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Old 05-14-2008, 10:54 PM
 
Location: over there --->
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I've been reading around on some of the forums for various cities, and I began to wonder about gangs/crime and the size of a city or town. Up here in northern Michigan, we always hear about the trouble Saginaw and Flint have with gang violence. Saginaw is sitting at around 60k in population, and Flint is above 120k. I don't hear about any trouble in say, Bay City or Midland, both sitting around 40k and within spitting distance of Saginaw. Reading about cities in other areas, however, I see gang problems in places with 30k residents. What do you guys think...is there a certain point, population-wise, where gang activities seem to begin? It seems to me that once a city starts to push 45-50k, gang issues start popping up. Any different observations?
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Old 05-14-2008, 11:00 PM
 
Location: Sacramento
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My observations are that gangs tend to concentrate in larger metro areas. Perhaps it is tougher to operate in small metro areas, they can more easily identify and eradicate the problem.
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Old 05-16-2008, 07:11 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by michimaize View Post
I've been reading around on some of the forums for various cities, and I began to wonder about gangs/crime and the size of a city or town. Up here in northern Michigan, we always hear about the trouble Saginaw and Flint have with gang violence. Saginaw is sitting at around 60k in population, and Flint is above 120k. I don't hear about any trouble in say, Bay City or Midland, both sitting around 40k and within spitting distance of Saginaw. Reading about cities in other areas, however, I see gang problems in places with 30k residents. What do you guys think...is there a certain point, population-wise, where gang activities seem to begin? It seems to me that once a city starts to push 45-50k, gang issues start popping up. Any different observations?
It really depends on a lot of factors. Economic conditions, demographic makeup, social problems, and the "criminal culture" of a city.

California is pretty much gang central, gangs seem less popular in Detroit and New York (seems to be more independent criminals and small to medium sized organizations specializing drug dealing), and you have Chicago with its "super-gangs".

Quote:
Originally Posted by NewToCA View Post
My observations are that gangs tend to concentrate in larger metro areas. Perhaps it is tougher to operate in small metro areas, they can more easily identify and eradicate the problem.
Well the Dixie Mafia operated almost entirely in small towns across the Deep South and from the 1950s-1980s rural Quebec in Canada was infamous for its the countless biker gangs that roamed the countryside. I believed one got so bad that the residents formed a mob and burnt down the clubhouse in one small community. Also, there is a pretty large gang problem in a lot of Indian reservations too.
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Old 05-16-2008, 08:24 AM
 
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It really depends on the city. For its size, Saginaw has one of the worst gang and violence problems in the nation. It is not a typical city.
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Old 05-16-2008, 08:27 AM
 
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The size of the city plays a part, but there are other logistical problems that bring gangs to smaller towns. Many of the illegal hispanics have formed gangs in smaller rural farming communities. Canby, OR is a very small town but has major gang issues like this. Also, along Hwy 97 in eastern Oregon there is a pipeline of illegals & meth from CA to Yakima, WA and many small stops inbetween. That has created its own share of gang-like problems.
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Old 05-16-2008, 01:07 PM
 
Location: Ohio
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Quote:
Originally Posted by michimaize View Post
What do you guys think...is there a certain point, population-wise, where gang activities seem to begin?
No, it's predicated on economic opportunities and to a lesser extent on weak law enforcement agencies who lack the ability to effectively gather intelligence and conduct operations. Gangs are generally involved in drug and fencing operations, so a community has to be able to support their activities.

There are small towns like Dayton, Ohio that have a gang presence, but only because it is situated at the cross-roads of I-70 and I-75, major transportation corridors to move their products. Naturally, they want to protect their investment.
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Old 05-16-2008, 09:44 PM
 
Location: over there --->
133 posts, read 497,388 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mircea View Post
No, it's predicated on economic opportunities and to a lesser extent on weak law enforcement agencies who lack the ability to effectively gather intelligence and conduct operations. Gangs are generally involved in drug and fencing operations, so a community has to be able to support their activities.

There are small towns like Dayton, Ohio that have a gang presence, but only because it is situated at the cross-roads of I-70 and I-75, major transportation corridors to move their products. Naturally, they want to protect their investment.
hmm...never thought about the highways playing a role...
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Old 08-21-2008, 12:17 PM
 
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gangs are a major problem in the US and most Americans continue to ignore that fact.

when a gang member kills someone its just....."oh...another youth killed" and the local church gets involved. for what? it never solves the problem. Gang activity should be outlawed and a mandatory 10 yr sentence should be added on to any offense that reeks of gang activity. prison gangs should be broken up too.
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Old 08-21-2008, 12:50 PM
 
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There are some small towns near where I live that are having some problems with them now.
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Old 08-21-2008, 12:54 PM
 
Location: West Texas
2,449 posts, read 5,935,052 times
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For gangs to be successful, I think they need three things: will to commit a crime, low-threat target or victim, and lack of enforcement. In most small towns (or smaller cities) most people know each other, by face if not by name, and there is less population density... this takes away some of the "low-threat target or victim" for success. Additionally, law enforcement in smaller towns are able (due to "generally lower crime rates") focus their attention on heavier and more targetable areas of a town/small city. Therefore, this takes away the "lack of enforcement" aspect.

In a large city, it is almost impossible for law enforcement to patrol all areas, even when they know the areas that are more heavily crime-laden. Additionally, larger cities have more residential areas of high population density. This provides a more target-rich environment for the gangs to operate, as well as melt into after their crime (whatever it may be).

I live in a very rural city of 100k people. We are at least 1 hour from a major interstate highway. We do have "gangs" here, but they are mostly bullies from school, etc. The worst crimes they do are probably "tagging" large fences and buildings. There are drugs and stuff here, but I think most dealers don't worry about gangs and the threat they pose because, again, they are just thugs. I have never seen drug dealings myself in this city, but I hear about "busts" all the time on the evening news, so I know it exists.

For those reasons, I think it's harder to survive as a gang in a smaller town than a big city... but just my two cents worth.
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