Missionaries of the Sacred

Recruitment for gang members takes place in the streets, in schools, and in prisons. Some techniques for gang recruitment include: seduction, subterfuge, obligation, coercion, and self-recruitment.

Often gang members attempt to bring about “glo­rified myths about the gang that are very attrac­tive”¹ such as “money, power, sex and glamour.” Parties are very useful ways for gangs to recruit new members. (seduction)

There is also a “misrepresentation of what the gang really is and what it stands for.”² This in­cludes lying to the individual e.g., telling him/her that his/her group is not a gang. Gangs also target kids who don’t have a good home life, convincing them that they aren’t loved at home but that the group or club is there for them. (subterfuge)

A member of a gang may do a favor for a person, and then expect or demand in return a favor from the individual. (obligation)

Large gangs increase membership by forcing the individual to join, threatening the individual and/ or his/her family. (coercion)

Lastly, many youth will join gangs on their own volition. (self-recruitment) (See Why Youth Join Gangs)

1. Mike Carlie, Into the Abyss.

2. Ibid.