Currently, in New York’s Nassau and Suffolk County, local government officials, law enforcement officers, and community organizations have witnessed the emergence and expansion of gangs on Long Island. Once thought to be unaffected by the crime and violence associated with street gangs in large metropolitan areas Long Island is witnessing gang growth at an alarming rate.

The question asked most is why gangs are spreading. The kids today dress, talk, and walk the same way. They watch MTV, VH1, BET, listen to Snoop Dogg and Eminen. They play video games like Grand Theft Auto and Vice City in the confines of their bedrooms, while Instant Messaging and sending photos with digital cameras on a high-speed computer their parents will not touch. The stars of the today are young rappers, African Americans who set the style, music and sexual desire for our adolescence. Clearly, we have cast a blind eye towards these topics and at the same time, the music and Rave Clubs continue to explode with our children. Drug experimentation and usage continues; street gangs are hitting the streets of America to control this illicit business through intimidation and violence. Once again, our children are under siege. We preach, teach, beg and arrest, yet the growth of gangs continue. With this being said; in the evening participation at PTA meetings, where parents can learn of these warning signs, the attendance is poor. Most people feel their children are not at risk. "All children are at risk!"

However, the faces of the gang members are changing. On Long Island ethnic gangs recruit their own as well as young white boys and girls. That is their job to build an organization and racial pride does not get in the way. So if one can sustain a physical beating for a set amount of time, or commit a crime and in some cases draw blood of another, you can become a Blood, Crip, Latin King or Neta to name a few and for those girls willing they can be sexed in by numerous males. There is another element of this growth that needs to be examined. The white street gangs that are formed emulate and identify with major super gangs like the Black Gangster Disciples, Folk and People Nation, and the Aryan Nation that are more violent than their predecessors and are not recognized as such. This finding is not surprising, given the pervasive presence of gangs in schools, but denial by some adds to the increase of gangs on Long Island. The popular image of youth gangs ties them directly to drugs and violent crimes in minority communities, checked only by the local law enforcement, to suppress the failed social issues within these communities. However, the denial in schools in conjunction with the inability to specifically define the gang problems results from the absence of a local or national consensus on the definition of gangs and the harm they inflict along with the belief gangs are only a minority problem.

This gang growth takes place in schools across our nation. Unlike so many places, school is the one place that requires children to attend. A school breaks the barrier of economic distress, and in most cases race and culture, here they learn from each other and share their cultural differences. Nevertheless, dealing with gang activity in schools is reported as expected, as income level increases, reported gang presence decreases. In the many schools identified as having gang members across Long Island, the immediate response has been over the course of years, "they are not gang members, just wannabees." Nevertheless, we know better. A wannabee is a gonnabe. Whether you like it or not graffiti, red, blue or white bandannas along with the style of dress, tattoos, hand signs, colors and dialogue are indicators of gangs in our mist that are easily recognized by the trained observer. "Whasup dawg?" B’s up C’s down, 0-3-1. I’m lookin for a crab to eat food, so I can be a M-O-B."

The most effective approaches to addressing gang-related problems involve several agencies or groups handling a number of facets of local gang problems and focusing on, prevention, intervention, and suppression. Yet, even with such collaborative approaches, a number of inherent barriers need to be overcome. They include defining the gang problem and forming successful collaborations. Schools and communities should examine their own characteristics before attributing their gang problems to migration. Indeed, we need to look at all of the factors that contribute to gang problems locally if we are to design prevention, intervention and suppression programs.

We have read about the violence and now our communities are demanding a remedy to this growing problem. While we want the gangs suppressed or even eradicated, this will not happen until we deal with the denial of gangs in school.  Violence among youth commands our attention as never before. The negative effects of violence in the media, dysfunctional families, drug and alcohol abuse, unemployment, and living in a high stress society have taken a heavy toll on the stability of our youth and their families. Children must be taught strategies for dealing with conflict, frustration, and stress, which do not involve violence. There is a critical need for violence prevention education, with an emphasis on early intervention and the teaching of coping skills.