"Belonging to a gang means that you're somebody," Mario said. "There's
pride in being a South Sider. We're representing the neighborhood."
The Gang Unit officers said the psychological costs of immigrating
between two vastly different cultures can also influence individuals to
seek out a gang lifestyle.
"Most of these kids are the children of recent immigrants," Faust said.
Faust said some gang members come from traditional families from rural
Mexico.
"They get to America, and they don't want to live by the old rules,"
Faust said. "They want to live in the fast lane."
He said that South Siders range in age from 13 to 25.
Many of South Side's most common offenses are money-oriented: drug sales
and theft.
"Their primary activity is selling drugs and stealing cars," Faust said.
"You've got curbside drug service here [in Oak View]. People come from as
far away as Fountain Valley to purchase drugs."
SHOWING THEM A WAY OUT
Paul Castillo, a gang specialist with Community Service Programs Inc.,
cited economic and cultural reasons for the gang's persistence.
"Kids see the gang as a way out," Castillo said. "But by joining the
gang, it ties them even more to the community. These kids don't see any
other possibility for advancement."
Castillo works with at-risk youth, offering museum trips, soccer leagues
and a bike club to get kids focused on positive activities instead of
gangs.
He hopes the kids he works with won't have any dealings with Faust and
Garcia. The two officers would like that, too.
Although they enjoy working on the gang unit because of its range of
responsibilities, it also tires them out.
"We see some of the worst things," Garcia said. "It wears you out."
