors to identify members. Black suits or dark colors are favored by some Hispanic groups. In California red bandannas stand for Bloods and blue for Crips. White supremacist groups tend to favor combat style clothes and shoes. Whether they use a color or not, gangs will adopt some type of clothing or style of dress to distinguish themselves. Unfortunately, because of the latest fashions, it is increasingly difficult to tell gang members from non-gang members by clothing. Because gang clothing varies check with your local law enforcement officer for current and more in depth information for your area.

Jewelry

Many gang members have expensive or cheap, but gaudy rope chains, earrings and large rings.

Tattoos

Many gang members, after initiation, are tattooed to indicate their affiliation. These can be a crude or elaborate tattoo. Normally, they are on the chest or arms, but they can be on any part of the body.

Weapons

Many gang arsenals contain shaved-down baseball bats, sections of pipe, spiked wrist bands, chemical mace, knives, handguns, sawed-off shotguns and semi-automatic firearms such as Uzis, AK-47s, or MAC 10s.

Graffiti

Many gang members use graffiti to identify themselves, mark their territory and leave messages. The graffiti may indicate the gang's name and loyalty, or be a memorial to a dead member. It may also be a threat, challenge, or warning to others. Gang graffiti is commonly found on neighborhood walls, fences and mail boxes. Graffiti also may be found on a child's clothing, shoes, notebooks and in the bedroom.

Territory

A gang's territory, also known as turf or hood, is a certain area the gang works to control. The area can be a neighborhood, a block, a building or a school.

The National College of District Attorneys define gangs as a number of individuals that meet all of the following criteria:

• They have a name or an identifiable leader.
• They claim a geographic, economic, or criminal enterprise turf (territory).
• They associate on a regular or continuous basis.
• They engage in delinquent or criminal behavior.

Gangs often form among ethnic or racial lines. Gangs generally identify themselves by a name derived from a street, neighborhood, housing project, rock band, or cult.
Some examples of gangs based on ethnic ties include:

ASIAN - includes Vietnamese, Hmong, Cambodian, Thai, Laotian, Filipino, Samoan, Japanese, or Chinese - well known gangs include: Cheap Boys, Natoma Boys, Wah Ching, Southside Scissors and Lady Rascals.

CAUCASIAN - includes Supremacist, Satanic, Ritualistic, Punk or Heavy Metal - well known gangs include: Skinheads, White Aryan Resistance (WAR), Neo Nazis, and Stoners. However, most people normally do not think of these as gangs, but rather as racist hate groups. Other white gangs include yuppie leftist gangs such as the Straight Edged Gang who vandalize furniture and furniture stores to protest animals being used to make leather.

HISPANIC - well known gangs include: White Fence, Los Vatos Locos, Latin Ladies, and Midnite Pearls.

AFRICAN AMERICAN - well known gangs include: Crips, Bloods, Vice Lords, Folk Nation, and the Black Gangster Disciple Nation.

Reprinted from Winning the War against Gangs, compliments of the International Drug Education Association. Permission to reprint granted by L. A. W. Publications.