Today's youth are at risk of being recruited to join a gang. The following list provides some early warning signs that may indicate pre-gang and gang behavior.

Family

• Avoiding family activities
• Demanding privacy or freedom from parental control
• Increasing combative behavior

Individual

• Challenging authority at home or elsewhere
• Use or abuse of alcohol
  
• Selling or abusing illicit drugs
  
• Hanging around areas frequented by gangs or covered with gang graffiti
  
• Possession or use of firearms, knives, screwdrivers, bats, clubs, or other weapons
  
• Possessing money or articles without permission or awareness by guardian
  
• Use of gang language and hand signs
• Frequent negative contacts with law enforcement
  

School

• Significant drop in grades, no homework, no interest in any kind of school activities
  
• Difficulty in class or difficulty in getting along with others at school
  
• Increasing or frequent tardiness or truancies
  
• Dropping out of school

Friends

• Loss of long-time friends
• New friends with negative influences
  
• Association with known gang members or gang associates

Dress

• Any significant changes in appearance, such as having tattoos (initials, names, numbers) or branding marks on hands, arms, legs or other parts of the body
  
• Wearing gang colors or a gang "uniform"
• Having a predominance of one-colored outfits or sudden dislike of certain color(s)
• Wearing clothing with identifying names and symbols