Gang membership, noted expert Hunter Glass said Thursday night, is much like religion.

“Basically, the gang structure looks like a church,” Glass told an audience at the second Gang Summit held by the Halifax County Sheriff's Office at Kirkwood Adams.

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The OG — original gangster — serves as pastor to the collective congregation of followers. The assistant pastor is second in command while deacons serve as enforcers.

“Blind servitude is a requirement,” Glass said.

In his talk, Glass explained that small cities and towns where industries and jobs have been lost have become the new breeding grounds for gang membership and the hard truth, he said, is, “Gangs cross all socioeconomic barriers. Everyone is involved. Juveniles are easily manipulated. For people who don't have anything, a gang is going to take care of you. They have evolved as all cultures do. They have become popular.”

The end game, however, is gang membership “starts in violence and ends in violence.”

Glass said membership in gangs starts with a simple human trait. “Everybody wants identity and power. The belief is it helps them survive.”

The fact that many law enforcement agencies neither have the budgets or resources to combat the problem only helps the it spread.
Those who seek out gang membership, he said, “Need to belong to something greater than themselves.”

The gang problem ends up costing average citizens. “There are costs. Legal fees, court costs, incarceration, hospitalization. Half of them never pay their bills. We do. It costs you dearly.”

The gang problem, Glass said, “Is not going to go away. Gangs are not a law enforcement problem. Crime is. It's a social problem.”