Signs Your Child May Be Involved In A Gang/Prevention Tips

It can sometimes be a challenge to keep your kid on the right path and it’s important for parents to recognize the signs that your teen may be involved in a gang.

Here are some of the fads and behaviour gang members have adopted, but it’s important to note that just because a young person dresses like this doesn’t mean they are in a gang:

(courtesy of the Edmonton Police Service)

  • Hats and baseball caps (certain team names and initials same as gang, some worn backwards, certain tilt, style, and color) 
  • “New Wave Star” (sheets or shirts worn over the hair that hang down the back resembling a sheik’s hood) 
  • Hair and facial hair (shaved or symbols shaved into them or groomed to indicate gang affiliation) 
  • Hair styles and color streaking or cuts 
  • Combs (placement in hair) 
  • Professional sports team jackets (reversed side showing gang membership, team names and initials same as gang, same mascot, same colors, etc.) 
  • Baggy clothing. 
  • Combat-style clothing, fatigues (certain gangs’ style) 
  • Sweatshirts (layered in colors) 
  • Sweaters (gang name, symbols, colors) Gangs have two similar sweaters, one with their main gang color for social events, such as funerals, the other one for war. 
  • T-shirts (custom printed, airbrushed, or embroidered with gang names, symbols, messages, or a pro sports team with the same name, initials, or symbols) 
  • Gloves (fingers cut out or worn on a certain hand) 
  • Belt buckles (custom made or brought with gang symbols or initials, worn on certain side of the pants) 
  • Pant legs rolled up, shirt cuffs (certain leg, certain arm) 
  • Inside pants pockets (gang’s colors) 
  • Gym shoes (certain name brands, often the same initials or name of the gang) 
  • Shoe or roller skate laces 
  • Eyebrows (shaved off, into shapes, or shapes shaved in them) 
  • Fingernails (two nails painted) 
  • Tattoos and branding (an extension of gang graffiti, names, or pictures depicting the gang) 
  • Hand signals and body swaggering (for nonverbal communication and to identify gang affiliation) 
  • Business cards (imprinted with gang name, symbol, nickname, turf area, etc.) 
  • School IDs (in gang colors, logos, or names on the back) 
  • Buttons (with gang names, symbol5, slogans) 
  • Bandanas 
  • Jewelry (rings, pins, pendants, and earrings) 
  • Earrings (in a specific ear, in a specific color, or several in a specific ear) 
  • Excessive amount of gold (jewelry, teeth) 
  • Friendship beads (on clothing, shoes, in the hair, or earrings) 
  • Jelly bracelets (colored rubber/plastic loops) 
  • Claddagh ring 
  • Graffiti (displayed on public or private property, used to indicate locations of drug deals, mark territory) 
  • Colours (dress predominately in two or three colors, and/or wear bandanas and jewelry in the same colors) 
  • Pagers and cellular phones 
  • Possessing large amounts of money 
  • Buying expensive gifts or a car (without having the job to afford it) 
  • Possessing drug paraphernalia, weapons 
  • Hanging out (groups of youths frequenting places and asserting territorial rights) 
  • Excessive swearing, rebellion 
  • Curfew violations, cutting classes 
  • Not participating in family activities, secrecy

The Signs That Your Child May Be In A Gang

While each of these separately may not lead you to believe your teen is a gang member, viewed together, they may indicate involvement.

(courtesy of the Fort Worth Police Department)

  • Associating with a new set of friends while ignoring old friends. Usually will not talk about new friends, who they are or what they do together.
  • Change of hair style and/or clothing or associating with other youths who have same hair style and/or same clothing. Usually some of the clothing, such as a hat or jacket, will have the gang’s initials, and/or the youth’s “street” name on it.
  • Increase in amount of money they have, without explanation where it came from, or other possessions that youth could not have bought themselves, (i.e. stereos, jewelry, etc.)
  • Indications of drug, alcohol or inhalant abuse. Signs of inhalant abuse will sometimes be paint or “white-out” found on the youth’s clothes, or the smell of chemicals on their clothes.
  • Change in attitude about things the youth used to enjoy such as sports or scouts or church. Youth becomes a discipline problem at school, in public, or in the home. Youth no longer accepts parents authority and challenges it frequently.
  • Problems at school, such as failing classes, “skipping” school, causing problems in class, being disrespectful to teachers.
  • Usually will show fear of the police.
  • Signs that youth has been in a fight, such as cuts and bruises or complaints of pain, but youth won’t explain what happened.
  • Graffiti is present on or around the youth’s residence, or on notebooks or the other possessions of the youth.
  • Sometimes the family will be threatened by rival gang members, or more tragic, the family will be a victim of a drive-by shooting before they realize their youth is involved in a gang.

Here are a few things parents can do to discourage their kids from falling prey to one of society’s most dangerous temptations, or tell if they’re already involved.

  • Teach them early that gang culture isn’t something they should either admire or aspire to. Four or five-years of age isn’t too soon to hammer this message home. Some will listen, some won’t. But it’s better than never hearing the warning at all.  
  • Give your kids lots of attention. The gang culture offers a sense of belonging they may seek out if you don’t provide one. 
  • Keep your kids active in other activities, like sports or clubs after school and on weekends. 
  • Know who they’re friends are. Be aware of anyone that doesn’t strike you as being quite right. And don’t be afraid to set and enforce a curfew. 
  • Be on the lookout for constant rule breaking and unexplained absences. Teens are naturally secretive, so while that could be a warning sign, it may also be just an age-related change. 
  • Beware of alterations in their behavioural. They naturally occur in teens, so it’s sometimes hard to read all the signs. They include: a change in the kind of people they hang out with, new dress habits (including wearing the same colour combinations all the time), flashing secret hand signals, diminished interest in activities they always loved, and the sudden appearance of cash they shouldn’t have access to or clothes or equipment they shouldn’t be able to afford. 
  • Watch for changes to their grades. Kids who don’t do well in school often turn to gangs. Consider a tutor or a counsellor if the report cards aren’t what they should be. 
  • Monitor the music. Kids listen to all kinds of tunes, but if they seem especially obsessed with gangster rap or you don’t like the messages in the songs, let them know you’re concerned. 
  • Watch for vandalism, graffiti, or drugs, all of which are commonly associated with gangs. 
  • Also be aware of the other end of the spectrum: signs your child is being bullied or harassed by gang members or what some experts term ‘gang wannabes’. You don’t have to join a gang to become a victim of one.

With files from National Parent Teacher Organization


Myth 1
Respect in gangs really means fear. If you join a gang, you will constantly have to commit crimes in order to keep other gang members afraid of you. This kind of respect will disappear the first time you fail to hurt someone who insults you or puts you down. It’s not real and it doesn’t last.

Myth 2
While you may believe that joining a gang will protect you from bullies or other gang members, being in a gang greatly increases your chances of being a target for rival gang members. You are far more likely to be injured or killed if you are in a gang. Even if you get out of the gang, your rivals will remember you and may still try to hurt or kill you.

Myth 3
Most gang members make very little money being part of a gang. Those who do make money usually end up doing time. Getting your education is the key to making money and ensuring a future – not joining a gang.

Myth 4
In a gang, you’ll also make a lot of enemies. Your friends who haven’t joined the gang may stop wanting to be around you. Your gang may not approve if you have friends or date outside the gang. They will question and test your loyalty.

Myth 5
Real families don’t force people to commit crimes just to get respect and love. Real families accept you and love you for who and what you are. Even if your real family is having problems, being in a gang will not solve them – it will only make things worse.

Myth 6
Gang members decide to leave the gang lifestyle every day. In some cases, getting out isn’t easy and may require you to leave your home, school or community in order to be safe. The best option, however, is to stay out of gangs in the first place.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today