Gangs in California - how bad of a problem is it? (Los Angeles: crime, home)

[jacobwilliam77]

So today I was searching Youtube and found alot of gang-related videos concerning California on it such as...


Gangland - Race Wars - YouTube

Do you think gangs in California are that much of a problem anymore? I myself think it's not as bad as it used to be. Now 20 years ago IT WAS BAD. Drive-by shootings happening every day all day. Carjackings. Murders. Robberies. Fights. Even 10 years ago it was sort of bad.

[bigdumbgod]

It's an issue if you plan to spend a great deal of time behind bars. Otherwise, really not an issue in one's daily life.

[ccm123]

LA and Oakland have the worst, it's well known.

[Mr5150]

I live in CA and we have no gangs where I live.

Some parts of CA do have gangs, but if you don't live in those areas gangs are a non-issue.

[ka8]

Used to be really bad in the 90's. I'm sure there are gang members everywhere in LA but just don't start crap and they'll leave you alone

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by ccm123

LA and Oakland have the worst, it's well known.

No, Oakland is not really like that at all.

As in any large city, there are some gangs, but their impact is much smaller in Oakland than what it is in several other large CA cities, hence Oakland couldn't possibly be 2nd to LA in this regard.

In fact, for once the local media was all over a Discovery Channel series which claimed that Oakland had 10,000 gangmembers(outrageous)--the OPD later said the actual number is only about 800, significant perhaps, but 12 times less than the grossly exaggerated number stated by the Discovery Channel show.

Most young black people in Oakland are not gang affiliated," said Olis Simmons, executive director of Youth Uprising, a city-funded teenage community center.

"We don't have Bloods and Crips here. Oakland is not a gang town. I will be interested to see the piece, because it's inconsistent with my work on the ground," Simmons said. "We get a lot of bad press here, and some of it is deserved, but this is not one of our issues. It's not who we are," she said.
But gangs or not, the outcome of this criminal behavior is pretty much the same.


Read more: Discovery Channel, cops differ on Oakland gangs - SFGate

[gone down south]

California is bigger than most countries, so your question doesn't really make sense.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

No, Oakland is not really like that at all.

As in any large city, there are some gangs, but their impact is much smaller in Oakland than what it is in several other large CA cities, hence Oakland couldn't possibly be 2nd to LA in this regard.

In fact, for once the local media was all over a Discovery Channel series which claimed that Oakland had 10,000 gangmembers(outrageous)--the OPD later said the actual number is only about 800, significant perhaps, but 12 times less than the grossly exaggerated number stated by the Discovery Channel show.

Don't get me wrong, Oakland has a lot of positive aspects, and I'm usually a defender of the oaktown on these boards, but denying that it has a very serious gang problem is denying the obvious.

[Heidi60]

Originally Posted by majoun

Don't get me wrong, Oakland has a lot of positive aspects, and I'm usually a defender of the oaktown on these boards, but denying that it has a very serious gang problem is denying the obvious.

EXACTLY!


Even the news crews have their camera equipment stolen there.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by majoun

Don't get me wrong, Oakland has a lot of positive aspects, and I'm usually a defender of the oaktown on these boards, but denying that it has a very serious gang problem is denying the obvious.

Well, Oakland has a serious crime problem yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean that most crimes are attributed to street gangs, in fact most are not. No one is denying that Oakland has some gangs but they are not as visible or prominent here like they are elsewhere in this state.

Los Angeles has 45,000 gang members
Gangs - official website of THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT

San Bernardino County has 40,000 gang members
SB County ranks third in nation in number of gang members

Riverside County has 10,000 gang members
Riverside County Gang Task Force

San Diego has 7,500 gang members
Report: San Diego Home to 158 Gangs | NBC 7 San Diego

Orange County recently went to court and fought tooth and nail to defend gang injunctions they had in place in Anaheim, Santa Ana, San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente, Orange and Garden Grove.
http://www.orangecountyda.com/home/index.asp?page=470

How is it possible for Oakland, with 858 gang members, to be the 2nd worse in light of all of this^^^^?
10,000 Oakland gang members? Experts say unlikely - Inside Bay Area

The answer is, it's not statistically possible. Even if Oakland were as large as LA with 4 Million people it's equivalent gang membership would be 8,500 which is still a 5 times less than LA now.

Originally Posted by Heidi60

Even the news crews have their camera equipment stolen there.

What does that have to do with gang activity?

As I quoted earlier, someone who is far more qualified to speak on the issue of gangs in Oakland says this:
"We don't have Bloods and Crips here. Oakland is not a gang town. I will be interested to see the piece, because it's inconsistent with my work on the ground," Simmons said. "We get a lot of bad press here, and some of it is deserved, but this is not one of our issues. It's not who we are"-Olis Simmons, executive director or Youth Uprising, a city-funded teenage community center.

I was born and raised in Oakland and was a teenager during the early 1990s when crime was at it's worst and attended an inner city high school and even back then, I didn't know any real gang members aside from what I saw on TV and in the movies depicting SoCal.

This is because Oakland is a completely different kind of city than those places, so when I read people from SoCal especially, apply their sensibilities to Oakland, it never makes sense, HENCE that ridiculous Discovery Channel gang show episode. When confronted by Bay Area media outlets seeking the show's source for their 10,000 gang member claim, this was the result:
The Discovery Channel and the company that produced the film, part2 pictures, did not respond to phone calls and e-mails seeking comment on Thursday and Friday. A woman who answered the phone at the production company Friday said a producer was traveling and unable to be reached.

LOL

And that's not a jab at SoCal, it's just a friendly reminder that your reality is not really everyone else's. Oakland is not now, nor has it ever been Compton-by-the-bay. And yes I know crime is down in Compton but until Compton has huge swaths of town where 60-80%+ of adults have bachelor degrees or higher and average family incomes in the 200K to 300K range, until Compton is a major destination of art, nightlife, culture and attracts hipsters, artists, writers, techies, professionals en masse, then I'll accept Oakland being likened to Compton, until then, please go somewhere with that.

But as I've stated, no one is denying that we have a gang problem now, sure, but we don't have the multigenerational history of gang violence and prominence that gripped much of this state and continues to do so now. Singling out Oakland as a poster child of California gang activity is quite frankly, wrong considering the fact that gang activity is so much more prevalent elsewhere in California.