What can we do to stop the growth of, and violence associated with, street gangs?

I think for a long time, law enforcement and the justice system have been attacking the symptoms of the problem instead of getting to the root of it.

There are laws against murder, yet people still murder each other every day.

While there are some aspects of our legal system that could be improved (like getting rid of the Young Offender's Act), most attempts to attack the symptoms of gang violence (such as increased police presence, stiffer jail sentences, etc.) have failed miserably.

I think to truly get rid of gang violence, it is important to acknowledge that most gang members don't do what they do because they like it, they do it because they have been forced into poverty, had no other choice but to make money through crime, and that they grow up knowing nothing else.

Think about it. If you grew up in a crappy part of the city with parents who don't care about you, you would want to leave for greener pastures right? And what's the easiest way to do that? Dodge other gang members on your way to McDonald's every day where you make 8 dollars an hour? Or join a gang yourself, which would at least offer you SOME protection against the thugs in your neighbourhood, as well as an income. How does $1000 a week selling drugs sound? Better than a job at McDonald's right? For those of you who would read this and say, "I don't care how dire the circumstances, I would never sell drugs." Well that is easy to say while living in a cozy home in the suburbs. It's really pointless to say anything like this, considering you have never lived in a ghetto.

Areas like Regent Park in Toronto are a good example of a marginalized community. The poverty has been pushed there, because to have an upper and middle class, you have to have a lower class. And what are these people in Regent Park supposed to do without the financial, emotional and physical assistance of people like us (those more fortunate)? Turning to crime is an obvious and predictable progression for them.

Imagine you live in a ghetto. You want to go to school, but on your way to and from it, you get robbed or beaten up or worse. You don't want to sell drugs or hurt other people, but on your way to your crappy "honest" job, you get robbed or beaten up or worse. You would have no other option but to join one of these gangs or suffer miserably. Even if you wanted to move, how are you going to accomplish that without any money?

It seems people want gang violence to go away, but at the same time, they don't want to hear about issues of poverty and what we can do to help. The only time they truly care is when it spills over into "their world." I was deeply shocked and saddened by the death of Jane Creba, an innocent bystander in Toronto who walked into the path of a stray bullet during a gang shootout on a busy street in broad daylight. People were outraged, and the news made the front page, but only because she was a 15-year-old white girl. All the deaths of blacks and hispanics can usually be found in the middle of your local newspaper. In other words, we don't mind gang members killing other gang members, as long as they stay away from us. What kind of way is that to think about other human beings?

I think the only way to truly get rid of gang violence (if it is actually possible) is for people to start caring about these places (like Regent Park) and actively get involved with helping them get their lives together. They need financial and educational assistance to find a way out of their rut. So where's it going to come from? That's the big question?

Why is our prime minister busy helping Bush's war in Iraq, when we have a war in every single city of our own country?

There is no easy solution to any of it. Aggressive sentencing has not deterred anyone from doing it or slowed the growth of street gangs. As others have said, if you grow up in a poor area of town the amount of money you can make from selling drugs or being a part of that gang is attractive.

The real question is whether the government wants to pump more money into the problem now in hopes of fixing it or continue feeding it into the prison system to keep people that are convicted behind bars.

Aggressive increases in the amount of officers assigned to anti-gang and drug units is a start. Those people often know a lot of the people involved in gang activity. It works a lot better when gang members know the cops first hand when dealing with them rather than seeing the occasional beat-cop acting in a reactive manner to a report of a shooting, drug dealing, etc. Dismantling the gangs from the top leave it unorganized and less profitable.

More exposure to the kids in school at a younger age needs to be done. Right now they only talk a bit about the problem once kids reach high school or while they are very young and don't understand the problem. Kids need to be exposed to the reality that waits for them after they join a gang. There are already several reformed ex-street gang members out there that are more than willing to share their experiences with people. Those are the ones that should be talking, not a teacher or community resources officer.

Drugs are drugs and that is a whole different can of worms to deal with by itself. Putting the pressure on the gangs and teaching the kids the reality of gang lifestyles and helping them see that they have something outside of the street crime/poverty lifestyle will make the difference. It will cost money, but it's a detication the government needs to make.

Stop gang violence: There are many things that can be done…however I think it will take time, dedication, money, and so much more…

Unless you have been around the street gangs it is hard to understand the mentality, the cycle continues and is never ending. If a gangster from 1st (example) gets killed by 2nd (example)… the 1st gangsters will retaliate, and so on and so forth.

I’m sad to say that this new generation: The parents, if there is a father, are the gangsters, therefore this new generation will be worst and that is the reason the violence is so high. Back then they used their fists, now they are using guns.

The POLICE are picking battles with the wrong people – SOMETIMES. I live in South Central, LA and have been harassed about 7 times because I’m with a black person or in the wrong kind of car, I don’t drink, never touched a cigarette. Mother of two, and the last time that my husband and I were harassed was July 4, 2008.

Are the police doing their best – I’m not sure? But to help someone that doesn't want the help...the gangsters are also part of this community. Does the community want to be helped?

The preventative outreach needs to reach out more. Street gangs, by which I mean what they label as "youth" street gangs are comprised of so many different elements to which there is only one end. The different structures (family, religion, education) which were in place years ago, no matter how you look at it, no longer exists. The family structure has been compromised, where family originally first served in an individual's life, has now changed and thus the values of the family has been infiltrated and the diameno effect steps in. Back in the late 60s, through the 70s and prior to what we here in the U.S. call Reganomics, there were programs, I believe they were government programs that promoted community outreach programs to the youth of the community and beyond (funds have been cut and many programs are no more). If the family structure in those instances weren't strong, then you had religion and/or the local place of worship, which generally was made up by the members of the community and which stepped in to assist, and the youth were open and accepting, not world harsh from birth. But now the church, all churches and/or religions are having their problems, does the youth feel safe here? Then there was school, you could go to school and feel safe, even with the threat of a nuclear bomb, now, do our youth go to school feeling safe, what with bullies, random shootings, etc. So I say all this to say, family should be re-visited and not make the gang and all that it stands for look so promising, yes, our youth are lost and they are afraid, and then what about the police, wow, a lost generation in so many ways until when you look at it, the youth have been forced a hand that they don't know how to play and are playing on the tails of acceptance. Education and through education (education on all levels, including the street), self-esteem with which will open doors to opportunity and along the way will come morals to help assist a growing mind to make appropriate choices, yeah, education.

Now as to the punishment for gang violence, let the punishment fit the crime.

God Bless.

1

There are no easy answers to solve the socioeconomic problems that are for the most part, imho anyway, the roots of the problem that we are seeing for street gangs and the violence that accompanies them. There have been a great number of good suggestions above, however, many ultra conservative governmnets, such as our own in the U.S. make it exceedingly difficult to impliment the various strategies to hopefully find a solution to kids desire to join gangs. More specifically, perhaps we should try legalizing certain substances so that they may be taken off the black market and regulated and taxed. With that we may just see a decline in the number of people who think that consuming these things is a good idea. Or perhaps we should more fully embrace the neo conservatism and implement a singaporean style zero tolerance for crime and fill all of our jails and graveyards, that would also quell the rise in gangs, crimes and violence. One thing is certain and that is we cannot continue to go down the same road that we have been on for the last thirty years without the problem only growing. It is a very tough question to answer directly because the problem is as diverse as the number of people who enter these gangs to begin with. Some people, amazingly enough, just have a desire to be a gangster and seemingly prefer prison life to freedom.

One other suggestion would be to move away from capitalism and embrace socialism so there are fewer wealthy people and the overall income disparity is not so grossly pronounced. However, because, at least to me, greed seems to be an inherent quality in human beings, this is probably an uphill battle.

I've had fantasies of the government sending the U.S. Navy Seals into Chicago, or Detroit, or Atlanta, and having the problem cleaned simply — right then and there. However, we all know that'll never happen. Make the scenario wholly Canadian if it better suits your immagination.

So a few reasonable suggestions:

1) Zero Tolerance for serious crimes. Every now and then we'll hear about a murderer or rapist, even from the inner city who gets a slap-on-the-wrist sentence.

2) Real enforcement. Stop pulling people over for some mundane traffic offense (failure to wear a seat-belt, perhaps, or maybe even a rolling stop at a sign), or investigations of unimportant or unsolvable reports that never have a true effect other than to waste time and instead use officers otherwise tied up for greater patrolling of the inner city. To put it simply: ignore the woman complaining about children cutting through her yard, focus on the criminals.

3) We don't want to hear it (as evidenced by similar answers) but legalize, or at least decriminalize "soft-drugs" (such as marijuana), and prostitution. Both can become lesser-evils when the state at least has oversight. Prohibition does not work.

4) Infiltration (perhaps better rendered as "spying"). It's already being done, and it works — it creates a better case against criminals when evidence can be amassed as well.

5) Reverse-Stings. I hear about them being done occasionally, and they're great tools, especially when combating "hard-drug-trade" (or for the sake of argument, "soft-drug-trade" or "sex-trade," since you certainly won't take my advice in point three). Pose as a consumer in a drug-trade or a prostitution-case — when enough evidence is gained to convict, make the bust. Sometimes information gained from the "small-fry" you'd catch would lead you to the capture of someone higher up in an operation.

6) More patrolling of the high-crime areas. Unfortunately, the only way to do this seems to be with more officers on duty, I'm not sure how said issue could be rectified.

7) Mandatory solitary confinement for confirmed gang members in after imprisonment; some places do this already — I'm not sure how widespread it is, but it's a good idea. Perhaps some inroads could be made into rehabilitation in some cases as well (in most cases, however, I'd doubt it).

8) "Neighborhood Watch" programs. They may not be the most effective in the world, especially in areas where the gang invokes either a fear or a perverted comradely...But every little bit of progress gained from a program works.

9) As much as I hate to say it: Concealed Carry. Background checks and other security measures must be almost extensive, however.

10) Inroads towards education in the inner-city. It's already being done. Keep trying, it's at very least moderately successful.

Obviously there's no one way of fixing the problem, nor will the problem ever be fully fixed, but there's my ten suggestions.

Poverty, gangs, poor choices, a corrupt school system... this is a result of a long history or serious moral corruption. During the 1960s, the shift from spiritual challenge to material support was a very serious issue, and the credentials for receiving any type of charity were no longer tested. Before addressing the issue of gangs, let me state that welfare has been pegged as a necessary wrong, but not a right, failing to make a proper distinction between those who honestly needed aid and those who were merely trying to take advantage of the system. With prosperity in the nation came the realization that the elimination of poverty was well within the means of governmental intervention. However, throwing money at a problem only feeds and never solves it. I cannot state this strongly enough.

The following years into the 20th and 21st centuries followed the same patterns of how a Godless society has produced a nation with no work ethic and dishonest characters take advantage of the system and who are no longer ashamed of being on welfare. New problems that had not formally been a large issue in the previous centuries began to show with the rise of single-motherhood. Sadly, the feminist movement reinforced ideals; offering programs to support the fruit of such sinful behavior only further encouraged the epidemic. It causes a bitter cycle of children remaining in poverty because of no providential support by fathers. The truth is that economic concerns, as a result, are only segment of the overall danger! The only way to effectively solve the problem would be to restore the family, NOT endorse autonomy. Affiliation is the key here.

Nothing should ever come in the way of affiliation, nor should any type of program feed a detrimental lifestyle. It is time for Americans to reconsider what this really means, rather than maintaining universalistic and materialistic ideas for ineffective solutions.

So, what about a solution for gangs? I personally work at a daycare when I'm not teaching, and am now familiar with a law that is in the process of being passed to OUTLAW time-outs. What do you do? Let the children walk all over you, even if they are biting, hitting, etc? There are no consequences from an early age. This leads into school... apart from a good home life, a child can plunge into an apathetic attitude toward his education and to his overall life. It's a bitter cycle that spins downward to a moral-less society.

YES, it's very easy to see what the problems and what may lead up to them, but pin-pointing an actual solution that can be put into effect is the hard part. Outlaw weapons? That does not work. If a person is violent, they will find other ways to be violent without weapons... Our laws do not back up retribution. Our police force has been disarmed. What, then, is the solution?

The only thing that I can come up with is this: If one must be sent to jail, the only way that prisoner may live is if his/her family is the sole provider of food and resources. What ever happened to family honor? Why must tax payer's money go to support violence? That's just my opinion. But I think Americans must back up their ideals and really focus on the moral plunge, and its ramification upon society as a whole. It is a bitter cycle that will keep getting worse if we don't back up and take care of the ROOT of the problem.

I believe that street crime is inextricably linked to the "broken family." Whatever the reason, the 21st and latter half of the 20th century has seen more divorces and absentee fathers/single moms who never married. The odds are against children of broken homes because they are being raised from birth with the wrong impressions of how family and society are supposed to work. What's more, kids are often left unsupervised after school and start getting into the sort of trouble and habits that messed their parents up. It's a self perpetuating cycle. Schools and social programs also are ineffective, not because they dont have any money, but because they have lost any measure of control over the kids. The inmates run the assylum. Discipline is gone. Students are not corrected for misbehavior; teachers are more concerned with being friends than authority figures. Truancy and drop-outs go unanswered. Throwing more money at it will only breed more incompetence and will be wasted on useless administrators.

As far as the law-enforcement side of things, the community is afraid to self-police. A successful community will let the police know where the bad guys are, who did the crimes, etc. Informing needs to be considered civic duty instead of snitching. For some reason the police are viewed as the bad guys instead of the guardians of the community.

Our borders need to be sealed and tightly regulated so the responsible, hard workers can get in and the drug smugglers, coyotes, and gang-bangers stay out.

Figure out how to reverse these negatives and bring about the positives, and our streets will be safe for kids like when my parents were growing up in the '50s.

Gangs will never go away. You can enhance the sentence for minors but that wont work. Being locked up in some major gangs is a privilege, cause there with all their other fellow members and create a gang in the system. Gangs have more control on the outside when their locked up. Why does this cycle keep continuing? Its the parents/guardians fault. They show their children the gang life and the child basically gets raised "in the gang life". Authorities have tried and tried to break this viscous cycle but it just seems unaffected. Maybe if they would create a more "harsher" prison system, that might make gangs think twice about committing a crime. Some people are scared to go to prison because of the people there, not the prison itself, and that's the major issue. Take away the TVs, weight rooms, libraries, recreation areas, anything that's a luxury in the prison system. Some might disagree with this, they might say "some criminals want to change, that's why they have those options". In some cases that's true but the majority of it is not. If someone commits a crime no matter what the degree is they shall receive a punishment. Make them learn from that and have them say to myself, i never want to go back there. Increase the severity of the punishment and prison system, that should make ANY criminal gang member or not think twice before commiting any type of crime

My goodness, gangs have been part of societies for thousands of years. The question lies what purpose has "the gang" served past, present, and future. IF it is a completely antisocial,and disestablishment then what will it take to turn around this situation. Education is not just the key. Familial responsibility and respect are the key. Also, a redifinition of the "American Dream" which is now spreading around the world- another word for unrealistic materialism and greed. Speaking of greed, many if not most are hiding behind the cloak of "trying to better my life" sometimes CONTENTMENT needs to be redefined as well. The question is how can this change occurr. Find grassroots leaders in each community, break it down(divide and conquer) that may be a gang member gone "wise" and to teach and mentor in a positive program to tell these members a gang is not the identifying factor you are. People still see you not your affiliation. When it comes down to it-Personal responsibility, respect for all people, a healthy idea of what success means and what it takes to get there legitimately, and understanding limitations(we all can't aspire to Rock Stars and be $$$$) but being content with our lives and being productive and most importantly "to understand that building up the next generation is the ONLY hope for a better future and even more success." LIfe, your life, and the lives are others are precious because they are the building blocks for humanity. How do you get an abused, drug addict, that has dropped out of school, with 4 children, no man, no home to speak of, and the only hope of surviving is prostituting and dealing. One must take each aspect of that problem break it down and deal with it to help this person as a whole. Each gang situation is an individual effort and we must start with the children.