gang violence eliminated in DC - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

dksuddeth · 04-30-2008, 06:48 AM

http://www.washingtontimes.com/artic...817853081/1004

it's very simple to rid the district of gang violence. Just call them 'crews' instead. voila, no more gangs.

Quote:

When is a gang not a gang? When it's based in the District.

D.C. officials insist on describing groups of young males as "crews," rather than gangs, even when they are held responsible for violent acts such as the wave of killings in the city last weekend. But police officials in other cities say the distinction is counterproductive.

"The very first step in dealing with gangs is denial," said Capt. Charles Bloom of the Philadelphia Police Department. "Then you get to the point that you can't deny it any more."

D.C. police, lawmakers and community activists say the groups are not gangs because their members are mostly teens who band together for personal protection. That, they say, distinguished them from conventional gangs, which are created for a criminal enterprise such as drug dealing.

Capt. Bloom said Philadelphia quit trying to make such distinctions two years ago. Although they once described such bands as "loose groups," they now use the term "gang-related" for any group that engages in criminal violence.

Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier acknowledged this week that crews appear to be connected to some of the 10 homicides in the past two weeks — including four this past weekend. And they are connected to hundreds of shots fired and a dozen shootings late last year in the Columbia Heights neighborhood in Northwest, officials say.

"There seem to be several street crews that are feuding," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, who heads the council's public safety committee. "On the one hand, that means it's not random; but on the other hand, it's an intolerable level of violence."

Other large U.S. police departments also say they classify such groups as gangs — not crews — if they are engaged in any type of crime.

"In our law, we don't have crews," said Sgt. Wilfred Williams of the San Francisco Police Department. "We prosecute gangs, not crews."

Chicago recently experienced a similar crime wave, with nine people killed in 36 shootings last weekend. Police said at least 14 of the shootings were gang-related.

Though much larger than the eight shootings this past weekend in the District, Chicago officials said the shootings involved young males who were 18 to 25 years old.

"The term 'crews' has never come up here," Officer Marcel Bright of the Chicago Police Department said yesterday.

Spokespersons for Baltimore and Los Angeles police departments made similar statements.

A Los Angeles police sergeant said the department uses the term crew to refer to a small group of gang members who commit a crime but does not use the term to describe independent groups.

Chief Lanier also said yesterday that the 1,200 officers whom she put on patrol — three times the normal number — after the weekend shootings will remain on duty for the rest of the week.

She said that she would not alter her All Hands on Deck initiative during which the entire 4,000-officer department works patrol shifts of three-day periods.

Police said there have been no arrests in the weekend shootings but identified Melvin R. Seals of the 4600 block of Foote Street Northeast as the victim of a shooting Saturday at Morse Street and Montello Avenue Northeast.

As of yesterday, the District had 50 homicides, just one fewer than at the same time last year, according to numbers from the department.

Seventeen of the killings have been in the Fifth District, which is double the number at this time last year.

let's redefine everything to make us look better and achieve all of our goals.

I've mentioned this 'practice' of redefining things many times in the past, usually with little or no luck and getting people to understand that it has to be stopped. Do we, as a nation/society/culture feel that redefinition actually helps or hurts us?

ottopilot · 04-30-2008, 06:55 AM

I've dabbled as a freelance gynecologist.

PC is out of control.

Willravel · 04-30-2008, 06:56 AM

Instead of renaming gangs, we should be concentrate on trying to get good jobs into DC and have job training available. A lot of those kids made some bad decisions because there weren't good options available to them. Thus, reintroduce good options, and running with the crypts doesn't look so good.

Still, having harsh punishments for gang violence could help too, though I've not seen the hard data on deterrence.

dc_dux · 04-30-2008, 07:13 AM

Local officials in DC are not the only ones with creative redefinitions to make their actions look better.

Bush guts the Clean Air Act and calls it the Clear Skies Initiative.

or his Healthy Forest Initiative that opens the national forests to unprecedented logging for his friends and contributors in the logging industry.

or the Community Empowerment Program that made drastic cuts to local governments for community development.

or my favorite.....redefining "hunger" as "food insecure"....voila...hunger has been eliminated in America. Just dont tell the 30+ million people in the US who are experiencing very low food security.

Welcome to Washington!

btw....I dont see gangs or crews in DC. I must be looking in the wrong places.

/ end threadjack

Ustwo · 04-30-2008, 10:50 AM

Well I'm really happy that Chicago got rid of their bum problem.

Now if only someone could help these homeless people.

genuinegirly · 04-30-2008, 02:29 PM

It is disappointing when we create our own language berriors.
Only hinders dealing with the problem on hand.

MSD · 04-30-2008, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willravel

Still, having harsh punishments for gang violence could help too, though I've not seen the hard data on deterrence.

I can't say how much it's affected violence in the short term, but high school gang recruiting is down since they started cracking down and handing out minimums of 20 in state and 10 in federal for gang-related crimes. They're also putting more money into community programs, which isn't hurting, either

Willravel · 04-30-2008, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSD

I can't say how much it's affected violence in the short term, but high school gang recruiting is down since they started cracking down and handing out minimums of 20 in state and 10 in federal for gang-related crimes. They're also putting more money into community programs, which isn't hurting, either

I've noticed both of these, but I wonder if it's correlative or causal. I certainly hope it's causal so we know what to keep doing.

04-30-2008, 06:55 AM	#2 (permalink)
ottopilot let me be clear Location: Waddy Peytona	I've dabbled as a freelance gynecologist. PC is out of control. __________________ "It rubs the lotion on Buffy, Jodi and Mr. French's skin" - Uncle Bill from Buffalo

04-30-2008, 07:13 AM	#4 (permalink)
dc_dux Location: Washington DC	Local officials in DC are not the only ones with creative redefinitions to make their actions look better. Bush guts the Clean Air Act and calls it the Clear Skies Initiative. or his Healthy Forest Initiative that opens the national forests to unprecedented logging for his friends and contributors in the logging industry. or the Community Empowerment Program that made drastic cuts to local governments for community development. or my favorite.....redefining "hunger" as "food insecure"....voila...hunger has been eliminated in America. Just dont tell the 30+ million people in the US who are experiencing very low food security. Welcome to Washington! btw....I dont see gangs or crews in DC. I must be looking in the wrong places. / end threadjack __________________ "The perfect is the enemy of the good." ~ Voltaire Last edited by dc_dux; 04-30-2008 at 07:35 AM.. Reason: added link

04-30-2008, 10:50 AM	#5 (permalink)
Ustwo Pissing in the cornflakes	Well I'm really happy that Chicago got rid of their bum problem. Now if only someone could help these homeless people. __________________ Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host Obama - Know a Man by the friends he keeps.

04-30-2008, 02:29 PM	#6 (permalink)
genuinegirly Eat your vegetables Super Moderator Location: Arabidopsis-ville	It is disappointing when we create our own language berriors. Only hinders dealing with the problem on hand. __________________ "Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq "violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy

04-30-2008, 06:56 AM	#3 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	Instead of renaming gangs, we should be concentrate on trying to get good jobs into DC and have job training available. A lot of those kids made some bad decisions because there weren't good options available to them. Thus, reintroduce good options, and running with the crypts doesn't look so good. Still, having harsh punishments for gang violence could help too, though I've not seen the hard data on deterrence.