Why are we in Socal stuck with a wide spread and GANG problem, but the BAY AREA does not have these issues?

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by alaplex

I think what you are saying that gangs are prevalent in every area of LA except of very high end areas such as Century City, Westwood, Bev Hills, Belair, etc. No middle ground here is there. Either among the elite or the crap. Yes, there are gang problems everywhere but go to downtown LA then go to downton San Francisco. Don't see many decent folk in LA but see them in San Francisco. Gangs are much more prevalent here. Goes hand in hand with immigration. More immigrants from 3rd world countries, more violence, Period.

And interestingly enough San Francisco has a higher murder rate than the city of Los Angeles, despite having less of a reputation for gangs, and the SF city homicide map shows a heavy amount of murders in the area north of downtown San Francisco. I wonder what causes San Francisco, with less gang activity, to have a higher murder rate??

Map of 2008 SF murders
Homicides in San Francisco 2007/2008/2009 (http://www.sfgate.com/maps/sfhomicides/ - broken link)

[nbus5]

Originally Posted by alaplex

I think what you are saying that gangs are prevalent in every area of LA except of very high end areas such as Century City, Westwood, Bev Hills, Belair, etc. No middle ground here is there. Either among the elite or the crap. Yes, there are gang problems everywhere but go to downtown LA then go to downton San Francisco. Don't see many decent folk in LA but see them in San Francisco. Gangs are much more prevalent here. Goes hand in hand with immigration. More immigrants from 3rd world countries, more violence, Period.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't gang violence (and crime in general) in LA on a downward trend??? Los Angeles is one of the safer big cities in the world, even with the reputation for gangs it has.

[CaliDude1]

Originally Posted by alaplex

I think what you are saying that gangs are prevalent in every area of LA except of very high end areas such as Century City, Westwood, Bev Hills, Belair, etc. No middle ground here is there. Either among the elite or the crap. Yes, there are gang problems everywhere but go to downtown LA then go to downton San Francisco. Don't see many decent folk in LA but see them in San Francisco. Gangs are much more prevalent here. Goes hand in hand with immigration. More immigrants from 3rd world countries, more violence, Period.

I have to call complete BS on this one. If this statement were true then either the definition of "gang" has changed or the definition of "high end" has changed. Also, if you don't see any decent folk in downtown L.A. you must have your eyes closed.

The sensationalism on these "L.A. gang" threads is comical. Los Angeles has gangs, plenty of them. Some are more dangerous than others. L.A. gangs are also some of the most reported on, analyzed, deified and demonized (rightfully so) street gangs in the entire world. What that does is it creates a permanent folklore for L.A. gangs. They are bad in the minds of people even when violent crime in L.A. is statistically down several years in a row. Even when local police make serious strides in curbing crime the perception never changes.

The problem is reality often gets distorted. While many people think L.A. is "hell" they think their little neck of the woods is a small slice of heaven. And that is the dangerous part. People start think it can never happen in their neighborhood. They think there is something built into the DNA of Los Angeles that makes it prone to gang violence. They never stop to realize some of the very same things that give rise to gangs in L.A. exist in their quaint little paradise also.

The most dangerous gangs are not about terrorizing communities. They do that, but that is not their true aim. Their aim is commerce. That is why the newest gang threats are transnational and syndicated. Plus, when you consider how much heat gangs in L.A. get from the police it would make sense for them to spread out to other areas. After all, many people in those other areas think it only happens in L.A. They make the perfect targets.

A more realistic and balanced look at the situation goes a long way.

[the one]

ya man totally! those crips and bloods should all go back to the countries they came from...



again this has to do with economics.

unfortunately your ignorance and hate towards "3rd world" people makes you blind to the real problems.

"pick yourself up and try again"
-aaliyah

Originally Posted by alaplex

I think what you are saying that gangs are prevalent in every area of LA except of very high end areas such as Century City, Westwood, Bev Hills, Belair, etc. No middle ground here is there. Either among the elite or the crap. Yes, there are gang problems everywhere but go to downtown LA then go to downton San Francisco. Don't see many decent folk in LA but see them in San Francisco. Gangs are much more prevalent here. Goes hand in hand with immigration. More immigrants from 3rd world countries, more violence, Period.

[buckeyenative01]

Originally Posted by CaliDude1

I have to call complete BS on this one. If this statement were true then either the definition of "gang" has changed or the definition of "high end" has changed. Also, if you don't see any decent folk in downtown L.A. you must have your eyes closed.

The sensationalism on these "L.A. gang" threads is comical. Los Angeles has gangs, plenty of them. Some are more dangerous than others. L.A. gangs are also some of the most reported on, analyzed, deified and demonized (rightfully so) street gangs in the entire world. What that does is it creates a permanent folklore for L.A. gangs. They are bad in the minds of people even when violent crime in L.A. is statistically down several years in a row. Even when local police make serious strides in curbing crime the perception never changes.

The problem is reality often gets distorted. While many people think L.A. is "hell" they think their little neck of the woods is a small slice of heaven. And that is the dangerous part. People start think it can never happen in their neighborhood. They think there is something built into the DNA of Los Angeles that makes it prone to gang violence. They never stop to realize some of the very same things that give rise to gangs in L.A. exist in their quaint little paradise also.

The most dangerous gangs are not about terrorizing communities. They do that, but that is not their true aim. Their aim is commerce. That is why the newest gang threats are transnational and syndicated. Plus, when you consider how much heat gangs in L.A. get from the police it would make sense for them to spread out to other areas. After all, many people in those other areas think it only happens in L.A. They make the perfect targets.

A more realistic and balanced look at the situation goes a long way.

Yup. When gangs start deliberately seeking out random people/groups to terrorize other than rival gangs, I'll be concerned. Its tragic when someone like that high school football star gets gunned down by gang members, but relatively few incidents of gang violence involve random people. Like the mafia, they typically know who they're supposed to be going after.

[KnoxTown]

Originally Posted by the one

ya man totally! those crips and bloods should all go back to the countries they came from...



again this has to do with economics.

unfortunately your ignorance and hate towards "3rd world" people makes you blind to the real problems.

"pick yourself up and try again"
-aaliyah

I'd rep you if I could.

[the one]

Originally Posted by KnoxTown

I'd rep you if I could.

thanks knox, its the thought that counts...

[majoun]

Originally Posted by ZenMaster2008

I've heard the opposite, that gangs are growing and gang violence as well.

Very true. MS13's in the Bay Area now and gang violence is growing rapidly as well as crime and violence of all types. Living up here in SF I have a feeling that California's next big urban riot could start here rather than in L.A. The overall tension and desperation seem even higher than in L.A.

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by alaplex

I think what you are saying that gangs are prevalent in every area of LA except of very high end areas such as Century City, Westwood, Bev Hills, Belair, etc. No middle ground here is there. Either among the elite or the crap. Yes, there are gang problems everywhere but go to downtown LA then go to downton San Francisco. Don't see many decent folk in LA but see them in San Francisco. Gangs are much more prevalent here. Goes hand in hand with immigration. More immigrants from 3rd world countries, more violence, Period.

there are so many things that are wrong in this post.

for one thing, downtown LA shouldn't really be compared with downtown sf. DTLA is a downtown in name only, although the city has recently made great strides in turning the area into a center for employment and a destination for arts and entertainment. the reality is that it's still a work in progress.

a better comparable would be the main nightlife and/or tourist drags of the region, the westside + hollywood, which have served as LA's de facto downtown for a long time now. even a lot of the la's white collar offices are in westside locales such as century city and santa monica.

similarly, people love to point to the most crime-riddled areas of the LA metro as "proof" of how bad the region is, or just make sweeping generalizations about minorities and/or immigrants, and then make unfair comparisions with upscale areas of other cities while ignoring those cities' same problems.

you have to compare apples to apples.

and as another poster mentioned, there isn't necessarily a connection between greater third world immigration and more gangsters/violence. there are so many born-and-raised american gangbangers in this country. and why do the LA haters act as if crime and gangs are spiraling out of control? the statistics don't support this. high profile gang crimes may make for sensational news, but they don't necessarily reflect the overall level of crime in the city/region.

of course, this is not intended to minimize LA's gang issues by any means. it's just kind of amusing to hear people make so many uninformed comments based on prejudice or xenophobia.