Gangs in Utah are Alive and Well

         It may seem as if Utah does not have a gang problem because gangs are not as visible as they once were but this could not be further from the truth. At any given time, Salt Lake City has more than 50 active documented gangs with memberships reaching 3,000.

Gang life can be very attractive to Salt Lake’s youth many who enter a gang in their early teens in order to gain the acceptance they may be lacking in other areas of their life. There are several ways to enter a gang. One can be born into the life, jumped in or commit a crime in order to gain membership. One of the crimes frequently committed to gain membership is home invasion robberies carrying with it serious legal consequences for the individual and threat of harm to the innocent home owner.

According to the FBI, warning signs of gang membership include admitting to being in a gang, hanging out with know gang members, declining school attendance, performance, behavior, withdrawing from family life, carrying a weapon, displaying unusual hand signals with friends and trouble with the police.

Although gangs can attract members from all socio-economic backgrounds, the Salt Lake Metro Gang Utah indicates that many are coming from the Tongan community with a Tongan gang ranking third largest in the area. Recently six Tongan Crip Gang members were convicted in U.S. District Court on racketeering, assault, carjacking and weapons charges stemming from a series of robberies spanning five years.