Are gangs an issue where you live or work

[cyclist]

Trying to post my first poll here. The MS-13 thread, a previous thread about gang bangers partying in a driveway, and other threads in the past, all have got my curiosity up. Please limit your replies or comments to personal strategy and tactics, please do not get all vigilante like, please stick to the site's parameters and applied rules. Thanks. I'm just trying to get a better feel for how big of an issue gangs and organized crime really are versus individual criminals.

I've allowed multiple choices so you can pick one for home and another for work zones. For example there is little but some gang type stuff near home, and a noticable amount near where I work.

Please be constructive with your comments so that others might learn. Thanks.

 

[possum]

i picked the first though i don't leave my doors unlocked!

 

[ojibweindian]

Apparently, according to some people I know who work at organizations whose business it is to know such things, MS-13 is active in Marshall County, AL.

There isn't any open gang warfare or violence, currently, however. Regardless, I stay armed at all times.

 

[Cannonball888]

i picked the first though i don't leave my doors unlocked!

 

[jlpskydive]

I'm in the second group. Mostly just a few wannabees on my side of town, but if you go on the south side it gets a pretty rough.

 

[M2 Carbine]

I picked the first choice.

About the only time I lock the doors is at night or when I go out,

or to keep the cat out.
He has taught himself how to open the front door.
Now if he would teach himself to close the door it would save on heating and AC.

 

[Babarsac]

I picked the first.

I'm more worried about gators here but I lock my doors anyway. We'll see how that changes when I move to Gainesville.

 

[wheelgunslinger]

Active defenses and security. Gangs have a major foothold here in the Charlotte area and have for a long time.

There is no such thing as "the good part of town." Thanks to the murder rate and crimes perpetrated all over the citywide area, Charlotte was recently voted 9th worst place to live in the nation. However, I live in a fairly pleasant area.

I have the usual array of firearms at home. I have the usual array of security measures at home.

I spend a lot of time out and about being a freelance writer and Criminal Justice student.

As far as being defensive, you really just have to accept that no matter where you are on the planet you can be in danger. So, you just have to be as aware as you can be and ready to act if needed. Or, you have to be ready to be a good neighbor or witness.

Being a bit of a body art afficianado, I make it a practice to look at body art when I'm out working or playing. Gang tats aren't always in full view. I can spot and decode prison tats pretty quickly (though the meanings are always changing thanks to posers) and try to catalog the latest ones in my head.

Gang tats are there for a reason. So are prison tats.

 

[fletcher]

Some gang activity, although not in the immediate vicinity (but they are known to travel around here). The main concern are just plain old thugs that aren't in gangs.

 

[3pairs12]

Not so much on my side of town as of now but I suppose what small gangs that are here can migrate. I am worried about the little spoiled punks at the end of my street though. I can see one of those turds break into a house at some point.

 

[romma]

Yep...

 

[Hiaboo]

I live 10 minutes away from Downtown Rochester which has a pretty serious problem with drugs/gang acitivity.. However (I admit it) I've left my garage!! door open allll night and nothing happened.. TWICE! Bad me... That's what happens when you transplant a country boy in the city.. The area that I live in is a neighborhood watch and pretty comfortable as far as things go, neighbors are friendly, its a older neighborhood too. So..

 

[Checkman]

Yep gangs are an issue here in our little corner of Idaho. And, thanks to the housing market of the past seven years, many of the brand new shiny subdivisions have gangmembers living next door to nice middle-class families in the new pretty houses. Oh boy are people upset about that. You don't have "bad" areas and good areas anymore. It's all mixed in together where I live.

We've made progress against our local gangs. A few of the big fish are now in custody waiting for their day in Federal court for such things as tax evasion, drugs, extortion etc. But nature abhors a vacumn so now we're seeing an increasing presence of bangers from rival gangs which are based in the city next to us.

As far as acts of violence directed against "Civilians" they really don't do anything. Instead they committ acts of vandalism and burglarize the citizenry. Thats bad enough of course. The citizens are more in danger from a stray bullet when a drive-by happens.

 

[chrlefxtrt]

Noticable gang activity

I saw a statistic last night saying that there were over 250 drive by's in the OKlahoma city area in 06' compared to like 60 in 99'. Because I35, I40, and I44 go right thru OK we ahve seen increasing numbers of drug related gang activity in the last few years. Hispanic gangs are the fastest growing problem (MS13) but there are the staple Bloods and Crips etc. Due to our states unique diversity we have quite a few American Indian gangs, though there arent; as violent as some of the others ( I think this is due to the population density in the areas where they are prevalent). There are an estimated 80 gangs in the OK with an estimated 3500 members. Some people might see this number as small but OK only has around a million people in it:banghead: I live in a town of 30,000 people and it is very apparent that gangs are on the rise here.

 

[mpmarty]

Gang activity here is limited to gray digger squirrels and agressive chipmunks.

 

[geophysicishooter]

In the immediate vicinity of the University and on the "good side" of town, one is generally safe. But if you stray too far outside the 'green zone' you'll definately see gansters, particularly if you know what to look for. (I use the term gangster rather loosely) I grew up in a part of Houston that is much the same way with small pockets of decent society mottled against full on gang territory. I was used to seeing taggings all over the place. I guess most of Houston is that way now. Sanctuary city, indeed.

 

[ilbob]

ironically, one gang problem in my little village was a gang of white kids. IIRC, almost all were sons of minor political figures, cops, and other government employees. it got broken up rather quietly.

 

[mokin]

I went with 2. There are plenty of wannabes around, the local sheriff has stated there are plenty of ganstas travelling through the area, mostly associated with drugs and there are larger towns within easy driving distance with known gangs. I also used to shoot with a guy who had his house cleaned out (including gun safe) in what is believed to be a gang related burgulary. We make a habit of keeping things locked up and maintaining a fairly high level of awareness. Most of the highly publicized crime (esp. violent) in the area seems to be commited by transients.

 

[chrlefxtrt]

I grew up in a part of Houston that is much the same way with small pockets of decent society mottled against full on gang territory

My battle buddy in basic training Joined the Army to get out of the 5th ward. I heard some eff'd up stories. Another Army friend was from New Orleans and told me that he saw just as eff'd up stuff at home as his tour in Iraq (Limb hackings, AK to someone's head inside of a night club etc.) The Army was really my first experience with minorities minus hispanics. It really changed the way I look at things. Many of my black friends could not stand people like Sharpton because they said they promoted the blame game. Both friends had kids young, but they got married and pretty much detested anyone who didn't take responsibility for their actions. They both joined the Army to escape the inner city so their children wouldn't have to grow up under the same circumstances they did. All hope is not lost. Getting rid of many social programs would be a great step in reducing gang problems in this country.

 

[alsaqr]

Lawton, OK has a gang problem that is getting worse by the day. MS13 may already be here. There has been some MS13 graffiti seen. Maybe it is just wannabees-who knows.

About 20 years ago a new cop came to Lawton from one of the bigger cities. He tried to tell everyone that there was an emerging gang problem in Lawton. The big wigs laughed at the guy: There was no proactive steps taken at all. Now there are gang fights nearly every weekend.

 

[glockman19]

I live in Los Angeles.

Gang members out number LEO of all forces 4:1. I can not legally CCW, knife laws are even more draconian, (Felony carrying a concealed knife, misdemenor CCW loaded first offence, gun registered to you, not defined as a gang member and not committing a crime). and on top of all that up to an ounce of marijuana and only a citation to appear and a $200 fine first offence.

Gang members Do NOT follow the law.

 

[JackOfAllTradesMasterAtNone]

I grew up in Tacoma.

The old rule was that the cops wouldn't enter Hilltop, Southeast side, or Salishan section until the shooting stopped. -That kinda leaves the civilians to protect themselves. When thugs were encountered, Tacoma cops got a bad reputation for shooting first, then asking questions.

I never lived "in" that area, but there are places I would have to travel to/through throughout the Tacoma/Seattle area that kept me on my toes. Thankfully I chose long ago to disassociate myself from home as I knew it and moved to rural locations some 75-100 miles from the metropolis. No, that wasn't Detroit or L.A. but gang activity was/is there.

Living in a rural farm community right close to our U.S. border, there are ethnic transients for crop harvest and such. Some of them stay. Unfortunately some of the bad have stayed. I am convinced that there's gang activity everywhere. Maybe not to the same scale as where there's more turf or 'business' competition, but being a border town, there's plenty of drug trafficking going on. That almost always invites more gang and organized crime. It doesn't take a long drive to find graphiti on the side of a barn, business, or railroad car. Is all graphiti from gang activity? Probably not, but there's enough to figure that someone's staking claim. Enough that the county has a gang task force within the Sheriff's unit. It's not just kids. There's a local biker club with international ties that's got a less than favorable history too. Not too far away there are some European immigrant communities. It doesn't take a long listen to the police scanner or read of the local newspaper police blotter to figure out where there's organized crime.

Still, I know that half our town doesn't lock the doors. Almost a Mayberry type town. Most everyone knows everyone. There are 39 churches in town. Only five liquor serving establishments. No alcohol served after 12:01am Sunday until Monday morning. Generations of families living within ten square miles of each other. It's pretty nice to live here without fear.

-Steve

 

[chrlefxtrt]

Glockman,

I work with a guy that had a CCW when he lived in LA. All I know is that it took him forever and it was expensive. I don't know if it would help but I will ask him how exactly he went about it.

 

[jimbob86]

Gang violence is an issue in Omaha, but mostly is Gang on Gang. Around home, meth users are more of a threat. It is not as bad as it was before the State rationed/required logbooks for sales of psuedoehedrine, but the Cranks are still here. They are just not cooking it here.

 

[Anna's Dad]

Where I live is pretty safe although I wouldn't leave the doors unlocked.

There is crime where I work although I doubt much of it is gang related. Work isn't far from downtown Orlando. I know violent crime is skyrocketting there, but I don't know how much of it is gang related as I pretty much avoid the downtown areas.