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Two men in Chicago were wounded earlier this week after someone approached them, shouted gang slogans and then shot them. Two suspected gang members were recently arrested in Oakland, California for allegedly shooting at rival gang members and cops during a high-speed car chase.
Last month in Chicago, 9-year-old Tanaja Stokes was killed in gang crossfire while playing jump rope. And it's not just in large cities either: gang violence occurs in places like Newburgh, N.Y.
Gang violence is considered so bad in Chicago that police chief Jody Weis last month met with local gang leaders to issue an ultimatum: keep your members in line, or else face prosecution under RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) statutes that are typically used to combat organized crime. Former New York City Rudy Giuliani and Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL.) are calling for legislation that would provide $20 million for a federal anti-gang task force to examine solutions. This is probably because about 80 percent of all crime in America is linked to gang activity, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Chicago Police Department states that 81 percent of homicides so far this year in the city were gang-related.
While using RICO statutes and coordinating federal efforts can help rein in gang-related activity, these measures don't go far enough. We need a more forceful response to the violence which has turned many communities into war zones: using anti-terrorism law to crack down on street gangs. New York state has applied anti-terrorism law to prosecute gang members, but it is a rarely used strategy. We must stop treating street gangs as having committed criminal acts, and start viewing them as instigating acts of war against the American citizenry.
Critics of using this approach have charged that applying anti-terrorism law to street gangs is too broad. However, treating gangs as criminal enterprises doesn't go far enough. After all, gangs often perpetrate actions that qualify as terrorism. The FBI defines terrorism as "...the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."
More specifically, it defines domestic terrorism as "activities that involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any state; appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; to influence the policy of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States."
Gangs certainly commit violence and intimidation against civilians to achieve a desired outcome, especially against individuals perceived to be undermining the gang's goals. Coupled with psychological warfare inherent in the "no snitching" ethic, gang-related actions are also physical warfare designed to coerce community members into not cooperating with law enforcement.
Gang-related actions thus don't just affect their immediate target. By creating a perpetually fearful atmosphere, they also serve as a warning to entire communities. When gangs shoot police officers, judges, and other government officials, they seek to influence government policy. Their actions dramatically lower the quality of life in many communities -- and it is black communities who are disproportionately affected by gang activity -- as few businesses wish to create jobs in a high-crime environment.
If safe streets are a key goal for black America and the U.S. at large, there must be a coordinated, more forceful attack against the organized entity that is responsible: gangs. It's high time that we treat the terrorism at home with the same vigor as we do Al Qaeda abroad
Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Sunday, September 26th 2010 at 3:48AM
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