The State - News from April 24, 1988

Over the last six months, 616 children have been arrested by narcotics officers in San Francisco, as growing numbers of youngsters are attracted into the city’s burgeoning crack cocaine gangs, authorities say. Children, some as young as 7 or 8 who are attracted by the status and money of older gang members, have gone beyond imitating the style and dress of gang members and have actually become “junior associates” of the gangs. “There’s a bunch of ‘wannabees’ who are seeing older kids running around with fancy cars and a lot of money. They are going to be where the money is,” said Police Lt. James Molinari. Although the city’s gangs are less organized and violent than those in Los Angeles, youth workers in San Francisco worry that the same conditions that draw youngsters to gang life in Los Angeles are affecting youngsters in San Francisco.