Nothing that makes me scared to go out. But I’m also in Canada not the US…
The crime we’ve had to deal with has been break-ins or attempted break-ins to the underground parkade, rather than violence. Just recently enhanced the security system (I’m president of our housing co-op at the moment).
Are there street gangs in Canada?
In the U.S., there are very powerful street gangs. The journalists from This American Life, a liberal-leaning but very fair program on National Public Radio did a 6-month undercover investigation (known and approved by the police) in the toughest area of Chicago. The programs on NPR describing this operation and the conclusions are fascinating and frightening.
In short, EVERY child in the inner-city neighborhoods of Chicago is ASSIGNED to a street gang by the leaders of these gangs, and the children do not DARE to object. They may not necessarily be involved with the illegal gang activities, but they are expected to identify themselves with their gang…or else.
They wear gang colors and exhibit the gang symbols. And they keep quiet if necessary, or speak out if necessary.
They do not go to the cops for help.
The journalists did discover ONE student who had resisted being assigned to a gang. He never left his house, but homechooled. I think (it’s a been a few years) that his mother was allowed to leave the house to work and shop, but the student was never, ever outside, ever. He looked forward to graduating from high school, at which time he planned to leave his home and attend college and move far away from Chicago.
But here’s the thing about these very powerful street gangs–they serve as recruting sources for the
powerful big-city mobs, which also have connection to the world-wide criminal syndicates. The teens who perform well and rise to leadership positions in their gangs are invited to join the mobs.
All of this mob/gang activity gained its impetus back during Prohibition, when Chicago was ruled by the mob, which supplied liquor to towns and cities all over America. There was a pipeline between Chicago and St. Louis, which is explains why St. Louis is also one of the most crime-ridden cities in the U.S.–the mobs are still very much at work.
OUR city is in a geographical location that made it an ideal “escape zone” for mob members fleeing Chicago or St. Louis. Same for gangs–our police department and sheriff tell us that gang members are often sent to our city to “hide out” until things “cool off” and they can return to their city. Gang members in our city help them to avoid arrest–and often violence breaks out because these big city gang members are steeped in criminality.
A few weeks ago, young people were shot (2 died) in one weekend in our city.
And THAT’S valid reason to get RID of “HOUSING PROJECTS”–they are ideal recruiting zones for gangs. They concentrate poverty, despair, and ANGER in one area, and that area becomes almost like a fortress that is difficult for charitable workers, health care pros, ministers and laypeople, and of course, the police, to enter to provide help.
