Where Is Gang-Related Violence on the Rise?

Crime, News

Gangs are a fact of life in most American cities, and they can be very scary. Gangs bring drugs, crime, and violence to communities.

Despite increasingly harsh laws, gangs are flourishing in many parts of the country, and not just in the major cities where you would expect them. Gangs are now becoming a big problem in smaller cities and even suburbs, and they’re bringing the violence with them. According to the most recent survey published by the National Gang Center, gang violence is still a growing problem in many areas despite a general overall decline in violence across the country. According to the FBI, there are more than 1.4 million gang members active in 33,000 gangs nationwide, a 40 percent increase since 2009.

Gang experts point to several reasons why gang activity is flaring up in certain areas. Poverty, exacerbated by the failing economy, and its attendant problems—lack of educational opportunities, single-parent homes, and drugs, to name a few—are probably the biggest predictor of gang membership. The drug trade and easy availability of firearms even for youth are also a factor—most gang violence is based on rivalry and drugs, and most often committed with guns. The best gang prevention strategies emphasize reaching kids in poverty early and providing them with strategies and alternatives. For many kids, the gang is the nearest thing they have to a family, which is a tough dynamic to overcome.

Here’s where to watch your back:

Chicago

The Windy City has always been plagued with gang activity, but gang-related violence has sharply increased in the last couple of years. Just this year, the city has already had 220 murders. According to an NPR report, nearly 700 children were hit by gunfire last year, 66 of whom died. Experts say that the rise in gang violence in Chicago has a lot to do with the fact that so much public housing has been torn down, which fractures the gangs and allows younger members to take leadership roles or form new factions. With more factions comes more violence as they fight for dominance.

California

Los Angeles is gang heaven, though that’s no surprise to anyone. It’s one of the biggest gang cities in America. Other areas of California, though, have experienced a huge upswing in gang violence, including Long Beach and Oakland, which are two of the top five gang cities in America. In Los Angeles, gang violence caused 61 percent of deaths among 15-24 year olds, and 69 percent in Long Beach.

Pacific Northwest

Idaho is, surprisingly, one of the top five states for most gang members per capita, with 6+ gangsters per 1,000 people. Washington State is in the next tier with 4-6 per 1,000, which is a big increase for that state. The problem lies particularly in King County, which includes Seattle and surrounding communities, where gangs have become such a problem that last summer, county officials tapped $1.4 million from emergency law-enforcement funds to combat a massive spate of gang activity in South King County. More recent reports are showing a steady increase in Seattle-area gang violence in the last year as well, primarily in West and South Seattle.

Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City was, surprisingly, named as one of the top five gang cities in America, and is apparently part of a growing gang presence in the southeast part of the country. Gangs have been a presence in Oklahoma City since the 1980s, with huge jumps in numbers each decade since, and it is now nearly as bad there as Los Angeles. The OKC police department have been forced to borrow funds from the federal government in order to continue gang prevention programs, and the city’s police chief has said that, without additional funds, he doesn’t see a possibility for improvement in the numbers.

Chattanooga

As part of rising gang activity in the southeast, Chattanooga, TN has seen a rapid increase in gang-related violent crime. In fact, Tennessee is in just the second tier for gang-members-per-capita on the FBI’s list, with only five states having higher numbers. A recent editorial blames “deep levels of urban poverty, single parent households, a deficit in educational achievement, fewer economic opportunities, and higher rates of incarceration among young males stalled by these common indices of poverty.” A recent report indicated that in 2011, two-thirds of Chattanooga’s murders were gang related—a huge increase from previous years. A major problem for city officials is a lack of funding for anti-gang measures; much of the city’s previous funding dried up in 2011.

New Jersey

Newark is certainly one of the country’s cesspools, and nobody will be surprised to know that it is one of the top five cities for gang violence. However, it’s become worse the last couple of years, and has spread to nearby suburbs as well. New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman says that gang activity in and around Newark is “more widespread, more violent, and more sophisticated,” as the budget has tightened up and the Newark police have been reduced in number. A recent survey shows that gangs are now present in every county of New Jersey, and in 254 different towns.