Is MY Son or Daughter in a Gang???

Is It Obvious My Son or Daughter Is In A Gang???

As you can see from the picture, this is a pretty CLEAR warning sign that your son or daughter is in a gang.

It is however NOT ALWAYS that clear.

In this series of Gang Issues, you will learn EXACTLY what you need to look for. You will also learn what to do if you discover that your teen is involved in a gang.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR

• Wearing a lot of one specific color or a combination of colors, such as blue and grey, black and yellow, etc.


• Tilting hats to the side, wearing bandanna's - again the bandanna's will be in the same colors as the clothing.


• Gang graffiti on notebooks, personal belongings


• Defensiveness about how they spend their time, and who they spend it with


• Alienating themselves from family, school, church involvement


• Doing poorly in school - including skipping school
  
• Three dots :. on their body parts such as hands, in between the fingers, ankles, hairlines, also on their Face book or My Space pages


• Insisting on buying clothing or hats with crowns, pitchforks, the number 13, 18, 14,7


• Breaking the curfew law


• Fighting


• Drugs or drug paraphernalia such as pipes, smoking papers, cigars


• Signs of using drugs such as red eyes, dilated pupils


• Using Roman numerals


• Suddenly being called by a "different" name by their friends


• Coming home "beat up" and not admitting to being in a fight
• Suddenly wearing rosaries or crucifixes as a fashion statement

These things listed above are just a few of the signs that parents need to watch out for.

Most gang members range from 13 to 35 years of age. Some gang members start as young as 9 years old. It is not just boys. Girls are very active in the gangs as well. The members that are 15 to 18 appear to be the most violent. This is the period of time when new members are trying to prove themselves to the older gang members and raise their status in the group.

GANG ASSESSMENT TOOL

1. Is there graffiti in or near your neighborhood? Yes = 5 points
2. Is the graffiti crossed out? Yes = 10 points
3. Do the young people in your community wear alike clothing colors, jewelry, flash hand signs, or display other behaviors that may be gang related? Yes= 10 points
4. Are you aware if illegal drugs are available in your neighborhood? Yes = 10 points
5. Was there an increase in the number of physical confrontations within the past 12 months in your neighborhood? Yes = 5 points
6. Is there an increasing presence of weapons in your community? Yes =5 points
7. Has there been a "drive by" shooting in your community? Yes = 15 points
8. Have you had a "show by" display of weapons in your community? Yes = 10 points
9. Is the truancy rate and/or burglaries in your community increasing? Yes = 5 points
10. Have you noticed graffiti in your neighborhood? Yes = 15 points
11. Have you noticed graffiti crossed out in your neighborhood? 15 points
12. Is there a history of gangs in your community? Yes = 15 points
13. Are you seeing a presence of informal social groups with unusual names such as crew, king, disciples, queen? Yes = 15 points
14. Have you noticed large traffic of young people at one house in your neighborhood? Yes = 10 points

ADD UP YOUR SCORE:

0-20 POINTS = NO PROBLEM

25-45 POINTS = EMERGING PROBLEM

50-65 POINTS = YOU HAVE PROBLEMS

70+ POINTS = THERE ARE SERIOUS PROBLEMS

AT 50+ POINTS A NEED EXISTS TO DEVELOP A GANG PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION PROGRAM.

If you have questions or are concerned about gang activity either in your family or in your neighborhood, please do not hesitate to contact the Watchful Eye Foundation. Your calls are completely confidential. We speak English and Spanish both.

402/412-3393

The Watchful Eye Foundation is a non profit working to ensure that our community is safe for everyone to live a healthy and happy life.

Next: YOUR TEEN AND MYSPACE!!!! WHAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW....

Gangster for Life - typical "OG"

When he was born into this world it was the same as most - something happened along the rode of life, probably when he was about 10 years old.

He decided he wanted to be tough, cool and respected. He wanted to belong to a group that was just that - his so called "idols".....

He decided to join and become a gangster. After all, in the movies the gangsters are the ones that have all the girls, all the money, fancy cars, fancy homes etc.....he saw it as the easy way to get what he wanted in life.

By the time he was 24 years old, he was considered a typical "OG" - meaning "Original Gangster".....

Gangsters refer to themselves in this manner because along the way as they themselves get older, they continue to recruit those little 9 and 10 year old kids who look up to the older gangsters. Of course they do. What kid would not want the attention given from an older person who they think is the ultimate in cool.
So the "OG's" then as they are referred to become their mentors.

These "OG's" will then get the younger kids to go out and steal, sell drugs etc. because if the kids get busted for doing this - they just get sent to juvenile detention or put on probation. If the adults get caught they go to prison.

These "OG's" are good at what they do - there is no denying that. They get these boys who are sometimes right at puberty, entice them to drink, get them high, give them a girl to have sex with for the first time - and with all of that they then have these kids won over.
They convince the kids that they are the greatest love the kid will ever have. They will go along with them and tell them - "ya, your mom and dad dont want ya" or " man, they are too hard on you, come live with me" and etc.

Before you know it - your little boy or girl is suddenly a totally different person. They are begging for tattoo's, they dress differently, they never are where they say they are, they act very defiant and they show you zero respect.

Before you know it your little boy or girl is on the road to the ganglife going about 150 miles per hour.
What can you do as a parent? Get involved in your kids life. Don't worry about being their friend. You did not give birth to a friend. You cant be their friend. It just wont work.

When your son or daughter wants to go somewhere, ask them where they are going, who they are going with, what time will they arrive,what time will they leave and what time will they be home. If they can answer all those questions then ask one more - and what will you be doing while you are there?

If your son or daughter wants you to buy pants that are so big that two of your kids could fit in them together, tell them no. If they do not like what you help them to pick out then tell them to get a job so that they can spend their money on what they would like. If they get a job, 1. they will stay out of trouble, 2. they will see how much the things they want really cost when they start spending their own money.

Having a teenager or a pre- teenager is no different than watching over a two year old. You must watch them, love them, and pay attention to them. Listen to the type of music they are listening to. Watch the video games they are playing. Ask to see their MySpace page or Facebook. You might have a few surprises.

I have personally gotten to know some of the toughest teens who were involved in gangs. I listen to them - really listen.....the one thing that they all say is "my mom or dad is cool, they dont care".....
Parents, scroll back up to the picture - look at it really good....you need to care. It doesnt cost you a thing.

NEXT BLOG WILL TELL YOU ABOUT THE GIRLS IN THE GANGS

CHILD INTERNET PORN....

CHILD INTERNET PORN....

The prelude to actual molestation of a child

Child pornography is a crime. It is plain and simple.

Who in the world in their right mind would consider looking at a small child naked and consider it sexy? There are those people that believe that it is just a "harmless crime".....

Child porn viewers are anything but harmless. If you are looking you are obviously wishing it would become your reality. For those of you who think " oh, all he or she was doing was looking - nothing bad happened"......COULD YOU DO ME A FAVOR AND WAKE UP PLEASE?

If you are shopping - you look at various things that maybe you will or will not buy. If you are looking at CHILD PORN you are shopping.

For the spouses who have a spouse that has committed this crime - I am sorry, no matter how much you want to stand by your mate and insist to yourself and the world that this is not a crime and that your spouse should not be on any sex offender registry - YOU NEED TO STOP LYING TO YOURSELF AND THE WORLD.

LOOKING AT 5 and 6 year old little girls being forced to have their pictures taken while they are being molested - THAT IS A CRIME!!!!

If you have children and are living with a person that has been known to view child pornography, I would suggest that you take your child to be examined or at least speak to a counselor.

Child molesters and child porn viewers are in the same field. The only difference between the two is that one has watched and wishes he could and the other one just moves right in for the kill.

People ask me often, why does a person want to look at child porn? It is because they have the urge to touch a child. It is pretty plain and simple.

Does child porn really damage a person? You better believe it. An entire family is torn apart when there has been a charge of sexual abuse.....including child internet porn.

I feel sorry for the families that have been forced to be caught in the devious behaviour of a child porn viewer. My advice to you? Get some counseling and really and truly re-think your life.

People often write me and tell me that they are in support of a convicted sex offender and that the person has "found God" and has changed. That is great is what I answer back; however, while this offender is on his quest for heaven, the victim is living in sheer hell....more than likely for the rest of his or her life.

I think that it is wonderful that you are being supportive to the offender. Just keep in mind that the reason that he or she is an offender is because there was a victim.

The term pedophile refers to an adult who is sexually attracted to children, whether or not the adult acts upon that attraction by sexually abusing a child.

There is no known treatment or cure for pedophilia, however there are therapies that can reduce the incidence of pedophilic behaviors that result in child sexual abuse. Viewing Child Porn is pedophilic behavior. A person convicted of this should be charged and held accountable for this crime the same as all other sex offenders.

Viewing child pornography is common amongst child predators. Often times a predator is a very likeable person. Keep in mind they are someone that children as well as adults are drawn to by their winning personalities. This is one of their common traits.....a winning personality.

If you know or suspect someone of viewing child porn I urge you to do the right thing - contact law enforcement in your area immediately. If you do not feel comfortable in doing this, please feel free to contact the office of the Watchful Eye Foundation at 402/ 412-3393. Your call will remain confidential.

In order for our children to live as children should live which is safe and innocent from harm it is the responsibility of all of us to protect them from predators.

For further information please visit www.watchfuleyefoundation.org

To sum it all up - those individuals who have been convicted of the crime of viewing, possessing, distributing child porn should be treated in the same manner as a sex offender who commits a crime on a child. In addition these individuals should be made to comply with the same restrictions as other sex offenders, such as where they can live, work and play.

A SEX OFFENDER IS A SEX OFFENDER. THE DEFINITION OF THE CRIME COMMITTED WHETHER IT BE LEVELS 1, 2 OR 3 SHOULD NOT MATTER AS THE CRIME WAS AGAINST A CHILD.

Gang Awareness NOW 101

Gangs...they have existed for a very long time. There are various ethnic gangs whether they be Irish, Italian, Mexican, Asian, etc.
The point is folks, this is nothing new. Just like in the days of Al Capone, people especially younger people thought he was a "cool" guy. When gangs evolve, communities ALWAYS suffer....this needs to be a community effort.
The following is some of the things that will provide you with further knowledge of gangs.

FACT: DID YOU KNOW THAT CHILDREN AS YOUNG AS 8 YEARS OLD ARE GETTING INTO GANGS?

WHAT EXACTLY IS A GANG???
A gang is basically 3 or more people that hang out together on a regular basis.
They do not always have to be involved in criminal activity.
They try to set themselves apart from others with distinct clothing - (colors), or certain haircuts,hand signs etc.

DO GANGS HANG OUT IN CERTAIN AREAS???
A gang may not always claim any special section of town, however the signs that they are definetly in a neighborhood is the various graffiti taggings.
Gangs are normally territory oriented however. Each gang has its own turf and graffiti marks its boundaries. Anyone who does not belong in the area and resembles a rival gang member may become the subject of attack.
If you see graffiti that is crossed out it is because another gang is trying to claim ownership of that section of town. Chances are there will probably be some sort of a gang fight brewing.

WHERE DO THEY GET THEIR NAMES???
The name of the gang in general for the entire group is sometimes linked to a street name or a park or a larger gang in a larger community that the gang wants to model themselves after.
Tag names or individual names for each gang member vary. These names are normally strange, action type names which they will use in replacement of their birth name. These are especially used when they tag up with graffiti - they feel that they are safer to use and the cops will not be able to identify them by this new name. Normally these "nicknames" or "tag" names will match with their personality or their phyical appearance. If someone is more of a quieter type of person maybe they will go by the name of "Silence" for example.

WHO LEADS THESE GANGS???
Gangs do not have Presidents or Secretaries....The leader of each gang is choosen in an unspoken manner. The leader is generally the person that is the most dominating and shows leadership at certain times by taking control of a situation. Usually it is a well liked person who can show force when needed in any given situation.

WHY DO PEOPLE JOIN GANGS???
There are alot of reasons. Some of them include the excitement, peer pressure,attention,protection,financial benefit,family tradition,family abuse - physical or sexual. Mainly they want to feel as if they BELONG to something. What is really sad is that often times the parents just dont realize that their kids are involved in gang activity.

WHAT CAN YOU DO???
First off, do not go out and try to battle or win back your neighborhood on your own. Leave that to the cops. They have specialized officers that deal with this. Gangsters do not hesitate to involve innocent people.
Some of the things that you can do though are -
Join a community service group that tackles cleaning up the graffiti (The Watchful Eye Foundation does this)
Have your kids join an afterschool program to get them involved in the beautification of the community. This way they will claim pride in the area that they live. (The Watchful Eye has an afterschool program)
The other people you could contact would be your local city hall or United Way to ask where you could call to get involved.
The word COMMUNITY means that there is more than one person in that area. It takes a group of people to create a gang, however it takes an entire community to battle them.
Please don't be one of those persons who sits around in their recliner complaining as they watch the news or read the paper how the community is just going to hell because of the gangs. Get up and help with this problem. This is the only thing that will work - if enough people get together to take this on it will help.
I am not a politician so I will not make any promises however I will say that if you help out in your community it will change things at least 90%.

Stay tuned for more info on gangs and what you can do to help with this problem.

MySpace and Your Child

MySpace

If you have kids, more than likely, they have an account on MySpace.com.

ANYONE can create an account on this site - there is NO PROTECTION guaranteed from sexual predators or gang members.

I want to show you just HOW MUCH information your child is putting out there on the world wide web for everyone to see. Not just their friends - EVERYONE.
This is making them targets.

You may be thinking - "no, my kid has an account but he is not hooked into any gangs at all" or " my kid is too smart to put a lot of personal information out there".....

I have had parents sit and tell me just that. When I ask a parent if their child is involved in gangs the answer is normally "no". Then I ask the parent if they know if their child has a MySpace account....the answer is normally - "yes - I have seen it".....

Then I pull up their child's name under the MySpace website - - here is what happens:

• Their child's web page suddenly pops up and the background is filled with gang symbols such as crowns, F13, or Sur13 etc.....all gang "high alert" signs.
• The same page will more than likely have "gangster music"
• Scrolling down the same page it will normally have a "personal survey"
• Then I will glance over their friends comments and find out who they "hang with" (normally it is other gang members)
• On the same page I might find marijuana leaves, beer signs, meth pictures etc....

Get the point? Now just imagine the parent suddenly realizing that they really don't know their own child's life like they thought they did.

On these personal surveys that the kids fill out and post on their pages, it is meant for their friends. They are kids. They don't think about the fact that sexual predators are checking these pages out too. They don't think about the fact that maybe a sexual predator is interested in their little baby sister who they have pictured. Or the fact that their address is super easy to locate.

Just "googling" your phone number can pull up your address with a map of directions how to get to your house. Scary? Yes it is.

Our kids are not stupid. They are however naive in the facts of life when it comes down to thinking "what are the consequences".....

They are kids. That is what they have parents for - to teach them the consequences. Before it's too late.

These kids that create the MySpace pages are really talented. They can design a web page that is incredible. Self taught designers. However, as I said, you must as a parent teach them to be safe.

Many parents are not aware that their child is living a "secret life" online. I have had parents tell me, " my son is not in a gang, he is involved in the church and is a good boy"....Hey Mom and Dad - check out his MySpace page. Since when does marijuana leaves running across a webpage have anything to do with church?

A mom of a young girl told me once, " my daughter is out of control, she will not listen to me at all"....I looked up her daughters MySpace page,saw that her 13 year old daughter was being groomed by a sexual predator. The predator was a gang member over the age of 21 who groomed young girls so that they would join his gang. Her mom's "new" knowledge saved this young girl's life.

If you don't have a clue about running a computer - there are parent training programs through the Watchful Eye Foundation available. These are free programs with a free will donation accepted. Classes will start in January and are limited to 15 people per session.

Give me eight hours and I will provide you with a necessary learning tool that EVERY PARENT will need to ensure their child's safety. If your child is important to you then their safety should be number one on the list.

You might be saying "I am so tired when I get home from work" or "I have so much to do, I don't have time for this" ........IF YOU LOVE YOUR CHILD THEN YOU SHOULD CARE ENOUGH TO TAKE THIS CLASS AND LEARN HOW TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF YOUR CHILD.

Trust me, their are things going on in your child's life that you are just not aware of. Some of it is really scary.

Don't wait until your child is in court or your child has been sexually abused.

We wont show you how to work Quick books or how to design websites. We WILL show you however how to know what your child is doing on line.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO KNOW HOW TO OPERATE A COMPUTER - all you need to know is how to turn it on.

These classes will be held in English and Spanish. Call 402/412-3393 to sign up.

Give your child the gift of safety. By providing them with your parental knowledge you will keep them safe from all harm.