HOUSTON – 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."
Dotson said gang members also try to lure recruits with promises of protection from bullying and the money to buy whatever they want.
"Money is everything to them," said HISD police officer Leo Castro, who is a member of the HISD police department's gang unit. "They see somebody with a handful of money and they want to be part of it. They want to have that. They want to have that money."
HISD officers said many times gang members will also offer a potential recruit a "few bucks" as a gesture of kindness.
"But eventually you have to pay the piper," said Castro. "Pay us back or become one of us."
Seizing on the desire for quick cash, gangs are using social media to hype the "gangster" lifestyle. Local 2 Investigates found numerous videos on YouTube glamorizing the gang life by showing handfuls of cash and expensive cars.
"It's a propaganda war we have going on," said Dotson.
HISD officers also are faced with those students who grew up in a gang culture. HISD officers showed Local 2 pictures, confiscated on school grounds, showing a mother holding a baby decked out in gang gear. Another picture showed a child who appeared to be 4 or 5 years old wearing gang apparel and holding a rifle. Other pictures shown to Local 2 depict students smiling and flashing gang signs. Dotson added when it comes to gang recruitment, no student is too young.
"The earlier they can start recruiting, or at least the earlier they can impress upon young students, it's going to be the elementary schools," said Dotson. "We're finding that that's where we're having to spend a lot of our resources, in the elementary schools."
However, the weapons confiscated at schools throughout the district highlight the inevitably violent nature of gang life. HISD police officers have three large displays showing weapons ranging from brass knuckles to knives to homemade weapons, like a tightly twisted bandana concealing a heavy weight that could be used as makeshift club. Officers said many of the weapons are found stashed at schools and not on students. Officers added many of these weapons can be purchased at flea markets around the city or at small, independently owned neighborhood stores.
Officers in HISD's gang unit work undercover on campuses as well as talk to students about the dangers of gang life and help parents spot the more subtle signs of gang activity. HISD officers showed Local 2 numerous T-shirts confiscated at schools that most parents would consider benign, but they contained hidden gang symbols. HISD officers also showed Local 2 several pieces of student art that were confiscated because the paintings and drawings contained gang symbolism.
"They're getting smarter," said Castro, referring to gang members who are now trying to hide their affiliations. "They're trying to do away with less tattoos, less colors, less everything to try to stay under the radar."
Dotson said most gang members still view schools as neutral ground, fearing any trouble will bring increased scrutiny from both teachers and police. Dotson said problems are dealt with swiftly. In fact, a review of the Houston Police Department's database of gang-related crimes committed over the last five years show 186 cases of gang members being arrested for disrupting or disturbing school activities.
"Best thing you can do is just ignore it," said a student. "You make it hard on yourself by letting it happen. You either stand up to them or you fall."