(Robert Arnold/KPRC-2 News)
The life of a gang member is brutal, often ending in violence or prison. Yet, this world of weapons, crimes and colors is somehow still appealing to many Houston area kids.
“For any gang to thrive, you have to have recruits,” Houston Independent School District Police Chief Jimmy Dotson said. Dotson estimated there are 250 documented gang members, representing 125 different gangs, enrolled at schools throughout the district.
“All of us, at one point, have to encounter those gang members,” said one HISD student who asked not to be identified. “It’s not just in schools, it’s everywhere. They’ll ask you to join or they’ll ask you for your money, they’ll take whatever you got.”
Dotson pointed out that gang recruitment does not happen at school, but in the neighborhoods. Dotson said gang members look for those kids who are “loners” and who lack a strong family life or role models. “The gang culture has tried to be that substitute,” said Dotson. “A lot of gang members have told us it’s a sense of belonging.”
(See the full story at KPRC-2 News)
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