The tragic attraction of young men and women to join gangs is a growing problem in Mountain View, not only for the families whose children take up a life of crime, but for the community, which will pay through law enforcement, insurance and social costs.
It is a sad fact of life that there is an increasing tendency of young men and women to join gangs, but it is a trend that parents, educators and public officials can counter, if they watch for warning signs and know where to get help.
That is the message given last week during a gang awareness seminar at Castro Elementary School by the Mountain View Police Department in conjunction with a group that works to combat drug abuse among young people. More than 100 persons packed the school’s multi-use room for the event, which offered Spanish translation.
Pastor Tony Ortiz, a former gang member who is now a nationally known expert, explained how to spot the signals of gang activity, which in Mountain View often means either the Norteno or Sureno groups.
According to Ortiz, the Nortenos favor all red attire, including hats and bandanas, and the number 14, while the Surenos wear similar gear in blue and use the number 13. Besides clothing, other warning signs include tattoos, behavior, hand signals, music and nicknames.
This is important information for parents, many of whom can recall the fatal shooting about 18 months ago of Los Altos High School student Alejandro Fernandez near Escuela Avenue and California Street, which was believed to be gang-related.
Police illustrated their concerns by sharing statistics about gang-related activity in the last three years. For example, only 33 gang-related incidents were recorded in 2003, but the number jumped to 44 in 2004 and to an estimated 70 in 2005, an increase of more than 60 percent.
And the interest in gangs is coming at an increasingly younger age, Ortiz said, with some children showing signs in elementary school. To combat this trend, Mountain View police and schools are offering a number of ways to help parents prevent gang activity and to reduce interest in what is often illegal activity.
For example, the Dreams and Futures intervention program helps steer at-risk middle school students away from gangs. Other actions include training patrol officers to become gang experts and work with a gang suppression team. At the city’s elementary and high schools, counselors provide support to students on a range of issues, including alcohol and drug use, which are sometimes connected with gang involvement.
The police department is on the right track by reaching out to parents at Castro and other schools where early gang activity has been spotted. That effort should be continued and even expanded, if the department expects to combat the strong urge of young men and women to join a group that includes many of their neighborhood friends.
Many students know that gangs are not going to lead them to a college education or even a decent-paying job. But youths often make poor decisions, and put themselves at risk of being injured or landing in jail on a gang related charge that can add 10 years to their sentence. Gangs may seem attractive in the beginning, but the thrill is short-lived — and often a tragic loss for the families involved.
