The effects of gang activities on the family

"I was born a discipline child, never knew how I got so wild.

When I used to go to school, they taught me the Golden Rule.

They said, 'Son you better know yourself, in time to come it's gonna be dread.'

I didn't heed this advice, now I got to pay the price.

Now I'm on death row, only one place to go."

Discipline Child - Jacob Miller

This past week, a national initiative by the counterterrorism arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force saw a proactive approach being taken by the police to observe Anti-Gang Week. Members of the Community Safety and Security Branch visited schools and other institutions and gave presentations on gangs and their effect on the society.

Family and Religion asked Sgt Kerry-ann Maylor Wallace of the May Pen Community Safety and Security Branch (CSSB) for insight on how gang-related activities can affect the family structure. She responded by stressing the importance of the family unit and said it should be protected at all costs.

Gangs and their many activities, she said, impact the family negatively.

RETALIATION

"If one member of a family does something bad and his cronies cannot catch them, they will do something evil to any member of his family that they catch," said Wallace as she alluded to the popular phase, 'If you caan ketch Kwaku, you ketch him shut.'

Wallace said that sometimes in the news, you will hear of elderly persons losing their lives violently and wonder what they could have done, but it could all stem from the fact that someone in their family was involved in gang activity.

Wallace said that for parents who are too caught up in trying to make a living and are not paying close attention to the signs "right before their eyes", if they observe keenly, they will notice the changes in their children.

"When children get involved in gangs, they will start to dress differently. They start to speak to you any way they feel like. They start being resentful, start getting angry, drinking, smoking, sleeping in class, and their taste in music will change," said Wallace.

She warned that parents, or family as a whole, cannot ignore what is before their eyes as this can prove detrimental to the entire family.

"Gang activities will impact the family one way or the other. If the breadwinner is killed, it will affect their financial situation, some will have to relocate," she said, adding that it will be disrupting for the family and they will have to adjust.

The trauma of reprisals and counter-reprisals and the family living in fear and being unsettled are just a few of the negative repercussions highlighted.

Wallace said that another situation that can play out in the family structure is having two family members being members of opposing gangs.

"Can you imagine two brothers in one house being at odds with each other?" she asked.

It is for that reason that Wallace said that if a situation like that occurs in the home, it should not be ignored, but dealt with.

"Parents should intervene and not allow it to get out of hand," she said.

If they are out of their element and not sure where to turn to for help, Wallace said there are a lot of avenues for assistance, such as her own department, the CSSB, Addiction Alert, Child Protection and Family Services, and other resource centres.

Whatever happens, Wallace stressed that parents must never give up on their children.

"Don't give up on your children, they are God's gift to you. Treasure them so that Vision 2030 can be realised," she said.

familyandreligion@gleanerjm.com