Plain and simple, that’s the intent of pretending to look like a menacing criminal. Whether any of them are honest enough to admit it.
When I was a kid in the early 80s my mom made it clear when you saw guys coming by on motorcycles, that we were to get back up to the house.
Motorcycle gangs apparently were a very major problem in that part of town and you didnt take chances on if the guy was a real gang member or just some innocent rider.