Class War: How to know if your child is in a youth gang, warning signs for parents

‘It’s not a certain colour of clothing or badge’: These are warning signs for parents to know whether their child is being initiated into a youth gang. Watch the latest episode of Class War.

Kids filming their vicious schoolyard bashings could be undertaking “initiation programs” to take part in the next generation of gang warfare, a youth crime expert has revealed.

The warning signs for parents, from Western Sydney University’s professor Brian Stout, comes following a spike in school-based assaults – and the rise in social media amplification of school fights.

This week, The Daily Telegraph’s Class War investigation revealed 1694 violence-related incidents in 2022 were reported to NSW Police – up from just 457 in 2011.

While in the last year alone, there were a terrifying 345 incidents where a weapon was produced on school grounds and reported to NSW Police.

It comes as shocking footage of schoolyard fights where boys are king hit and girls bashed are shared widely on social media, sometimes on pages dedicated to violent content.

Brian Stout, a professor of social work and dean at Western Sydney University’s School of Social Sciences, has revealed the red flags parents should be aware of that could signal a descent into criminal offending.

Teenagers in underpass tunnel. Photo Nicholas Falconer

He said initial signs included disengagement from school, difficulties in relationships at home, changes in friendship groups, rule-breaking, sneaking out at night, and indications of abuse of alcohol or drugs.

“Warning signs that parents would be looking for would be much more related to generally things not going well,” prof Stout said. “I don’t think parents need to get caught up in thinking, ‘I need to recognise a certain colour of clothing or a certain badge’.”

Prof Stout said participating in schoolyard fights does not definitively mean a child is on a trajectory into crime and gangs.

However, he warned it was essential for parents to respond to those behaviours quickly to ensure experimentation did not evolve into something more harmful, as schoolyard violence could sometimes be part of an initiation into a gang.

Prof Stout said children could be involved in youth groups with people around their age – who engage in offending together – or adult crime groups looking to bring the next generation of members into the fold.

He said adult gangs could foster a “sense of loyalty in children”, and encouraged them to cross the line.

But, Prof Stout added, initiations into gangs were the culmination of many steps that guided a child down the wrong path.

A youth crime expert has warned youths who are already on a trecherous path to hold onto something positive to keep themselves away from crime.

“I think the idea of older members of gangs bringing younger members through is absolutely what is happening,” he said.

“This is how gangs will perpetuate themselves … and some of that is about just expanding the reach of the game to allow them to have some involvement in offending perhaps that they wouldn’t be otherwise able to do.”

The youth crime expert issued a warning to children who are already on a treacherous path of youth crime and gangs, telling them it was essential to hold onto something positive to keep them in some form of education or employment pathway.

“The real danger for children is that the two things that can intertwine with each other, that can take them down a very negative pathway are the offending itself, but also getting deeper and deeper in the criminal justice system,” he said.

Dr Stout said parents concerned about their children needed to reach out for support through the school, community groups and counselling, and urged them not to be embarrassed as though they have failed in their duty.

A series of warning signs have been issued to parents. Picture: Liam Kidston

“It’s the old saying or cliche about it takes a village to raise a child, but that’s particularly true when you’re working with a child who’s vulnerable and in difficulties,” he explained.

“Some of these, these children and young people have been through traumatic circumstances and are living in difficult circumstances, and the pearl of a gang or offending behaviour is … it gives you a sense of status.

“To ask a parent on their own, to fight against that is asking a lot, and so we need to be looking at those positive influences that are going to outweigh the negative influences, and that’s where, you know, we as a society and a community need to be involved in it.”