"Activity On The Rise"

January 30, 2009
By OWEN LEI / KING 5 News

SEATTLE - Gangs are a problem that is exploding in the Northwest, especially in King County. Now we know just how many gangs and gang members are terrorizing city streets and we've also learned that gangs are moving to the Northwest from California.

A 48-page report says gang activity is on the rise and gang members are responsible for as much as 80 percent of violent crime in the Northwest.

Seattle Police sent gang unit officers to a suspected assault Friday night at 30th Avenue and NE 137th Street. It's one of those cases where the neighbors decline to talk on camera and, in fact, warn that we shouldn't be asking questions in this neck of town.

The insinuation is that this is gang territory.

Related Content
Regional task force combats gangs on the move

Gangs leaving marks on Skagit County
The FBI just released a national report on gang threats.

It found almost 2,100 gangs active in the northwest United States, more than 36,000 criminally active members, and the largest concentration in the whole region is in King County.

Several local law enforcement agencies have officers that deal specifically with gang crimes, but the King County Sheriff's Department,

Bellevue Police, and the FBI all pointed us to Seattle Police, saying they deal with more gang problems than anyone else.

KING 5 tried several times to reach Seattle Police, but our calls were not returned.

But in December, speaking on KING 5's Up Front, Chief Gil Kerlikowske acknowledged a resurgence in gang activity nationwide.

"But I don't think given what we're seeing that people need to run or hide or be in fear," he said.

He said the reason was that the violence tends to be between gangs.

"There are two gangs in South King County and in Seattle Central District that have been battling with each other, and we're doing
everything we can along with all the other police departments to put a stop to it," he said.

The national report also talks about trends saying more and more California-based gangs are making their way here clashing with existing groups and even moving into the suburbs.

The report concludes that these trends may continue.

Some local gang unit officers did talk with us off-camera. They said they were not surprised at the numbers.

They stress that their responsibilities, along with patrolling the streets, is to talk regularly to elementary-age kids about the
consequences of joining a gang.

Saturday's Seattle Times will profile a member of the Deuce 8's - a Central District gang. You can read how his struggles to leave the gang lifestyle may land him back behind bars.

So the political ruling class never empowers you,
but always empowers themselves to keep you powerless!

It's the same thing for the corporate ruling class, the legislative ruling class
and the media ruling class. They all say you can't be trusted with responsibility
for your own protection. but at the same time, they abdicate their responsibility to protect you.

They refuse to prosecute and put away the bad guys. And so the jailhouse revolving door spins:
take them in, turn them out. And it's open season on the rest of US.

Wayne LaPierre
NRA Executive Vice President