KEY POINTS:
Police are appealing to Northland shopkeepers to stop selling bandannas to prevent children as young as six wearing gang colours.
The call comes from Kawakawa police Sergeant Alison Ealam after a public meeting in Moerewa this week to combat an escalating drug problem.
The sight of young bandanna-clad youths was unacceptable, she told The Northern Advocate.
The first step toward preventing young people being lured into gang culture was for shops to stop selling coloured bandannas.
"You only have to look around to see the colours they're wearing when we're walking the beat...the reds, white and blues wrapped round their heads and necks...I'm really disappointed to see it.
"They're the next generation and you know where they're going to end up."
Ms Ealam said she had moved from the West Coast to Kawakawa four months ago and the number of youngsters blatantly showing their gang affiliations had been an eye-opener.
"They're so young. It's scary they're affiliating themselves with gangs through their coloured scarfs.
"Kids look for role models and sometimes if they don't get that at home gangs can be the answer. It's like moths to a flame."
- NZPA
