Street gangs are recruiting youth at a younger age: Quebec researcher

Gangs are recruiting youth at a younger age who have often experienced trauma as a child, a Quebec researcher has found.

Youth at an increasingly younger age are being groomed into joining street gangs and are often lured into the criminal underworld after experiencing traumatic events as a child, a Quebec researcher has found.

In some cases, kids as young as 11 years old are being recruited.

On Monday, CTV News Anchor Caroline Van Vlaardingen spoke with Isabelle Fortin-Dufour, a professor in the psychoeducation program at Université Laval, who co-authored a recent study that looked at how Canadian youth who join street gangs are likely to have suffered traumatic events during childhood.

This article has been edited for clarity and length. Watch the video above for the full interview.

CTV News: You came across these young people through both the judicial system and other community groups. What did they tell you about how they got recruited and where?

Fortin-Dufour: They got recruited by people on the street, mainly around schools and at bus stops or Metro stations, and they were really young, and they were not at school, which might send a signal to group members that these youth have no one to supervise them or care about where they are.

So, they become quite good victims for them.

At first, they recruit them, and they give them little tasks: Can you bring this to someone?

Gradually, they ask them to do more and more dangerous things, and once they realize they are doing stuff that they don’t want to do, they feel like it’s against their moral principles.

It’s not possible for them to leave because the gang says, ‘Well, if you leave, we won’t protect you, and if you’re not protected, you’ll die at the hands of an opposing group.’ So, it’s very difficult for the youth that get into this group to be able to exit.

CTV News: What kinds of things were they being offered? Money? Drugs?

Fortin-Dufour: Money is one of them, but it’s not the main thing. I think for them, mostly, they get protection.

These youths are — not all of them — but many of them have a past history of trauma. They’ve been violated by parents or in a foster home or anybody else from the family.

So, they’re already broken, as they say. This is a word they use: “We were already broken, and then they found us, and they made us do things.”

They offered a place that they feel safe. They also offer a feeling of belonging, which is very important for people entering their teenage years. It responds to many desires of people that feel that they don’t belong anymore.

CTV News: If they wanted to leave, would they be able to? How would the gangs keep them?

Fortin-Dufour: Some of the kids told us that they were living days and nights with bulletproof vests because they were so scared for their lives.

This is how it feels when you leave the group.

You’re 15, 16 years old, and you have to protect yourself, and they don’t feel like they can talk to the police because they are afraid they might spend time in prison, and because of what they’ve been asked to do, they feel really bad about it, and so, there’s kind of no way out.

They don’t seem to see it, but there are a few groups that work in the communities that are able to help them, but they’re still not available in every city all around Quebec.

CTV News: You mentioned the vulnerability of these kids. What’s the message here for society and schools, because as you say, some of them are just out on the street with no one really looking after them?

Fortin-Dufour: We feel that schools are the best way to help these kids because, of course, if you stay in school, gangs won’t have time to spend with you, and if you stay in school, you have a better chance at a better future.

But schools right now are different. There are too many children in one class. They have multiple problems, they don’t have support, they don’t have time.

When one kid is missing, if the parents are not looking for them, the school has limited issues to work on that.

If we grant them more money, and if we support them with people that know how to work with these kids, and they are able to reach out to them, I think this could be a solution.

It’s a responsibility for everyone. If you see a kid that is 11, 12 years old with someone that is 17 or 18, you should ask, what’s the purpose?

It could be a great friendship — I’m not saying it’s all bad, but we should question what’s going on.

Do you need help? What are you going through? I think it’s all the residents that could make a difference for all these kids.

If they have a mentor, if they have a coach, if they have someone they can believe in, it’s much easier for them to exit with the help of a nice adult that cares for them.