What the gang patch means

COLOURS: Patches are sacred symbols rather like a nation's flag

Last week Wanganui outlawed the wearing of gang patches in public. But why do gangs want to wear them in the first place and what do all the little Boy Scout-style badges mean anyway?

Gang patches are badges of honour: no wonder they cause so much trouble. Elaborate taboos surround these dark emblems. "Black Power have the interesting rule," says gang researcher Jarrod Gilbert, "that you're not allowed to wear the patch on a pushbike." Doing so would demean the gang's symbol, and even turn it into a joke. Would Satan be caught pedalling?

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2838209/What-the-gang-patch-means