Gangs Turn To Social Networking Sites To Recruit
(CBS 5)
Young people who visit social networking sites to download music and
pictures glorifying criminal street gangs can unwittingly set
themselves up to be recruited by those gangs, according to law
enforcement officials and youth counselors.
San
Mateo Police Chief Susan Manheimer, who speaks for the San Mateo County
gang task force, said gang leaders are aware that kids like to
socialize on sites such as MySpace and YouTube.
"We're seeing
our gangs and the resurgence of some of the gang members coming back
from prison looking more and more to those middle schoolers and the
younger kids to recruit them," said Manheimer.
Manheimer said
kids get into discussions in the comments sections of web sites, and
engage in everything from vicious threats to what seems to be innocuous
chit-chat.
"The type of profiling they're doing of themselves
makes them prey to predators and also at odds with and challenging
other gangs," said Manheimer. "So, we'll see something start on the
Internet, and actually turn into an assault or a gang fight that
actually results out of Internet profiling."
CBS 5 visited a
movie theater in downtown Redwood City on a Friday night and found kids
as young as 12 years old with gang insignia downloaded onto their
phones. Some had downloaded rap songs glorifying the Norteños.
"'Til my death I'll hold my rag up high. I'll be a Norteño 'til the day I die," went the lyrics to one such song.
One 13-year old boy told CBS 5 the people who put up the pages with gang images sometimes strike up conversations with him.
"They just talk normal, like – 'What you doing? What you been up to?'" he said. "They don't pressure me, though."
Youth
counselor Alejandro Vilchez says keeping kids out of gangs in real life
now means teaching them to avoid becoming targets of propaganda in the
virtual world.
"It's really no different than the way Hitler
recruited Hitler youth with the pageantry and the uniforms and the
messages of unity and sacrifice and honor," said Vilchez. "It's the
same messages that you seen on these gang websites."
Vilchez
advises parents to keep computers in common rooms and closely monitor
websites and cell phones. And, he says parents should educate
themselves about the colors and signs of the local gangs.
A
YouTube spokesperson who asked to remain anonymous e-mailed CBS 5 the
following statement: "YouTube does not allow videos showing dangerous
or illegal acts which is clearly stated in the community guidelines on
the site."
"Also, real violence on you tube is not allowed,"
the statement continued. "If a video shows someone getting hurt,
attacked or humiliated it will be removed."
The spokesperson
said YouTube does not control content, and that they rely on users to
police the site and flag inappropriate material.
Youtube staff later reviews the material and removes content found to violate the community guidelines.
"Our community polices the site and this has proven very effective," the YouTube spokesperson wrote.
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