Report: Many Of City's 2,600 Gang Members In Schools
dec 15,2006
BALTIMORE -- In a city of approximately 650,000 people, Baltimore has 2,600 gang members including some in city elementary and middle schools, according to a study on gangs.
The report, issued Wednesday by the Baltimore Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee, identified 170 different gangs, including the Gangster Deciples the Crips and the Bloods.
According to police department maps prepared as part of a gang initiative since Jan. 1, 2006, the biggest clusters of gang-related violence have occurred in West Baltimore and East Baltimore.
There has also been significant activity in the Park Heights area and in southernmost portions of the city, such as Cherry Hill and Brooklyn.
A second set of maps marked all homicides and shootings since Jan. 1. When added to the gang-related incident map, the correlation between the violence and known gang activity is unmistakable.
"The same areas that have clusters of gang members are the same areas that have clusters of shootings and homicides," said James Green, the Baltimore Police Department's director of special projects.
The report showed that the largest gang -- the Bloods -- has a membership of approximately 400.
About 48 percent of street gang members are said to be between the ages of 18 and 25. Baltimore city school police estimated that there are approximately 1,000 gang members in city elementary and high schools alone.
One committee member questioned the validity of the report's finding that 94.2 percent of known gang members are black.
"It's almost unbelievable," said Frank Conaway, a member of the Criminal Justice Coordination Council and clerk of the Baltimore City Circuit Court. "There are no other gangs in the city other than African-Americans?"
Reducing gang crime, according to the plan, will require more social interventions for youth and the teaching of life skills.
The study also called for higher penalties, standardized reporting of gang members between jurisdictions, improved re-entry programs and better relationships between the community and police.
Bmore: Over 170 diff gangs identified/ 94% black
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Baltimore committee releases report on gangs, aims to combat problem
Dec 15, 2006
BALTIMORE - Baltimore has about 2,600 known gang members and 170 criminal street gangs, according to a new report from the Baltimore City Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee.
“The same areas that have clusters of gang members are the same areas that have clusters of shootings and homicides,” said James Green, the Baltimore Police Department’s director of special projects.
The Baltimore City Gang Violence Reduction Plan, released at Wednesday’s CJCC meeting, is a comprehensive attempt to tackle the city’s gang issue.
The plan lays out the gang problem in troubling terms:
» Police have identified 400 Bloods and 100 Crips operating in Baltimore;
» More than half of gang members are under the age of 25;
» There are more than 50 gangs with about 500 members in city high schools and an additional 500 gang members in middle and elementary schools;
» About half of all gang members from state jails and prisons are released into Baltimore.
To combat the problem, the plan calls for increased opportunities and social interventions for youth; increased penalties for gang members who possess and use firearms; standardized reporting of gang members across area police and sheriff departments; better relations between the police and the community; and improved re-entry services for incarcerated people, among other initiatives.
Arianne Spaccarelli, a member of the plan’s steering committee and a policy analyst for the Baltimore City Health Department, said officials are going to be stressing “disciplinarian life skills” to potential gang members.
But at least one member of the CJCC thinks the gang problem in Baltimore is not as bad as it’s made out to be.
“I don’t know if it’s as serious as they say it is,” said Frank Conaway, clerk of the Baltimore City Circuit Court. “I’m out on the streets all the time, morning to night, and I just don’t see it.”
Conaway said he also took issue with the report’s findings that 94.2 percent of known gang members are black.
“It’s almost unbelievable,” he said. “There are no other gangs in the city other than African-Americans? How do you really know who’s a member in a gang, anyway? Who’s going to get arrested and say, ‘Well, I belong to a gang?’ ”
Green, a member of the plan’s steering committee, said police gather their data on gang members from informants and admissions.
“This can’t be a document that gathers dust,” he said of the plan. “Now, we have to do something with it.”
Dec 15, 2006
BALTIMORE - Baltimore has about 2,600 known gang members and 170 criminal street gangs, according to a new report from the Baltimore City Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee.
“The same areas that have clusters of gang members are the same areas that have clusters of shootings and homicides,” said James Green, the Baltimore Police Department’s director of special projects.
The Baltimore City Gang Violence Reduction Plan, released at Wednesday’s CJCC meeting, is a comprehensive attempt to tackle the city’s gang issue.
The plan lays out the gang problem in troubling terms:
» Police have identified 400 Bloods and 100 Crips operating in Baltimore;
» More than half of gang members are under the age of 25;
» There are more than 50 gangs with about 500 members in city high schools and an additional 500 gang members in middle and elementary schools;
» About half of all gang members from state jails and prisons are released into Baltimore.
To combat the problem, the plan calls for increased opportunities and social interventions for youth; increased penalties for gang members who possess and use firearms; standardized reporting of gang members across area police and sheriff departments; better relations between the police and the community; and improved re-entry services for incarcerated people, among other initiatives.
Arianne Spaccarelli, a member of the plan’s steering committee and a policy analyst for the Baltimore City Health Department, said officials are going to be stressing “disciplinarian life skills” to potential gang members.
But at least one member of the CJCC thinks the gang problem in Baltimore is not as bad as it’s made out to be.
“I don’t know if it’s as serious as they say it is,” said Frank Conaway, clerk of the Baltimore City Circuit Court. “I’m out on the streets all the time, morning to night, and I just don’t see it.”
Conaway said he also took issue with the report’s findings that 94.2 percent of known gang members are black.
“It’s almost unbelievable,” he said. “There are no other gangs in the city other than African-Americans? How do you really know who’s a member in a gang, anyway? Who’s going to get arrested and say, ‘Well, I belong to a gang?’ ”
Green, a member of the plan’s steering committee, said police gather their data on gang members from informants and admissions.
“This can’t be a document that gathers dust,” he said of the plan. “Now, we have to do something with it.”
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Bloods gang member pleads guilty to two murders
BALTIMORE - A member of the Bloods gang has pleaded guilty to two murders, including the slaying of a state’s witness.
Jamal “Munchie” Winchester, 23, of the 3200 block of Emley Avenue, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Victor Lama Richards, 23, and Jarrell Lamont Adams, 21.
Baltimore Circuit Judge John Themelis sentenced Winchester to a 50-year prison term for the slayings. Winchester shot and killed Richards, a known Crips member, on March 30, 2006, because the two gang members had been arguing over drug trafficking locations in the Oliver Community in East Baltimore, according to prosecutors.
Adams was a fellow Bloods gang member and witnessed the murder of Richards, prosecutors said.
Winchester knew Adams had talked with police about the murder, accused Adams of “snitching” and killed him on April 21, 2006 — though Adams’ statement to police never identified Winchester as the person who murdered Richards, according to prosecutors.
http://www.examiner.com/a-690998~Bloods ... rders.html
BALTIMORE - A member of the Bloods gang has pleaded guilty to two murders, including the slaying of a state’s witness.
Jamal “Munchie” Winchester, 23, of the 3200 block of Emley Avenue, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Victor Lama Richards, 23, and Jarrell Lamont Adams, 21.
Baltimore Circuit Judge John Themelis sentenced Winchester to a 50-year prison term for the slayings. Winchester shot and killed Richards, a known Crips member, on March 30, 2006, because the two gang members had been arguing over drug trafficking locations in the Oliver Community in East Baltimore, according to prosecutors.
Adams was a fellow Bloods gang member and witnessed the murder of Richards, prosecutors said.
Winchester knew Adams had talked with police about the murder, accused Adams of “snitching” and killed him on April 21, 2006 — though Adams’ statement to police never identified Winchester as the person who murdered Richards, according to prosecutors.
http://www.examiner.com/a-690998~Bloods ... rders.html