Signs to look out for

Gangs often leave signs of their presence and your child might adopt some of these signs; either as a member or as an associate of a gang. Any sudden changes in your child’s lifestyle should be discussed.

Signs may include:

Specific dress style
Poor behaviour
Talking differently – new slang or language with an aggressive tone
Poor school results or skipping school
Carrying weapons
Unexplained injuries or sums of money/possessions
Staying out unusually late
Graffiti style tags on possessions
Interest in music which glorifies weapons/gang culture

It’s not just the boys

Girls can be affected by gangs, but their involvement may be harder to spot. They may be asked to hide weapons or drugs, or be targeted by male gang members in acts of revenge or gang initiations. All of this tends to go on ‘behind closed doors’.

Many girls who are involved with gangs may believe that what they are being pressured, forced or choosing to do is acceptable, even normal. They may not realise that what is happening to them is wrong; they may be afraid of what might happen if they tell anyone and/or they may think that no one will believe or protect them.

Some signs that a girl you know might be involved with a gang include:

Changes in physical appearance (for example wearing more ‘adult’ clothes, or wearing baggy clothes and no make up)
Unexplained money or possessions
Getting involved in fights
Committing crimes such as shoplifting
Regularly staying out late or going missing from home
Abusing drugs and/or alcohol
Physical injuries (which may indicate violence from others and/or self-harming)
Refusing to seek medical help for such injuries and becoming fearful and/or withdrawn and/or prone to unexplained outbursts of anger