Taking the Gloss Off Gang Life

Leaders of Orange County’s Vietnamese American community, like their counterparts in other ethnic groups, have wrestled with why youngsters join gangs and how to steer them away from crime. A new federally funded study may provide some assistance.

The survey of Vietnamese American youth and their parents in Westminster, the heart of Little Saigon, found that the assumption that youngsters in the community joined gangs because of tension between cultures or to create a substitute family was wrong.

Rather, gang membership was found to be prized because friends belonged and the gang life seemed good.

The study was the product of a $150,000 grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. It was money well spent. Now it’s up to community leaders to determine how best to persuade the teenagers of Little Saigon that gang life emits a false allure and they are better off avoiding it.

The director of the Vietnamese Community of Orange County Inc., Sam Ho, said the results of interviews with nearly 300 Westminster males ages 11 to 19, along with their parents, plus a review of police records, should provide help in dealing with potential gang members in the community. He was right in noting there are other reasons people may join gangs and they have to be addressed as well.

Westminster Police Chief James Cook said the survey was the first financed by the federal government to look into Vietnamese gangs. The report found that nearly half the delinquency among Asian youths in Westminster is the activity of Vietnamese gang members.

Especially troubling is the increasing level of violence of the gangs, according to police. Obviously, most Vietnamese shun the gangs, and police have tried various strategies to get the criminals off the streets. Community policing, after-school programs and assistance from residents have proved helpful in other gang settings in persuading youngsters to stay out. Prevention is better than waiting until a crime occurs to arrest and prosecute a gang member.

Families and schools should play an important part in steering Vietnamese American youth away from gangs, as they do with youngsters from other communities. Taking the gloss off gang membership will be a good start.