Please elaborate on the gang problems in Dallas... (Houston, Garland: low income, 2009)

[kaykay]

Well, there was evidence of gang activity (gang "grafitti" everywhere and an abundance of crime) when we lived in Pleasant Grove. (south of Bruton Rd, just east of Master's.) The incident which finally led to us moving was that I was held up at gunpoint by a group of about 7 teen-age boys in the local Kroger's parking lot.(Were they a literal "gang?" I don't know.) The police told us that crime was simply "out of control" in the area.

This was about 15 years ago though. Things may have improved there since then, but at that time, again, there was evidence of much gang activity in the area.

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by kaykay

Well, there was evidence of gang activity (gang "grafitti" everywhere and an abundance of crime) when we lived in Pleasant Grove. (south of Bruton Rd, just east of Master's.) The incident which finally led to us moving was that I was held up at gunpoint by a group of about 7 teen-age boys in the local Kroger's parking lot.(Were they a literal "gang?" I don't know.) The police told us that crime was simply "out of control" in the area.

This was about 15 years ago though. Things may have improved there since then, but at that time, again, there was evidence of much gang activity in the area.

Pleasant Grove & other places in South Dallas most definitely still have gang activity to this very day.

[Lakewooder]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Dallas has had a very high crime rate for several years now. Those who are saying gangs in Dallas aren't a contributing factor are in denial. Hispanic gangs make up the large majority, but there are also even lesser known about Asian street gangs (ABZ, TRG, Cambodian Crips, Laos Bloods, etc.) who target their own people & it rarely ever gets reported simply because most Asian people are scared of the police.

I am in the heart of where some people think is gang headquarters and I've never seen any gang members that I know of..I have seen a few spray paint tags which I suspect were gang-related. Also as an officer in the alumni association of my high school and frequent visitor/volunteer to the school I have only heard of 2 or 3 incidents I would consider 'real' in the last twenty years. I've heard some distant gunfire over the years but a lot of it is people who grew up south of the border shooting into the air. Haven't heard any of that in some time...Pepper is right, if there are any gangs they are after each other, not you.

Speaking of GHS, my school is stereotyped one week as 'gang/ghetto' and the next week as 'spoiled Lakewood rich white kids"..we have everything else but they miss that...

[LAnative10]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Dallas has had a very high crime rate for several years now. Those who are saying gangs in Dallas aren't a contributing factor are in denial. Hispanic gangs make up the large majority, but there are also even lesser known about Asian street gangs (ABZ, TRG, Cambodian Crips, Laos Bloods, etc.) who target their own people & it rarely ever gets reported simply because most Asian people are scared of the police.

They had a feature the other night on a cable channel here in Dallas. Im not sure what was factual and what is sensationalized, but here goes:

1) Over 60% of gangs in DFW are hispanic
2) Asian gangs now make up 5% of gang activity up from 2% in 2003. They also said that Asian gang precense is growing faster in DFW than anywhere else in the country (though I kind of doubt that). They mentioned that Vietnamese and Laotian gangs seem to be all the rage up here.
3) African American gangs are decreasing in number and activity

They did talk about the Asians gangs a bit. Appearently there is a Vietnamese gang (forgot the name) that formed in Houston and ran rampant there. They said that the HPD busted the gang, and made a bunch of arrests over time, and kept a close eye on them. They didnt like the pressure, so (appearently) they moved to Arlington and thats their new stomping ground. This gang is known for extortion of the Vietnamese owned businesses. The way the story was told was so dramatic, that I dont think I believe all of it.

Mostly the show was about Hispanic gangs.

Even with all this said, I highly doubt gangs are any more a problem in Dallas than in any other major city (like Houston, Atlanta, etc.).

Bottom line, Dallas is not any more dangerous than most major cities.

[MurphyPl1]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

Mary,

My daughter is at Garland High School. You should just see the expressions on some peoples face when I tell them where she goes to school and I mean even people that live IN Garland. They think it is "gang infested". Right, that is why GHS has the MOST money of any GISD school given to them thru the Target Red Card program (use your Target Visa and earn money for the school), why the stands are FULL of people at every single football game even when our games are on the other side of Dallas, why they graduate 50+ IB students every year, 9 NHS merit finalist.... it cracks me up. I'm like, you live IN this city. Have you personally seen a gang person that you know of... answer is usually no. LOL!!!

There are gangs in the city of Dallas and the area. I'm not worried about them as I'm not cruising in the bad parts of town at 2 am w/ my gold spinners on my lowered 80's Caddie and doing drug deals. And your right, it is not near as bad as some cities in this nation. Just look at the crap going on up in the Bay Area of SF.

I spoke to the SRO at GHS a few years ago when they did the Xpose the Secrets of Teen Dating Violence there. He said that BY FAR he responded far more to violence related to teen dating than to ANY sort of gang behavior. That the gangs don't waste their times creating problems at school since they know it just brings more attention and keeps them out of school. But that arguments between couples, jealous BFs (or more often GFs) and abusive partners was a larger problem.

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by LAnative10

They had a feature the other night on a cable channel here in Dallas. Im not sure what was factual and what is sensationalized, but here goes:

1) Over 60% of gangs in DFW are hispanic
2) Asian gangs now make up 5% of gang activity up from 2% in 2003. They also said that Asian gang precense is growing faster in DFW than anywhere else in the country (though I kind of doubt that). They mentioned that Vietnamese and Laotian gangs seem to be all the rage up here.

Most of the Asian gangs in the US are concentrated in cities like LA, Long Beach, Stockton, Modesto, Lowell, St. Paul, but are also alive & well in other cities like Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, & Atlanta.

[TXNGL]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Most of the Asian gangs in the US are concentrated in cities like LA, Long Beach, Stockton, Modesto, Lowell, St. Paul, but are also alive & well in other cities like Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, & Atlanta.

I remember them being in Massachusetts when I lived there, mostly around Lowell.

[TXNGL]

Originally Posted by TXNGL

I remember them being in Massachusetts when I lived there, mostly around Lowell.

Whoops! Didn't see that you have Lowell listed. Yep, they were there. I only drove through Lowell once. Not a charming place.

[LAnative10]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Most of the Asian gangs in the US are concentrated in cities like LA, Long Beach, Stockton, Modesto, Lowell, St. Paul, but are also alive & well in other cities like Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, & Atlanta.

Dont forget Orange County. Garden Grove and Westminster have more Vietnamese gangs than anywhere else in the US.

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by LAnative10

Dont forget Orange County. Garden Grove and Westminster have more Vietnamese gangs than anywhere else in the US.

A lot of those California Asian street gangs have migrated to Texas (Dallas & Houston) over the years. I'd say dating back from the mid to late 90's is when it was really on the rise. Now most of those elements are either locked up or out of the game completely & are what they call "O-G's". Still, there is extortion amongst their own people because as I stated earlier Asians rarely seek help from police when a crime is committed within their community for fear of retaliation.

Mexican & other Latino gangs are by far the most brutal & abundant of all the gangs there are out there followed by Blacks.