By Charles Hack
Just recently, a 17-year old died in a spray of bullets, after leaving a Sweet 16 party in East Flatbush. Police believe he was the victim of a Bloods versus Crips killing. It is no surprise that teens die because they belong to gangs, but few parents would know whether their child was a member of one of the hundreds of gangs in New York. Sgt. Diana Erickson, an educational trainer with the Gang Division of the NYPD, shared a few tips on identifying whether a child has fallen in with the wrong crowd, at a Community Action Project meeting at St. Jerome R.C. Church, 1900 Newkirk Ave. on Jan. 25. Combine guns flowing into New York from out-of-state with gangs that peddle power to attention starved kids, and you have a deadly cocktail for Brooklyn’s teens. All gang-related shootings over the past year in the 67th Precinct involved 16- and 17-year-old males, Commanding Officer Inspector Robert Boyce told assembled community members who were concerned about illegal activity at Nostrand Playground. “Young people feel they have to be on either one side of fence or the other, either a Blood or a Crip, or a Latin King or something like,” said Boyce. “We have to break that up.” But parents can help their kids by giving them the attention they crave and watching out for telltale signs in the way they dress and how they speak, said Erickson. Younger people are seeking respect and acceptance into society at younger ages, and they want attention whether it is positive or negative. “Unfortunately, the gangs are selling the wrong kinds of respect. They sell power that involves violence,” said Boyce. “It has to stop.” Part of the problem involves guns coming into New York from other states that have liberal gun laws. “We have gun laws in this country that allow guns to be sold in some states,” said Boyce. “They make their way up here, right up I-95 to our city. It is too easy to get hold of a gun.” Sgt. Erickson, who has spent six of her 18 years with the NYPD in its Gang Division, says that most parents aren’t aware when their kids are involved in gangs or with guns. Of all the reasons for joining a gang, including peer pressure and curiosity, the most common reason is for love and attention, according to Erickson. “Kids crave one thing, attention,” Erickson said. “It doesn’t matter if it is negative or positive as long as it’s some kind of attention.” Modern and social pressures do not help. Kids are often left to their own devices between getting out from school at 3 p.m. to after 6 p.m., when parents get home. During those times they are most vulnerable, especially if they end up hanging around on the streets with their friends. When a teen gets involved in gangs, they can start doing things they wouldn’t normally do, such as robbery and larceny. Parents can identify gang members by the colors that they wear – and check for other warning signs in their children. Apart from the colors of the gang, different sects wear additional colors, which for Bloods include, red, black, green – the color of money — tan, brown and beige. Hip-Hop has even made pink popular – not a color a boy would usually buy. “If a kid is wearing a baby pink T-shirt after visiting mall, question to him: ‘Out of all the colors you could wear, why did you pick pink?’” said Erickson. “The color may be representing something.” The colors of the Crips tend to be blue, black and gray. Another major gang found in the 67th Precinct, the Latin Kings, tends to wear gold, yellow, black, and even red, according to the gang expert. Erickson says that while white is supposed to be a neutral color, some gangs pick it up as a disguise. Apart from colors, gangs have other identifiers to show their gang affiliation. Any item of clothing worn to the left side may indicate affiliation with the Crips, while anything off to right side may be connected with the Bloods, she said. A bandana tucked into the left side, the left leg of jeans rolled up, a shirt tucked in on the left, a left sleeve rolled or a hat tilted to the left all signify affiliation with gang members, she said. Snoop Dog, a Crip, rapped some lines in his ‘Drop it like It’s Hot’: “I’m a gangsta, but y’all knew that … I keep a blue flag hanging out my backside. But only on the left side, yeah that’s the Crip side.” “If your daughter has her hat tilted off to the right side, you might want to say, why?” said Erickson. “Either put it on the right way or don’t wear it at all.” Erickson warned that a kid who flags their identity in the wrong area of town could get hurt or even killed. “It is very important that you understand what your children are wearing,” said Erickson. Parents should also monitor their kids’ Web surfing habits. Many Internet Service Providers provide ways of blocking and monitoring children’s access to Web sites. AOL Guardian, for example, can email a parent each time their son or daughter goes on line, with the addresses of all the Web sites the child visits. One Web log site, popular with kids, www.myspace.com provides pictures and profiles of all the personals. A concerned parent could search a profile for one gang or another to find if his or her own son or daughter shows up. Parents should also check their children’s notebooks for doodles, such as a crossed-out ‘C’ for Crips, or a crossed-out ‘B’ for Bloods. Kids also pick up gang hand signs or gang slang. The Bloods call Crips “Crabs” or “Erickets,” while the Crips call Bloods “slobs,” she said. “Listen to what your children are saying to you,” said Erickson. And she advised parents to be wary if a child makes a new friend that they don’t think they will approve of. Since stealing is often an initiation for entering a gang, parents should check to see if their children bring home a new piece of electronic equipment after visiting a mall, such as an iPod or CD player, especially if they don’t have the money to pay for it. To find out more, visit www. Gripe4rkids.org.
