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Article: Ganging up against violence. (US criminal street gangs) (The Problems of Poverty)
- Article from:
- State Legislatures
- Article date:
- May 1, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 National Conference of State Legislatures. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Criminal street-gangs have spread across the country, creating fear and challenging policymakers to prevent or suppress their activities.
While fires smoldered in riot-torn sections of Los Angeles last year, observers blamed police incompetence, pervasive poverty and resonating racism. Also blamed were juvenile gangs, whose members reportedly were responsible for much of the violence and who have become a feared personification of the urban underclass in this country.
The riots in South-Central L.A. sub-sided, but gang violence goes on. Incidents like the shooting death late last year of a gang rival outside the church memorial service for another youth ...