ORANGE COUNTY VOICES : Adults Must Band Together to Save Our Children’s Future : Gangs: County’s Operation Safe Schools is a good start. But all of society must get involved.

Gangs. In the minds of most adults, this word evokes fear, insecurity, hate, weapons, terror and death.

In the minds of children, however, this word is often blurred with other concepts.

For example, in numerous elementary schools throughout Southern California, children associate gangs with fun, excitement, family, power, protection and being cool. When they are asked if there are good gangs, they eagerly say yes. As a result, many of them do not hesitate to join what they perceive to be “good gangs.”

But according to the California Penal Code, a gang is defined as a group of people, young or old, male or female, who come together for a particular purpose and engage in criminal or illegal activities.

So, there are no good gangs. All gangs are criminal--from writing graffiti to executing murder. The main difference between a club and a gang is the criminal activity. Thus, if the Girl Scouts break the law by selling crack cocaine instead of cookies, they can be labeled as a gang.

The responsibility for clarifying deadly gang misconceptions to children lies with adults. Children have personal and social needs that must be addressed in a clear, direct and responsible manner.

Children especially need to understand the harsh consequences that come with joining a gang. They must realize that they immediately acquire enemies who will not hesitate to kill them or their families and friends. Also, the gang label thereafter will be a shadow that follows and endangers them wherever they go.

Contrary to most children’s beliefs and desires, the gang label will not be easy to lose. In many cases, children will carry all of the gang’s corresponding consequences until the day they die.

In 1987, while most of Southern California’s school districts were in a stage of denial, the Orange County Department of Education and Robert Peterson, the county superintendent of schools, took the initiative to prevent schoolchildren from joining gangs. As part of the vision to ensure safe, secure and peaceful school environments, Peterson approved the creation of a comprehensive gang prevention program known as Operation Safe Schools.

The program provides students, parents and educators with human resources to assist them in trying to deter gang membership. It addresses six major areas of instruction: specialized anti-gang teacher training; parent education; student leadership development; safe schools curriculum development; crisis management, and interagency team building.

The use of these prevention efforts has greatly helped to curtail the gang epidemic. In Orange County there are about 100 gangs with an estimated 12,000 members. The gangs are constantly recruiting new members from all ethnic groups, young and old, male and female.

The Operation Safe Schools staff is responsible for teaching thousands of students, parents and teachers how to replace self-destructive behavior with a commitment to a healthy, responsible and patriotic lifestyle. In particular, these efforts promote a grass-roots anti-gang team approach that involves police officers, educators, parents, business leaders, students, community, government and religious organizations and the media. This model team approach is the only way to effectively deter gang membership in schools and communities throughout California.

The gang mind-sets, perceptions, labels and self-fulfilling prophecies impacting children must be altered. Labeling children as gang members and treating them accordingly only contributes to our failure to divert them from gang life.

If labels must be used, we should try positive ones that nourish children with hope and direction, such as “potential college graduates.” If we look for our children to live up to the expectations of labels, then these positive labels are preferable to the gang-related ones. Teaching children, parents and educators how to exercise responsible anti-gang behavior contributes to success.

The vision of a safer and stronger California can only be realized by leaders who are not afraid to face gang challenges prudently and expediently. To deny that gangs exist in our environment only empowers the enemies of our children.

We must all work together to identify the early stages of gang development, and confront and defeat its deadly influence. One gang killing involving one of our children is one too many.