California Gang Enhancement Law: What every counselor, teacher, parent, and mentor needs to know.

By Rayford L. Johnson

“It ruins people’s lives, it stays with you forever.” These were the words of Stan DaVeiga, a former Norteno gang member from Sacramento, California.   DaVeiga who is now the Associate Director of Rollin with Christ, a gang prevention ministry, speaks not just from his hardships and experience as a validated gang member, but also is a voice for his peers, who like himself, have found it an uphill challenge trying to get back on the right track in society.  DaVeiga expressed frustration that the gang validation list is synonymous with the infamous “blacklist”, especially when it comes to finding employment (Stan DaVeiga, personal communication, January 9, 2011).

This paper will strengthen social institutions that support children, youth and families by describing California’s Gang Enhancement Law to increase awareness in local communities of the classification system of “validations” and the essential role that mentors, counselors, and youth serving organizations can play in breaking the cycle of gangs, drugs, violence, poverty and death.

California Gang Enhancement Law

According to the National Drug Threat Survey (NDTS), approximately 6,900 gangs with more than 237,000 members were criminally active in the Pacific Region in 2008. Also according to NDTS data, the percentage of state and local law enforcement agencies in the Pacific Region that reported gang activity in their jurisdictions increased from 66 percent in 2004 to 74 percent in 2008. As much as 80 percent of crime in some jurisdictions was gang-related. This proliferation in gang activity led to the enactment of the Gang Enhancement Law which provides for greater punishments when a crime is committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal street gang.

For example, a gang member arrested for graffiti, which is normally a misdemeanor offense, would be charged with a felony due to the youth’s affiliation with a gang. The gang validation process is utilized by law enforcement to qualify suspected gang members for the California Gang Enhancement Law.

Why does every AOD counselor, teacher, parent, and mentor need to know this?  In today’s youth culture, a reputation as a thug or a gang member is very trendy cool, sexy, and to be respected.  For example: “Gangsta” rapper, Cordozar Calvin Broadus a.k.a. “Snoop Dogg”, a validated California gang member himself, has been the spokesperson for reputable car companies such as Cadillac and Chrysler.  Cadillac has named a car after Broadus, called the “Snoop Deville”. Forbes magazine writes, “Partnerships like these helped land the rapper the seventh spot on Forbes’ 2010 Hip-Hop Cash Kings list. Over the past year, he’s raked in an estimated $15 million from music sales, a tour, acting gigs and Snoop-branded products that leverage his name, his look and deep baritone (Chung estimates that endorsement deals and branded products account for one-third of his income). Snoop’s so ubiquitous it’s hard to remember that he was once held up on Capitol Hill as a poster boy for the idea that rap music bred a culture of violence.” Broadus is just one of many self-proclaimed gang members, who are lavishly promoted across America and the world’s entertainment air waves, propagating the detrimental message that being a thug is “cool”.  Peter MacGillivray, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association of Diamond Bar, California, stated that celebrities are enhancing the popularity and profits of the already multibillion-dollar auto accessory market: “They are media celebrities, and they make it cool,” …They influence popular culture. They influence art. They influence fashion and music. They sing about their cars . . . and they motivate a whole lot of people.”

Thug Culture: Easy Set-Up for Gang Validation

 Tattooing has become very fashionable in the thug culture.  Many hip hop and rock videos display male and female musical icons covered in tattoos.  As McCeallery stated, these “gangsta” artists “motivate a whole lot of people”.  Unfortunately many of the new artists in the industry are self proclaimed thugs and gang members, proudly displaying their  gang and thug life related tattoos as many of them “pimp walk” or “C-walk”(Gang-related Crip Dance) and sag their pants.  This growing “thug” phenomenon, brought on by the entertainment industry, has mesmerized many youth, compelling them to emulate the “gangsta artists”; tattoo themselves from head to toe; wear thug culture attire; unknowingly amplifying their visibility on the law enforcement gang validation radar.

 Another contributing factor for gang validation is that some youth seek out friendship and association with gang members for protection, because they feel unsafe in their neighborhood or school. Some students are even “bullied” into gang association.  Some girls find it trendy and cool to date gang members or thugs, not knowing that doing so can validate them as a gang member. Similarly, some girls are “bullied” into dating thugs and gang members.

Wearing sports paraphernalia, especially in groups, such as the red 49ers or Chicago Bulls sportswear, can be perceived by law enforcement as Blood or Norteno gang member attire. Sacramento King’s sport apparel with the symbol “SK” can be misconstrued as the Norteno gang-related slogan “Sureno Killer”(Surenos or “Sur”  a Norteno gang-rival). Wearing L.A. Dodgers or Dallas Cowboys sport wear can be perceived by law enforcement as Crip or Sureno gang member attire.  California State University, Fresno apparel, which displays the Bulldog mascot on it, can be perceived by law enforcement as representing the Bulldog gang.

An important distinction regarding youth’s choice of attire is that wearing the aforementioned examples of apparel earns a point in the gang validation process in combination with other behavior such as criminal activity or being spotted within a gang-related environment such as a party or gathering in which gang members are present. The following story illustrates how a gang-related tattoo came back to haunt a man, even after leaving the gang. Raul Hernandez, a journalist for the Ventura County Star, writes:Twenty-seven-year-old Gerardo Lopez of Oxnard has some regrets. For instance, when he  bought beer for someone two years ago, and the guy stiffed him, Lopez shouldn’t have punched  the offender. When police arrested Lopez for that and ordered him to lift his shirt, an even older mistake came back to haunt him: the Colonia Chiques gang tattoo on his stomach, which he got when he was 16.

“I didn’t know better,” Lopez said. The auto mechanic told police that he left the gang life behind many years ago. That didn’t seem to matter. Instead of charging him with battery, a misdemeanor, prosecutors added a felony gang enhancement. He was facing as many as four years in prison; his bail was set at $107,000, Lopez said.

“Most people get validated because they don’t have knowledge on how not to get validated”, stated DaVeiga (Stan DaVeiga, personal communication, January 14, 2011).
Three Step System for Gang Prevention & Intervention:

    •    Awareness: The first step to help a youth avoid the gang validation process is implementing awareness education with youth, parents, mentors, counselors and other natural local leaders.  Individuals must realize that a problem exists before they are motivated to solve it.

 It has been this author’s experience as a youth correctional counselor for the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation for fourteen years that the best antidote to gang prevention and intervention is obtaining an awareness and deep global understanding of the matter. When the history of thug culture is presented to active gang members in a correctional setting, the majority are captivated and even emotionally moved by the information.

Often the inmates request more information about thug culture and are more likely to open up about their own background, past and current experiences in the gang lifestyle.  Sharing the information initiates a dialogue. The basic understanding of the word and origin of thug is often enough to diminish the “bling, bling” luster of the thug culture.
Gang members often justify their actions by making themselves a victim of the economic, prejudice, political or racial injustices of society and the government.  Many “O.G. Homies” step in where biological fathers have stepped out.

Knowledge: Once awareness is manifested, the next step is knowledge. Core negative beliefs are the root issue of the gang/thug culture; criminal beliefs create criminal actions.  The effort to help youth make healthier and safer choices includes strategies such as Beliefs+Emotions+Actions=Results (B.E.A.R.):
Beliefs +Emotions +Actions=Results.

Confrontation: Although the word “confrontation” can bring to mind aggressive tone, language, discomfort and other conflict resolution nightmares, when confrontation is facilitated using open-ended questions from a caring adult, youth are given the opportunity to evaluate their own thinking about their risk behaviors and lifestyles.

Consequently, confrontation is the last step of the process.  Parents, mentors, counselors, and other individuals should know that a youth’s choice to become (and remain) involved in a gang is ultimately about respect.  The following is an example of how youth can be supported in thinking about the choices that they are making:

    •    The adult (or peer mentor) can ask the youth: “Is being in a gang about respect?”
    •     “Does anything you do as a gang member violate your conscience?” Examples can be provided to assist the youth: Violence, their drug and alcohol use, crimes, murder, sexual promiscuity, poor grades, worrying and disrespecting parents, etc. Almost all youth will say “yes”.
    •     “Would you say your conscience and your self-respect are one in the same?” If I can make or persuade you to go against your conscience by do something you don’t want to do, did I in essence make you violate your self-respect?” The majority of youth will say “yes”.
    •     “You said that being in a gang is about respect, right?” When the youth responds affirmatively, a caring adult can confront a youth in a gentle tone with a follow-up statement such as, “I’m confused. How can being in a gang be about respect, when you said that being in a gang violates your own self-respect?”  A blank expression usually comes across the youth’s face at this point.
    •     The objective is not to ridicule the youth, but to encourage her/him to self-evaluate their choices.

Law Enforcement Process

The gang validation process has undoubtedly been an essential tool in understanding gang logistics and dynamics and has been very helpful in solving crimes to keep the community safe. Unfortunately, many non-gang member youth have caused irreparable damage to their future for making non-criminal, yet unwise decisions, which is a part of the adolescent developmental process.

A youth correctional counselor for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation observed that, once youth realize the magnitude and reality of being gang validated, depression can set in due to feelings of regret, hopelessness and self-hatred, that without intervention and support, can disintegrate into a deep anger, followed by rebellion and anarchy, eventually cycling them back around into a deeper attraction and desire for the gang culture as an emotional outlet.  Berry states, “They use the adrenaline high and drugs to mask the depression” (Marcel Berry, personal communication, January 28, 2011).

In order for society to truly make a significant impact on the gang epidemic, prevention must be administered to the root, which is the family.  Though this paper argues that the glorification of the “thug” by the entertainment industry, can play a heavy influence in conditioning  youth for criminal activity, in most cases, it is the family’s home structure and values, which is the determining influential factor, on whether a youth will or will not enter into the gang or thug culture.  Three distinct forms of family breakdown, which led to lifestyles of crime were spot lighted by the Social Justice Policy Group’s report “Fractured Families.”
•    Dissolution (where parents part after having children together),
•    Dysfunction (where parents are not able to provide their children with a sufficiently
nurturing environment)
•    ‘Dadlessness’

Children who experience all three of these family breakdowns, are twice as likely to enter in a criminal lifestyle, have poor school performance,  suffer depression and develop a substance abuse addiction.  It is vital that if at all possible, prevention programs implement in their curriculum, addressing the core of these family issues, along with encouraging family participation.  An example of a program like this is the “Big Brother and Sister Program, where a positive on-going relational interaction between the volunteer, child and family is developed.  These type of programs cultivate an atmosphere of caring, accountability and most importantly good values, these three components are essential in having an effective gang prevention program.

Resources(Websites)www.californiagangprevention.comwww.pactpowerkids.com http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/cripsandbloods/more.htmlwww.thugexposed.orghttp://www.youthradio.org/news/saying-no-to-gang-life(Books)The Bond: Three Young Men Learn To Forgive and Re-Connect with Their Fathers by Davis Sampson, George Jenkins and Rameck Hunt The Pact: Three Young Men Make A Promise and Fulfill A Dream by Davis Sampson, George Jenkins and Rameck HuntThug Mentality Exposed by Rayford JohnsonWe Beat the Street by Davis Sampson, George Jenkins, Rameck Hunt, and Sharon Draper