The Business of Gangs & Violent Crime in 2006
 
The recent talk of "reverse onus" bail is a great mechanism to assist in the continued attempts to reduce the violence plaguing our streets. Regardless as to geographic locations to the violence, from the streets of South Central L.A. to suburban Vancouver or Younge Street in Toronto, many factors remain the same. The patterns and trends continue to prove that the violence will grow. We see the odd "true" reduction however, the deaths and injuries due to violent crime will continue. Projections by End Youth Violence for 2006 predict a record number of violent crimes and murders will happen this year on Canadian and American streets. This will be true for not only big cities but also in small communities. Areas of violence prevention need to be addressed regionally in addition to provincial and federal programs. Certain dynamics exist in contributing to violence in some regions which defy factors in other regions. These include the factor of poverty in Toronto and L.A. where that is not as high a factor in the Vancouver area violence. Status and positioning in the peer hierarchy are higher on the list in Vancouver coupled with higher levels of small gangs with poor organization and internal codes of conduct.As these smaller gangs in all areas struggle to gain market share, they try to eliminate the competition. Much like business, you have more and more people trying to gain market control and when you have gangs forge together it is not much different from mergers and acquisitions. Corporations and businesses are always trying to beat out the other. The difference being the fact that most corporations will operate inside of the law and follow a code of conduct. Further in legitimate business, the products fall within the scope of legality and thus have the civil courts to reinforce the rules of play. In the world of drug and gang business, they have their own process of violence to deal with each other and the criminal courts when someone is caught but the code of silence is stronger as going to prison for many gangsters is again a level of status in addition to the fact that the courts are seen as to lenient on the criminals. Let's face the fact that crime pays. Judges, Lawyers, parole officers, prison guards and so many others rely on criminals as a primary source of income. The fact that many get rich through the criminal justice system. If lawyers did not fight for the rights of the criminals and showed more compassion for victims, they would have less repeat business and what benefit would this be to them? Let's face it, if the general public does not take a stand on the continued and malicious twisting of the laws by lawyers to protect their clients when there is no doubt of guilt, they get the guilty released because of a small and insignificant loophole which is clearly against the obvious intended interpretation of the spirit of each law. When we want to transfer people from a lower paid job to a higher paid trade or career, we offer incentives and training. Corporations and business make it financially attractive to make the change. When we have gang bangers and drug dealers making large sums of money, they have made that transition to that industry. Like corporate leaders, gang leaders are also largely driven by power, prestige and ego. Corporations and business must continually evolve and change as markets dictate the need for continued and rapid changes or business will fall behind and fail. The industry of drugs and gang activity also meets the continued changes in law enforcement and market trends. When it comes to those fighting the war on crime, they can not evolve and adapt nearly as fast as the criminals. If the criminals need to increase manpower, they do so without delay or budget approvals. When new technology is brought out in firearms or other areas, the gangs do not spend years on costly studies and testing. They just get what they need to stay competitive. When it comes to law enforcement, they can not adapt to the criminals at nearly a fast enough rate. If the business of crime was broken down in a corporate manner, the drug and gang business would be the Microsoft while police, law enforcement, courts etc. would be bankrupt and forgotten as many tech companies of the 90's. In today's terms, criminals are like the Hyundai Corporation. they are rapid in change and listening to the market and consumers, which makes them a powerhouse of growth and success in the international auto world. Our crime fighting industry is the General Motors Corporation. Slow to change, failing to listen to consumers and to complacent in their long standing position. If they do not evolve rapidly, GM will be nothing more than a power house in the books of auto history. In order to have more success in reducing crime, we need to streamline the political BS so that police agencies, like businesses can react in a timely manner and adapt to the rapid changes in systematic crime fighting. We will allow criminals to stay one step ahead until we treat crime fighting and prosecution as a serious business and ensure the profits are cut off. We need to shut down the sources of the continued finance to prevent these businesses from start-up through to mass mergers and aquisitions.

James Miller
Director
End Youth Violence
www.youthandviolence.com
24 Hours (604) 597-6483
306C-11831 80th Avenue
Delta BC V4C 7X6