Why Kids Join Gangs—and How to Stop Them
By Joshua Crawford
Originally published on March 21, 2025, in City Journal
In Philadelphia last month, law enforcement announced the indictment of 12 teenagers for a series of violent crimes spanning two years. Calling themselves “The Senders,” the groups were charged with murder, 26 shootings, and multiple carjackings. One of the alleged shooters, now 19, is charged with nine shootings totaling 16 victims. Another was just 14 at the time of his alleged crime—a stark reminder of how gangs can entrench even the youngest members.
These alleged offenders’ ages may be shocking, but young people make up a much larger share of gangs than many realize. Survey data from the 1990s found that around 5 percent of young people were in gangs; the average age of joining a gang was 13. Gang-affiliated youth are far likelier to engage in serious crime than other at-risk youth or children with delinquent but non-gang-affiliated friends.
Governments have launched a wide array of prevention and intervention efforts to steer kids away from gang life. These programs try to dissuade youth from joining gangs or encourage them to leave. But the initiatives have had mixed results, and the ones that do work well often have limited access to at-risk kids.
To address the root problem, policymakers must understand why kids join gangs.
Joshua Crawford is the Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives at the Georgia Center for Opportunity and the author of “Kids and Community Violence: Costs, Consequences, and Solutions” in the newly edited volume Doing Right by Kids.