In juvenile facilities across California, youth impacted by gangs are labeled with prison gang terms. For approximately four years, I have worked as a gang interventionist and consultant, and a gang expert in court cases. I was thirteen years of age when I was labeled with prison gang language inside the old Fresno County Juvenile Hall. As a kid, I did not understand what those labels meant, yet they followed me out into the community.
As an adult, I became aware of the harm of using prison gang labels to identify kids while working with at-future youth* in the former Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facilities and county juvenile halls. Youth impacted by gangs are referred to as “shot callers,” “full-fledged gang members,” “gang associates,” “organized,” “criminally sophisticated gang members,” “active,” “nonactive,” and other gang-related names and phrases. Youth who decide to make different decisions and no longer be involved with a gang are labeled “dropouts.”
These prison gang terms, which are deeply embedded in juvenile facilities, are applied to kids as young as thirteen years old. I have seen the use of prison gang labels lead to intensified youth involvement in gangs, conflict, victimization, and loss of life. Youth have no clear understanding of prison gang politics because they have never been incarcerated at a county jail or prison institution. It is in adult facilities where individuals become entrenched in gangs. It is where they first gain awareness of prison gangs, their politics, and their rules.
In my work with at-future youth, the prison gang label “dropout” is particularly harmful. Its use gives youth the impression that they cannot leave their gang and make a different life decision. Adults who were in prison gangs have shared that the “dropout” label in prison results in victimization and even death. Some youngsters also told me of assaults against youth taking place in juvenile settings and when they return to the community over this particular prison gang label. These are the results of prison gang labels becoming ingrained in juvenile facilities and the community. Generally, out in the community, violence against youth leaving gangs is low. For youth afraid of disengaging from a gang due to fear of being labeled a “dropout,” a plan should be created to keep youth safe from potential victimization.
While working with youth who decided to leave gangs, I learned it is normal for youth to change their decisions about what or who they want to become. And, research shows that as kids’ brains develop and mature, they gain the ability to regulate their impulses and actions. In the United States, youth involvement with gangs is rare, and most kids and teens in the community do not get involved with gangs. Gang research also suggests youth gang involvement is temporary. Among the most common reasons for young people leaving gangs are simply feeling tired of gang life and disillusionment. College students often change their decisions about the degree they majored in, and youth impacted by gangs are no different when it comes to reconsidering their choices. A case manager working with youth once asked me, ”If we do not call them by the gang’s name or gang’s nickname, what should we call them?” My advice was to call them by their birth name instead of a gang label.
It is crucial to understand that kids who become involved with gangs have often experienced difficult upbringings and childhood trauma. Youth do not just wake up one day and decide to get involved with gangs. Through my work, many youngsters have disclosed to me why kids become involved with gangs. These are some of the reasons they have shared:
| “To be a part of something.” “Some kids come from troubled homes or don’t have the opportunity to have a mom or dad. The mom is on drugs. The kid sees money, clothes, and girls. He is getting drunk with the homies and feels acceptance.” “Because of a father not being there, family member, or brother.” “Problems and the people they are around.” “To protect the family and to think they are all tough, but some people only join gangs because they have no option, or they are born to it like their family is in it, and so they have to be in it too. “Lost love of parents or parents not being around a lot.” “The gang was my father to me because I didn’t have one.” |
These stated motives for getting involved with gangs are consistent with gang research. In my work, other factors leading kids to get involved with gangs are witnessing sexual abuse, suspensions and expulsions, not attending school, bullying, the death of a parent or family member, and abusive authority figures in the community.
Youth do not get involved with gangs for power, control, and to dominate their community, as these imply a level of organization and sophistication they do not have. Youth gangs are loosely structured and not organized crime. They create myths and make themselves appear more dangerous than they are for protective reasons. In 2023, here is what a group of teens revealed to me about how they feel about family:
| “Family is everything to me. I probably would have been homeless. The bond the family and me share is different than the homies.” “What family means to me is people that care and want you to do better. Family don’t gotta be by blood. It’s who cares and who you are around that makes you feel at home or loved.” “Loved ones who wouldn’t leave you in a ditch, but will pick you up or be there when the time is right.” “Family means everything. I grew up in foster care. I was abandoned as a kid. I’ve created my own family, and I push thru anything to be with my family. I would rip my heart out to be with my family but I can’t so I do what I have to but family is EVERYTHING!” “Family is everything to me. It means people who stay together and love each other no matter WHAT. Family!!!” “What family means to me is the people that are there and the people that love and care for you. And wanna see the good in you.” |
These are the usual types of responses I received from at-future youth impacted by gangs when asked about how they feel about family and about kids getting involved in gangs. The needs and concerns of youth should be the focus of professionals when working with youth impacted by gangs — not prison gang labels.
I was 13 years old when I was asked at a juvenile facility what gang I belonged to. At that age, the only thing I knew about the gang was its color, numerical symbol, and conflicts with other youth with similar traumas. I did not know about prison gang politics because I had never been in a prison. As a kid, I was heavily labeled with prison gang language for wearing clothing, shoes, and a bandanna that was part of my gang’s identity.
Professionals working in communities, schools, courts, and juvenile systems should refrain from using prison gang labels when working with youth impacted by gangs. Instead, at-future youth should be treated with respect, dignity, and compassion and not placed in the same category as prison gangs. Using prison gang labels in juvenile facilities sets kids up for failure and can actually create a prison gang culture where there wasn’t one before.
Kids are not gang members; they are children whose brains are still developing. Those who do end up in a juvenile facility need programming, support, family, and guidance to help them. The cultivation of healthy languages for at-future youth will have a long-lasting impact on how they view themselves as they mature.
*I came up with this term to replace the problematic label of “at-risk” youth.
Sergio Ignacio Coronel, M.S., is the founder of the organization YoungSTers for Change, where he runs a credible messenger mentorship program for at-future youth in the Central Valley. He is also a gang expert and a member of the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council (JJCC) at the Fresno Juvenile Justice Campus.