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Herbert Gayle
Contributor
I
HAVE studied gangs in Jamaica,
Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Trinidad, St Kitts, Antigua, St Lucia,
England and Wales, and the United
States of America. Using participant
observation, in-depth interviews, and
PEER (Participatory Ethnographic
Evaluation Research); I have traced the
lives of thousands of gang members –
chances are I have an idea of why boys
join.
People often suggest that boys are
recruited into gangs comparable to a
draft system. I have not found this to be
accurate. In fact, while some boys are
indeed forced into gangs, most are lured,
even pushed by family and society. Some
boys even beg to get into gangs – and
few are even denied entry.
I have seen many boys denied gang
membership on the basis of being ‘too
good’ for the gang. The most memorable
incident occurred in Spanish Town. I went
to see a don and saw his men beating a
boy of about age 15. I needed to know
why, but also knew the protocol. I looked
at the don and waited for an explanation.
He shook his head, sighed, then
explained: “This boy is the brightest thing
in this community. I have been keeping
him in school from his father dead for I
want him to become a lawyer, you know,
bail us out here every now and then. They
killed his mother last week – hit and run
out there on the highway – and him
telling me him have nothing to live for
now, so him not going back to school;
him is now a shotta. I find him with a
gun. We beat the owner of the gun and we
beating him now. Doc, come talk to him.”
RITE OF PASSAGE
I wish to distinguish between gangs
and corner crews here. Inner-city boys
join crews as a rite of passage, and
because they need food and protection. I
shall, therefore, define a corner crew as a
protective brotherhood. Corner crews are
not formed for the purpose of commit-
ting violent crimes, or fighting another
such group. In various public lectures, I
have defined youth gangs as I have expe-
rienced them in the field: three or more
young persons (15-34 years old) operat-
ing together with criminal intent, within
a hierarchical structure,with some degree
of permanence (three months minimum),
that compete violently with similar
groups.
Many gangs recruit from crews. Some
crews even transform into gangs.
Nonetheless, gangs are another ‘level’ to
crews, and it is rather sad when I see
crews get labelled and treated as gangs. I
have distinguished the two because the
decision to join a violent gang (in which
the exit is most likely death) is very differ-
ent from joining a crew, which is a normal
social expectation within an inner city.
Simply put, it is reckless and almost suici-
dal to join a gang – so why do boys it?
Boys often choose to join gangs from
as early as age six. Note that this is the
earliest age of development (school age)
where a boy is not ultra-dependent on his
mother for nurture. This means that these
boys actually decide to join a gang with-
in the very first year of seeking inde-
pendence of direct motherly nurture – the
period that boys begin to find self.
The final point I want to make before
listing and discussing the seven reasons is
the fact that gangs cannot exist if they do
not have a certain pool from which to
recruit. It is, therefore, critical to under-
stand why boys join them. There are seven
main reasons boys join gangs; and these
are often overlapping rather than distinct.
PUBLISHED: JANUARY 27, 2017