A B.C. psychology professor is encouraging parents to look for signs that their children may be involved in gangs following the RCMP's release of photographs of young men allegedly contributing to a Metro Vancouver gang war.

RCMP Chief Supt. Bill Fordy told reporters on Tuesday that a turf war between two different groups of South Asian and Somalian descent has resulted in at least 17 shootings in Surrey and three in Delta since early March.

The two groups are allegedly made up of young people involved in low-level drug trafficking.

Dr. Gira Bhatt, a psychology professor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff that young people are lured into gangs because of the opportunity to make quick cash and the thrill of defying authority.

"It starts with a very small step — 'Deliver this package, and you get this much money.' It doesn't seem like a high risk," said Bhatt, who is also the director of Acting Together, a project aimed at preventing youth gang involvement.

"And because they are at a young age, they often get away with a lesser sentence."

Bhatt said police did the right thing by releasing the names and photos of individuals believed to be involved in the gang war because families and associates may now feel compelled to come forward with information.

Often, parents are not even aware that their children may be involved in gangs, but the signs are there if you look for them, said Bhatt.

Bhatt says a youth may be involved in gang activity if:

• They leave home randomly for short periods of time, no matter the time of day
• They now hang out with a different group of friends who tend to be older
• They have more than one cell phone and you have no idea where the extra phones come from
• There is cash lying around

To hear the full interview with Gira Bhatt, listen to the audio labelled: Why B.C. youth join gangs