How do gangs mark their territory

Ask the Doctor. Bridging the Great Health Divide. Latest Newscasts. About Us. Contact Us. Gray DC Bureau. Investigate TV. Common Characteristics of Gangs. Published: Aug. Share on Facebook. Email This Link. Share on Twitter. Share on Pinterest. Share on LinkedIn. Below are some of the most Common Characteristics of Gangs: Activities include intimidation and extortion, vandalism, theft, assault, swarming, drug trafficking, stabbings, shootings and sometimes murder.

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Congress seeking to increase taxes will adversely impact American policing. Shooting suspect says he mistook undercover officers for rival gang members. If they have family or get a good job and a home, they want to protect those things. There are three major types of street gangs, each defined by factors such as prerequisites for inclusion, location or gang activities:.

Most gang members are exposed to gangs at a young age. The money and respect that older gang members earn impresses them. They may begin hanging around gang members, finding out who is important and learning what the gang does.

This can happen as early as age 10 or Gangs intentionally recruit children and use them to carry weapons and drugs or commit other crimes because they tend to attract less attention from police. If caught they serve shorter sentences in juvenile detention centers than an adult gang member would serve in prison.

When a new member joins a gang, he must usually go through an initiation. Initiations don't usually involve elaborate ceremonies or formalities, but the initiate will have to endure certain rites. The most common is "jumping in," a beating issued by all the gang members. Gangs that accept female gang members sometimes rape them as their initiation.

Instead of a "jumping in," or sometimes following it, the new gang member must participate in a mission. This can be anything from stealing a car to engaging in a firefight with a rival gang. Some gangs don't consider anyone a full member until they have shot or killed someone.

Getting a tattoo with gang symbols may be another part of the initiation. Daily gang life is generally not very exciting. Gang members sleep late, sit around the neighborhood, drink and do drugs and possibly go to a meeting place in the evening, such as a pool hall or roller rink.

They may work a street corner selling drugs or commit petty crimes like vandalism or theft. The notion of respect drives gang life almost completely, and for many gang members, gaining respect means committing violent crimes. While it is relatively rare compared to their other activities, gangs do assault, shoot and assassinate people for money, turf, pride or revenge.

Gangs are careful to identify themselves to each other and to others in their community. Members may dress similarly or wear the gang's colors. The Vice Lords wear black and gold, while the Crips vs. Blood feud is often called "Blue vs. Gangs considering marking another gang's territory with their symbol, or defacing their symbol, an act of war, and this can easily lead to violent retribution. Gang signs are elaborate hand signals that indicate gang membership.

Gangs also explore other ways of displaying gang loyalty, such as the "C-Walk," a sort of dance-like walking pattern used by members of the Crips gang. Only a few gangs have far-reaching influences and run like a business. These are sometimes called "supergangs. However, age often divides gangs into groups, with senior groups, junior groups and younger initiates. Senior members do not always have leadership over the younger groups, though — it all depends on street status.

Female gangs were once rare and existed mainly as offshoots of other gangs. For example, the girlfriends of gang members form their own group to show loyalty to the original gang.

However, female gang membership is rising, with all-female gangs forming and fighting male gangs for turf and respect. Some gangs accept members regardless of race or gender. There is no easy way to stop gangs, because the underlying conditions that lead to gangs are complex.

Police crackdowns can temporarily lower gang influence in a specific area. However, when poverty and despair remain, gangs will inevitably recruit new gang members to replace those who go to prison [ ref ]. Extra police enforcement in one area can simply drive the gang activity to another nearby area. As the head of a Buffalo community center said in a Buffalo News article, "The problem we have in this part of the community is that when they shut down a drug house, it just moves down the street.

Furthermore, a police crackdown can help unify what was otherwise a loose, non-cohesive gang. Under outside pressure, the gang members turn to each other, take more pride in their gang affiliation and become capable of greater acts of violence. While police presence is vital in keeping neighborhoods safe, a more successful long-term approach requires multiple tactics that all boil down to one thing: give people something to live for other than a gang.

This can include helping at-risk youth or current gang members find decent jobs or obtain an education. Block clubs and community centers bring the non-gang members the majority of people together to clean and maintain their streets, get rid of graffiti and otherwise show pride in where they live. He would not provide a recent example, but said "we have gang activity that's taking place throughout the whole city. The veteran gang officer says that finding spaces with tags overwritten can offer insight into what's happening between gangs.

That's a little bit telling for law enforcement. So what should a person do if they find a gang tag on their property? Robert Henry and Sgt.

Tony Landry are both on the same page here. Make it clear that is not a space where this is happening," said Henry. Landry agrees, adding that police should also be called. The location can be logged, and police assess whether it's simple graffiti or part of a gang expansion.

Both Landry and Henry say there is no reason for a member of the general public to believe they are being targeted because of a gang tag. The city has a clear policy on graffiti and gang tags that applies to private and public spaces.

The fire department enforces a bylaw that demands graffiti and tags be painted over with 15 days of a complaint. If it's still there, the fire department arranges to have it painted over at no cost to the property owner. Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted. By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses.