Athena
April 22nd, 2008, 05:28 PM
This is ridiculous...but totally plausible, all in the same.
In Chicago, fears of a long, bloody summer
http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/CRIME/04/22/chicago.violence.ap/art.gallardo.chicago.wls.jpg
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Nine people were killed in 36 shootings over the weekend in Chicago, reflecting what some community leaders say is a deadly breakdown in discipline among gang members after a crackdown over the past few years put many of their leaders behind bars.
Police respond to one of the numerous shootings over the weekend in Chicago.
"The older guys in the past looked out for the little ones. Now they're all locked up," said Nick Stames, a social studies teacher at Crane Tech High School on the city's gang-ridden West Side.
"There's no sense of discipline in the projects," he added. "Everybody's doing their own thing."
Now there is growing fear that Chicago could be in for a long, bloody summer.
"If this happened on this weekend, what is ahead of us when it gets to be 85, 90 and when the schools close in June?" said the Rev. Michael Pfleger, an activist on the South Side. "A lot of kids out there are running their own game, trying to one-up each other for respect."
The shootings included drive-by attacks, and one case in which someone shot up a plumbing supply store with an AK-47. At least 14 of the shootings were gang-related, according to police. As for the rest, the only thing they can say for sure is that three had nothing to do with gangs.
In the past few years, federal and local law enforcement authorities have taken dozens of gang leaders and members off the streets in and around Chicago.
In December, for example, federal authorities broke up a drug dealing ring at Chicago's notorious Cabrini-Green housing project, arresting 16 people, including a leader of the Gangster Disciples. Six months earlier, in Kane County, authorities arrested 31 members of the Latin Kings in 22 slayings, some dating back two decades.
Tio Hardiman, executive director of CeaseFire, an anti-violence group that uses former gang members to mediate conflicts, said that with the gang leaders behind bars, rank-and-file members have decided it's every man for himself, and are fighting over turf and money.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/22/chicago.violence.ap/index.html]Full story
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So, gangland authority figures get locked up and chaos breaks out on Chicago streets? Have cities like L.A. and N.Y. not run similar anti-gang programs? I don't recall anyone crediting their spikes in gang crime to a lack of gan leadership. I suppose that doesn't mean it didn't happen, though.
Apparently, this is a clear illustration of "it'll get worse before it gets better". I know Seattle had had to increase its gang unit in recent years. The crackdown gets tougher, yet gang popularity seems to steadily increase. What's the answer to this problem?
In Chicago, fears of a long, bloody summer
http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2008/CRIME/04/22/chicago.violence.ap/art.gallardo.chicago.wls.jpg
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Nine people were killed in 36 shootings over the weekend in Chicago, reflecting what some community leaders say is a deadly breakdown in discipline among gang members after a crackdown over the past few years put many of their leaders behind bars.
Police respond to one of the numerous shootings over the weekend in Chicago.
"The older guys in the past looked out for the little ones. Now they're all locked up," said Nick Stames, a social studies teacher at Crane Tech High School on the city's gang-ridden West Side.
"There's no sense of discipline in the projects," he added. "Everybody's doing their own thing."
Now there is growing fear that Chicago could be in for a long, bloody summer.
"If this happened on this weekend, what is ahead of us when it gets to be 85, 90 and when the schools close in June?" said the Rev. Michael Pfleger, an activist on the South Side. "A lot of kids out there are running their own game, trying to one-up each other for respect."
The shootings included drive-by attacks, and one case in which someone shot up a plumbing supply store with an AK-47. At least 14 of the shootings were gang-related, according to police. As for the rest, the only thing they can say for sure is that three had nothing to do with gangs.
In the past few years, federal and local law enforcement authorities have taken dozens of gang leaders and members off the streets in and around Chicago.
In December, for example, federal authorities broke up a drug dealing ring at Chicago's notorious Cabrini-Green housing project, arresting 16 people, including a leader of the Gangster Disciples. Six months earlier, in Kane County, authorities arrested 31 members of the Latin Kings in 22 slayings, some dating back two decades.
Tio Hardiman, executive director of CeaseFire, an anti-violence group that uses former gang members to mediate conflicts, said that with the gang leaders behind bars, rank-and-file members have decided it's every man for himself, and are fighting over turf and money.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/22/chicago.violence.ap/index.html]Full story
______________
So, gangland authority figures get locked up and chaos breaks out on Chicago streets? Have cities like L.A. and N.Y. not run similar anti-gang programs? I don't recall anyone crediting their spikes in gang crime to a lack of gan leadership. I suppose that doesn't mean it didn't happen, though.
Apparently, this is a clear illustration of "it'll get worse before it gets better". I know Seattle had had to increase its gang unit in recent years. The crackdown gets tougher, yet gang popularity seems to steadily increase. What's the answer to this problem?