gangs

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In Japan, Sun Sets on Yakuza Mob Scene

Japan's criminal gangs are losing their semi-legitimate status

(Newser) - The role of the yakuza in Japanese society has always been hard for Westerners to understand. Since the 1950s the mafia-like organization has been tolerated by government and the public, trusted to run gambling and prostitution rackets with a modicum of respect for social order. But as a tough economy...

Gangbangers Struggle to Leave 'the Life'

On road to rehabilitation, even success stories are bumpy

(Newser) - Job-hunting and laser tattoo removal are painful parts of leaving an LA street gang, but nothing compared to the lure of going back, Newsweek reports. Gabriel, 29, wandered into a gang rehabilitation center to leave "the life," but only stopped getting "G'd up" with his homeys...

Rising Gang Violence Sparks 80% of US Crime

Groups increase presence on web, school campuses

(Newser) - Growing by the year, US gangs boast about 1 million members and are responsible for up to 80% of crimes across the country, a new federal report says. Law enforcement crackdowns have helped, but gangs remain resistant. "They evolve and adapt,” said an FBI official. “They know...

16 Killed in Dramatic Philippines Shootout

Officers tailed robbery suspects, who 'fired at everyone in sight'

(Newser) - A suspected robbery gang armed with automatic weapons and grenades fired on Philippine police officers who were tailing them, leaving at least 16 people dead in a fierce shootout in a Manila suburb, officials said. Officers were following the suspects when the gunmen sensed the surveillance and opened fire, triggering...

Feds Seize Gang's Identity
 Feds Seize Gang's Identity 
Oct 21, 2008 7:05 PM CDT

Feds Seize Gang's Identity

(Newser) - Federal agents punctuated a raid against a notorious California motorcycle gang today with an unusual twist—they took the group's logo. In addition to making dozens of arrests, the feds are trying to seize ownership of the Mongols' trademark name and insignia—a Genghis Kahn-like figure riding a chopper. If...

ACLU Blasts Town's 9pm Teen Curfew
ACLU Blasts Town's 9pm Teen Curfew
Aug 14, 2008 5:30 AM CDT

ACLU Blasts Town's 9pm Teen Curfew

Wave of shootings prompts Hartford to crack down

(Newser) - Connecticut ACLU officials are blasting a blanket 9pm teen curfew in Hartford and are considering challenging the crackdown in court, AP reports. The month-long curfew is due to begin tonight. The city announced the curfew after weekend shootings left one dead and 10 wounded. ACLU lawyers say the move violates...

NFL Looks for Gang Signs on Game Tapes

Experts scour footage, but some say gestures could be anything

(Newser) - The NFL is hiring experts to pore over game tapes looking for players flashing gang signs, the Los Angeles Times reports. “There have been some suspected things we've seen,” said a league security official; one former player's not so sure: "People have got signs for their kids,...

LA Mourns Slain High School Football Star

19-year-old gang member charged with capital murder

(Newser) - Mourners packed the funeral of a Los Angeles high school football star yesterday as police charged a gang member with capital murder in his death, the LA Times reports. The shooting of 17-year-old Jamiel Shaw only three doors away from his home was the latest in a spate of killings...

Gang Memoir Exposed as Fiction
Gang Memoir Exposed
as Fiction
Mar 4, 2008 7:50 AM CST

Gang Memoir Exposed as Fiction

Author of Love and Consequences fesses up to fabricating

(Newser) - Margaret Jones' acclaimed memoir of a half-Native American girl growing up in a foster home in South Central LA and running with gangs, Love and Consequences, turns out to be fiction, the New York Times reports. Jones, whose real name is Seltzer, grew up with her birth parents in an...

Girl Gangs Clash in Paris
Girl Gangs Clash in Paris
Feb 23, 2008 2:20 PM CST

Girl Gangs Clash in Paris

Cops shocked by girl gangs fighting with knives, tear gas

(Newser) - Paris cops recently broke up a suburban street-fight between rival gangs—but this time the gangsters were girls, the Times of London reports. "They had knives, screwdrivers, sticks and teargas and they were really going for each other," one officer said. Girl violence has spiked 140% in France...

Gang Gun Battle Shuts Down LA Neighborhood

Streets, schools closed after police shootout with drive-by killers

(Newser) - Dozens of streets in Los Angeles were shut down yesterday following a police gun battle with gang members, the Los Angeles Times reports. Schools were locked down and residents ordered to stay in their homes as police searched for suspects in a drive-by shooting that left a man dead from...

Ethnic Gangs Rile Kenyan Slums
Ethnic Gangs Rile Kenyan Slums
Jan 10, 2008 1:37 PM CST

Ethnic Gangs Rile Kenyan Slums

Gang with reputed vampire tendencies at center of ugly violence

(Newser) - The ethnic violence that has ripped through Kenya since December's disputed election is particularly gruesome between gangs in the slums of Nairobi, Newsweek reports. On one side is the self-proclaimed “Taliban,” a group dedicated to protecting their Luo tribe, and imposing order and justice much like their Afghan...

LA Murder Rate Plummets
LA Murder Rate Plummets
Dec 24, 2007 6:44 AM CST

LA Murder Rate Plummets

Homicides at lowest rate since 1970

(Newser) - The murder rate in Los Angeles has sunk to its lowest in nearly 40 years, the Los Angeles Times reports. There have been 368 killings in the City of Angels this year, down from over 1,000 in 1992. The last time the murder rate was so low was 1970,...

Gangs Trade Tattoos for Suits
Gangs Trade Tattoos for Suits
Dec 16, 2007 6:00 PM CST

Gangs Trade Tattoos for Suits

Members encouraged to keep low profile amid police crackdown

(Newser) - After years of punks with brazen head-to-toe tattoos and baggy jeans, organized crime has a new face: the clean-cut, yuppified mug of a college grad, AP reports. In an effort to keep cops off their tails and increase the bottom line, Latin American gangs are opting for brains over brawn—...

8,000 Kenyans Killed by Cops, Lawyers Say

Police call charges against outlaw sect 'fictitious'

(Newser) - Kenyan cops have killed or fatally tortured more than 8,000 youth since 2002, human rights lawyers charged today. The deaths, along with 4,000 cases of missing men, are allegedly part of a state crackdown on the Mungiki—an outlawed sect the government blames for gang violence. Police have...

Boy, 11, Shot Dead, and UK Press Reels

Youth's murder provokes shock, anger across British media

(Newser) - An 11-year-old boy was shot dead in Liverpool yesterday, leading to soul-searching and recriminations across the British press. Rhys Jones died in his mother's arms, apparently an innocent victim in a showdown between two local gangs. Rhys's photograph is on the cover of almost every newspaper today alongside claims of...

Frustrated Cities Take Gangs to Court

Lawsuits requesting injunctions gain popularity in effort to preempt violence

(Newser) - San Francisco, Fort Worth, and other cities are suing gangs in an effort to curb violence, winning injunctions forbidding members to ride in cars together and even talk to each other on the street. Courts have struck down citywide measures after critics argued they unfairly target minorities, but injunctions against...

Gang Members Join New Brotherhood: Unions

Construction trades step up recruitment

(Newser) - As construction booms, LA's building-trade unions are stepping up recruitment in the inner city, where many new hires are former gang members. The LA Times explores a trend that's turning traditionally white, fraternal outfits like the pipefitters, sheet-metal workers and even Teamsters into majority minority—and, in some cases, majority...

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