What is a gang?
Nobody agrees what the definition of a gang is, but some people do agree that a gang is a group of people that identify themselves by their use of symbols, permanence of organization, and involvement in criminal behavior. Gangs share cultural and protective values as an extended family, in which case has a “core” and “fringe” members.
Gangs promote and identify themselves with their own clothing styles, hand signs, graffiti, tattoos, and abstaining from anything associated with their rivals.
--Graffiti is more prevalent within the gang’s core territory, which graffiti can tell about the gang’s structure, alliances, and conflicts.
Who is a gang member?
Historically, gangs came from poverty and immigrant communities, but today it does not matter. People can find gangs from all socio-economic backgrounds and in every city. Prisons and the media promote cultural images that are perpetuating gangs.
Gang members are identified by a ten-point criteria passed by Minnesota Legislature and used by the Minnesota Gang Strike Force. A gang member is identified by meeting three or more of the criteria. Associates meet one or two points of the criteria. Once identified, the gang member's information is posted in the gang pointer file until 3 years elapsed without further activity.
Criteria:
1) The person ADMITS to be a gang member,
2) The person is OBSERVED to associate with known gang members,
3) The person has GANG TATTOOS to show alleagence,
4) The person WEARS GANG SYMBOLS or COLORS associated with the gang,
5) The person is PHOTOGRAPHED with other known gang members or showing signs of gang involvement,
6) The person is recorded and written on gang DOCUMENTS and graffitti,
7) The person is IDENTIFIED by a reliable source as a gang member (Teacher, social worker, police, etc.),
8) The person is ARRESTED with other gang members,
9) The person CORRESPONDS with gang members by telephone, e-mail, mail, etc.,
10) The person WRITES gang symbols and other gang affiliation on notebooks, school work, etc.
Discussion:
Unless people help gang members achieve educational and social equality, gangs will continue to strain the East Side of St. Paul and other neighborhoods as a perpetuating ghetto. The police and the St. Paul East Side community must work towards suppressing or erasing gangs in my neighborhood. Often, the St. Paul Police confront gangs in the Payne-Phalen area where there is poverty, problem rental properties, and drugs. St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington reminded me that giving people access to equal opportunity, proper guidance, and help would improve their lives. Sociologists like J.M. Charon and Professor Tom O’Connell also taught this wisdom to me. Besides, I interviewed an elder gangster (OG) whom I call “Hercules” supported my research why he and other children joined gangs. Each person implied to me that I could make a difference in my neighborhood, in which case I quote an African proverb--it takes a whole village to raise a child.
I can work with the community for changing social inequality. Charon (2004) writes that people are ignoring their social connections for being a “good neighbor” (p. 193). In addition, he said, “Society can begin to understand the importance of the individual in affecting change by first looking at social interaction” (p. 214).
Overcoming social inequality is difficult unless there is an active, political movement for equitable justice, education, and economics. Myself, I can try to motivate people for their time and talents as a political base of social power. For example, I interact with my neighbors by getting to know them because they are becoming individualistic and even xenophobic, which some cultural groups formed gangs.
In my neighborhood, social power limits personal power, unless the actor has the authority to wield power. Charon (2004) said “To affect ourselves or to influence other individuals is one thing; to affect a group, formal organization, community or society is something else again” (p. 218). Gangs are subtle around the Payne-Phalen area, which is a culturally diverse and impoverished area. Gangs thrive in the neighborhood because they can exert their own influence of power and income without much interference by citizens or the police.
Chief Harrington (2007) taught me how to use SARA for gang problem analysis and resolution with William Glasser’s Control Theory (May 14). Glasser’s Control Theory lists five basic needs that gangs fulfill, which are survival, love, power, freedom, and fun. Gangs search for these needs because many members lack a father figure in their lives for physical and spiritual support.
Glasser’s Control Theory show that many children join gangs because they cannot cope with their problems, such as joblessness, the fear of political and legal barriers, failed education, families in crisis, and cultural diversity. These adverse social conditions breed contempt for at-risk youth facing differences, lack of authoritarian involvement, self-esteem issues, and the sense of powerlessness over their ego and needs. Hercules agrees with Glasser’s theory because children will search for attention and welfare somewhere else if they do not receive the love, care, and attention at home.
Many people, especially parents, fail to take the accountability and initiative for teaching children about antisocial behaviors, such as drug abuse, racism, crime, violence, and materialism. According to Drs. Meda Chesney-Lind and Karen Joe (2000), they support the theory that “[t]he gang is a haven for coping with the many problems they face in their everyday life inside marginalized communities. Paradoxically, the sense of solidarity achieved from sharing everyday life with similarly situated others has the unintended effect of drawing many gang youth, both boys and young women, into behaviors that ultimately create new problems for them” (p. 111).
Chief Harrington (2007) taught me that sociologist, Frederick Thrasher agrees that each gang member joins because they seek to forge their identity and preserve their subculture through common struggles and camaraderie (May 18). Hercules added that, “Your gang is your family. They will feed you, buy you clothes, and take care of you. You got to take care of your family because no one else will.”
I think gangs exist because St. Paul civic leaders give the working poor beliefs that they do not have opportunities or the will to make permanent change. Hercules believes that some local politicians are not working for community improvements in the Payne-Arcade area. To me, the sad fact of this theme is that social hierarchy excludes the disadvantaged and the poor labeled as “criminal.” With this sensed response, people use civil laws for curbing gangs, such as evictions for being a nuisance in public housing. In addition, code enforcement inspectors have the power to root out gangs living in slum housing. I believe the City limits gang intervention in my neighborhood, in which case private organizations and citizens must help the police rid my neighborhood of gangs.
In my neighborhood, one such St. Paul organization is the EastSide Peacemakers. They published a community guide full of helpful organizations that helps the poor, and in turn, helps reduce the need for gangs. On Arcade Street, the guide lists “Face-to-Face” as an organization that provides an alternative school, health, and psychological services for children. The Hmong-American Partnership (HAP) on Arcade Street offers the Hmong community counseling services that reduces the stress between the youth and their parents’ cultural traditions. The YMCA offers after school recreation, but some people cannot afford to pay their dues without the help of Ramsey County Human Services or scholarships offered by the YMCA.
To me, the Police Athletic League (PAL) does not exist in the East side, in which case the YMCA or HAP can share their space with PAL for social and educational tutors. Now, I know PAL survives at the Boys and Girls club in the East side as well on Payne Ave at the Salvation Army. The City of St. Paul can only hope the businesses proposed to occupy the new Asian-Pacific Cultural Center (APCC) at the Hamm’s Brewery site could help deal with at-risk youth. My “village” must take responsibility for educating every child about gangs before they become unreachable.
Together, we have political strength as a social power base for finding achievable but equitable resolutions for gangs within the Payne-Arcade area. First, gang members must break their cycle of violence and addiction to gangs glorified by the culture of American media. People should pressure their elected officials to support a legislative bill that limits the media exposure of gangs to children.
However, the media could argue that it educates the parents and the public, which surmounts the risks of perpetuating gang behavior. The difficult balance of gang exposure should rest among the parents, the community and law enforcement working together in gang intervention.
Police knock-notice visits are effective for inspecting the child’s home life and intervention. Arguably, the USA Patriot Act II could reinforce police arresting powers for gang control under domestic terrorism. The First Amendment of the US Constitution does not protect hate speech, public immorality, and assembly when it puts our national security at risk. However, gangs could fall down a slippery slope of unsettled definition that mimics the horrors of the Spanish inquisition or the McCarthy Red Scare trials.
Second, the City of St. Paul must reach out and mentor children with citywide programs. Church and spiritual leaders could canvass the Payne-Arcade area and reach out to children before the gangs recruit them. Educational institutions and service clubs can help children improve their self-esteem, educational goals, and community ownership while they earn respect and pride from their mentors. Clubs like the American Legion, VFW, and Lion’s Club have the financial means and volunteers who can work with our social institutions.
Chief Harrington commented in my COP class that North Minneapolis had success with controlling juveniles near the housing projects and the MTC bus routes with a GOD Squad--neighborhood mentors interacting with at-risk children.
Programs like DARE may reach some children although they know illegal drugs are profitable and the law is forgiving if they dealt or carried drugs for gangs. The latter is dangerously true when people tolerate gang behavior because it does not directly affect them or they profit from gangs. Hercules added that, “gang members are trying to hustle for any money or opportunity to survive, in which case they will take the risk.”
However, St. Paul police officers who volunteer their time with at-risk youth can have a positive effect on them. Police sponsored programs will also keep at-risk children busy while they learn acceptable social behavior and self-reliance.
The St. Paul police could start an amnesty program that helps people leave gangs with gun buybacks, new clothes, education, and continual guidance. The police can help instill people with trust, boundaries, community programs, and job leads. In turn, grateful citizens could give police new information about gangs.
Hercules wonders if they can reach children who had negative experiences with the police. He said, “In my day, the Chicago police treated me wrong and everybody stayed away from them because they will put a beat-down on your ass even if you weren’t doing anything.”
Finally, ask a gang member why he or she joined a gang. Asking questions can open a dialog of trust, which may lead you to the core of their problem. If the problem is at home, then simply move him or her out of that environment to a new environment that stresses opportunities and social discipline.
However, the latter is not easy because the degree of gang involvement depends on the person and the seriousness of his or her roles in the gang. Many of them are out of reach for intervention, in which case the courts may be the only recourse for them. Hercules said, “Once you receive the brand [gang tattoo] from the Governor, he owns your ass, and there is no way out after that.” Sometimes gang members who removed themselves from their street family feel empowered to start and take control over a new gang.
Often these types of gang bangers “age out” from gangs. Hercules told me that most gang members are active although they age out of gang support. Although Hercules does not expose himself, he said that many OGs are running their own hustle. Paraphrasing him he said, “As you get older and wiser you start to work for yourself and fuck the gang and their monetary tribute.”
In conclusion, Hercules agrees with me that whatever methods the Payne-Arcade neighborhood chooses to rid or suppress gangs, nothing will work if people just sit back and hope gangs will disappear. There are many ways to be a good neighbor and help at-risk youth from joining gangs. For example, neighborhoods watch clubs, virtual block clubs, community policing, and gang intervention programs. Simply getting involved with people in your neighborhood builds community and awareness, which could stop children from joining gangs.
Metropolitan cities like Edmonton Saskatchewan and Houston, Texas proved that people working with and accepting at-risk children as individuals in the community reduce gang violence. Community meetings and actions produced a positive movement for social education and gang intervention. Here in St. Paul, I believe people can reduce gangs if we just act like a family and listen to our children, fulfill their needs, and give them social equality.
Will you help?
References
Charon, J, M. (2004). Does the Individual Really Make a Difference? in Ten Questions: A
Sociological Perspective. pp. 212-236. Belmont California: Thompson and
Wadsworth.
Chesney-Lind, Meda, and Joe, Karen. (1995). “Just Every Mother’s Angel, an Analysis
of Gender and Ethnic Variations in Youth Gang Membership,” Gender and
Society, Vol. 9, No. 4 August 1995 page 426.
Harrington, St. Paul Police Chief John M. (Summer. 2007). CJS 333 01, Gangs Lecture
notes. Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN.
Hercules. (June. 2007). Personal Interview with a West-side Chicago gangster.
