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Sheriff: Gang recruitment ramps up at beginning of school year
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Published: September 6, 2009
As a new school year begins, so does gang recruitment, the Sheriff's Office of Cabarrus County said.
Sheriff Brad Riley told members of the Cabarrus County Schools Board of Education last week that the beginning of the school year is a heightened period for gang recruitment.
"People have been out of touch (during the summer), and they are a little older," Riley said. "The first week (of school) is about what's going on and how people have changed."
The students who "bump up" to middle school or high school are also easily influenced by the older students, Riley said.
The sheriff's office said it has noticed an increase in gang activity throughout Cabarrus County, but it is not significant enough to be a major problem.
"It's not a drastic increase," said Sgt. Bernie Loos, of the vice/narcotics and gang intelligence unit for the sheriff's office. "It's going to happen, but don't panic."
One of the major reasons for more gang activity is the county's growth. At the beginning of the school year, new students come from another areas and sometimes bring their past gang experiences with them.
The sheriff's office said gang activity in Cabarrus County is typically nontraditional. These local gangs are usually factions of well-known ones, like the Bloods, but there is less structure.
"In most cases, they keep the symbols and colors to align themselves with the national (gangs)," Riley said.
It can be harder to identify these gang members, since they do not always maintain the national rules and often change the name, Riley said.
Some of the signs that parents and other community members can look for are youth who begin writing different symbols and wearing new colors or clothing items like bandanas, the sheriff's office said.
"The big thing is a change in behavior and friends," Loos said.
Youth who become more secretive, use a new slang or have more money could be involved with gangs, Riley said.
"It has to be a number of characteristics to let you know the kid is going through something other than a change," Riley said.
Because many of the gang members join between the ages of 14 and 16, it can be difficult to determine what is normal teenage behavior and what is cause for concern.
"There's an age-appropriate teenage behavior," Loos said. "Consult with a pediatrician or the school social worker to see if (the behavior) is normal or way off the charts."
The reason youth are attracted to gangs has to do with a number of reasons.
"Gangs, in a lot of ways, fill a void," Riley said. "If they are not getting attention at home, (being in gangs) is where they get it."
Youth are also able to align themselves with tough gang members for protection. And for the tougher, older members, recruiting younger people is attractive because there is more forgiveness in the juvenile justice system, Riley said.
Because members often do not receive enough attention at home, Riley and Loos recommend parents be proactive and encourage extracurricular activities to preventing youth from joining a gang.
"Give them boundaries," Loos said. "If you are not setting the boundaries for them, someone else will."
After speaking with districts that have higher amounts of gang activity, Riley said the key to avoiding more gang-related events is early prevention and community support of law enforcement.
"We need to be concerned about how we can stop it," Riley said. "If we ignore it and don't address it, we're going to get like those cities where all crimes are related to gang activity."
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