Filed under: article, gangs | Tags: chicago defender, child soldiers, children, gangs, parents
Opacity.us
The Chicago Defender recently published a compelling cover story about one mother’s struggle to protect her son from the influence of gangs in their neighborhood. The boy, who is only 10 and learns at a slower pace than other children at his school, is the type of child gang members look for when taking in new recruits. Sadly, this same story is found not only in neighborhoods across Chicago, but in cities across the U.S. Situations like this are no different than the stories we read of children forced to become soldiers in places we consider a world away from ours.
Filed under: gangs, violence | Tags: amar aslam, chicago, england, gang, shakelia taylor, teens, violence, west yorkshire
The death of 15-year-old Shakelia Taylor this past Monday is another sad reminder of the problems with violence that have recently been lately gaining more attention. Taylor was a former Chicago Public Student, who had been enrolled in school in Indiana. Although her death doesn’t add to the headline of “another CPS student “killed,” it is no less important or tragic.
Equally tragic was the murder of 17-year-old Amar Aslam in England. Aslam was beaten to death in a park in West Yorkshire. It is unknown whether his death was gang related, but gang violence has been a growing problem in parts of England, some attributing it to racial tensions.
It is interesting to compare the racial element in gang violence here and in a country like England. Whereas race seems to be at the center of the gang violence in England, gang violence in the U.S. is examined by the racial makeup of the gang members and victims. For example, all of the CPS students killed by gun violence this school year were black or latino. Out of that, all but one were male. Local-area groups like CeaseFire recognize this element; the make up of their staff and outreach workers is predominately male. But this shouldn’t overlook the problem of violence and teen girls. What problem is that? More to follow…
Filed under: Miscellaneous, chicago, gangs, schools, violence | Tags: chicago, chicago police, gangs, outreach, violence, youth
Dr. Ron Rufo is a crime prevention speaker with the Chicago Police Department. His police work mainly focuses on juvenile crime and speaking to various students about the dangers of joining gangs. In March, Rufo was stationed at Crane Technical High School the day student Ruben Ivy was killed.
Below, Rufo talks about a boy who learned the consequences of gangs the hard way.
Transcript:
So then I talk about paralyzation. I talk about dying. I talk about paralyzation. Then I talk about a young man that I actually tried to help when I was in the ninth district. I get a little choked up sometimes telling this story because it’s true. This young man was a good boy, but he lived in the heart of a gang on Morgan Street.
He said to me, “Officer Rufo, I don’t want to join a gang, but they’re pressuring me.”
One September when I was going to a school I happen to see this young man and his mom was pushing him in a wheelchair. He had got shot
He said, “Didn’t you hear what happened to me?”
Because that was my old beat.
He said, “Didn’t you hear what happened to me?”
I said, “No I didn’t. Can you tell me?”
He said, “Well, a couple guys got shot.” A rival gang, which is down the street, came over and started shooting.
The one guy he mentioned got killed, and I didn’t know about that. Another kid got shot in the leg…or like the lower leg by his ankle. And he got shot in the back. He said, “I’ve been paralyzed since.”
That’s what I tell these kids.
He asked me what I was doing. I said I was in preventive programs. I go out and teach kids about not joining a gang. He said would you mention my name and mention this to them:
“I didn’t listen to you and look where I’m at. My mom has to clean me, bathe me, and do everything else. My so-called gang, my so-called family never came to see me at the hospital, and they walk across the street while my mom is pushing me. “
Now, he’s got to be about 21.
He said, “Where are they now? I gave my life for them, and look what I have to live for: Nothing, and this how I’m going to be the rest of my life.”
Filed under: gangs, legislation & initiatives | Tags: gangs, initiative, los angeles, program, Villaraigosa, violence
From the L.A. Times:
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made a splash when he announced plans last week for ending L.A. Bridges, an anti-gang initiative under fire since the Riordan administration for failing to demonstrate clear results.
But in dropping the L.A. Bridges programs and shifting the money to his appointed “gang czar,” Villaraigosa put off yet again answering one key question: Are these programs, which last year received $13.2 million, successful in quelling violence and keeping kids out of gangs?
