His friends are fellow gang members because he trusts no one else. Loyalty - The gang is first and foremost in his life, he will do anything to protect the gang integrity and fellow members. Reward - The rewards are acceptance, love, identity, status, money, and the feeling of being an important part of a family. Violations - The gang imposes a strict set of rules and regulations to which gang members are required to adhere. Punishments include monetary fines, beatings, banishment from the gang, and sometimes even death.
Violation is also a term used to denote a members acceptance to and exit from the gang.
Violation into the gang may consist of a beating from several gang members, or commission of a particular type of crime. Violation out of the gang, or V d out normally consists of a severe beating by gang members. To many members of the public, graffiti represents thoughtless vandalism or childish pranks, but to the gang members, graffiti is a clear mark of territorial boundaries and serves as a warning and challenge to rival gangs. These signals or signs are made by forming letters or numbers with the hands and fingers, depicting the gang symbol or initials. By using these signals, the gang member can show to which gang he belongs and issue challenges to other gangs in the vicinity.