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Hrmm... To this day N.O. hood is the worst I've ever been in, I think it was called the Magnolias or something. I remember we went to the sugar bowl in 1994 and got off at a wrong exit...bad idea. Maybe it is not the worst, but it sure seems the scariest looking to me. It is worse than what I've seen in Oakland/Cleveland/Chicago/NYC
Birmingham, Montgomery and Memphis are also pretty sketchy notables that I find "scarier" even if the #'s aren't as bad.
I agree, the media has never highlighted Chicago's severe crime and gang problems as they have other cities like Los Angeles and others.
The media I've had access to has. Maybe not so much in the movies, but I've always thought of Chicago as being the co-capitol of gangs alongside LA. And crimewise its obviously worse overall. Even on the History Channel's Gangland they labeled Chicago a "gangster city." LA does get more sensationalized, and it does technically have slightly more gangs/members. But Chicago has always been right up there with it from my perspective, and I've never lived in either city.
The media I've had access to has. Maybe not so much in the movies, but I've always thought of Chicago as being the co-capitol of gangs alongside LA. And crimewise its obviously worse overall. Even on the History Channel's Gangland they labeled Chicago a "gangster city." LA does get more sensationalized, and it does technically have slightly more gangs/members. But Chicago has always been right up there with it from my perspective, and I've never lived in either city.
Chicago doesn't have as MANY gangs but its gangs are quite large.
L.A. has MORE gangs but some of the gangs are very small and not that dangerous, the worst 10% of the gangs commit 80% of the gang related crimes. I don't think you'd find a gang of 15 people in Chicago like you do in L.A., the Chicago gangs are all really massive.
The number of total gang members is about the same due to many LA gang members having moved to the suburbs (although if you're talking SoCal as a whole it has by far and away the most gang members of any region in the US). This might've happened in Chicago also to some extent
Chicago doesn't have as MANY gangs but its gangs are quite large.
L.A. has MORE gangs but some of the gangs are very small and not that dangerous, the worst 10% of the gangs commit 80% of the gang related crimes. I don't think you'd find a gang of 15 people in Chicago like you do in L.A., the Chicago gangs are all really massive.
The number of total gang members is about the same due to many LA gang members having moved to the suburbs (although if you're talking SoCal as a whole it has by far and away the most gang members of any region in the US). This might've happened in Chicago also to some extent
The 18th Street gang has an estimated 100,000 members. Pretty huge gang if you ask me. MS 13 is a huge gang as well. They have members across the U.S. and they're considered to be one of the most dangerous gangs in the nation. LA was pretty bad in the 90s.
1991
Chicago - 3,092.5 LA - 2,525.8
Oakland - 2,495.8
NYC - 2,318.2
New Orleans - 2,190.3 Long Beach - 2,100.7
That's ridiculous how Long Beach and LA were among the most dangerous at that time considering how close they are. LA was definitely was war zone back in the 90s. Oakland was crazy too..wow. Still is pretty crazy today I must say.
I remember Chicago's "Gang Disciple Nation", or whatever it's called, being in the news in the 1990s because it ran a candidate in a Chicago election. (I guess they were called "Gangster Disciples")
One of the reason L.A. is the "gang capital" is because here, the gang culture exists pretty much all over, not just in certain areas. While I don't really know too much about Chicago gang violence, I believe (I of course could be way wrong) that it really only exists on the South and West side of the city. In Los Angeles, from the Valley, to East L.A., to South L.A., and even a few parts of the Westside (recent article about gang injunction, arrests in Venice b/c of drugs), gangs exist. Obviously, some parts are much, much worse than others, and in other areas they're barely noticeable, but the culture and mindset still lingers throughout.
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