Street roots
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Aug. 5, 2011
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GANGS, from page 1
has similar things, if you have three felonies,
and they don’t have to be violent felonies,
they can put you in prison for 35 years to
life. It didn’t stop anything. It just made it
worse.
I really do think you have to turn people
around. You can’t give up on anybody. I
know it’s going to be hard. Some of these
people are hard people to work with, and
some will never change, but you have to
work in that direction because the end
result is more danger.
I know in Portland, orte of the big
problems you’re having is L.A.-based gangs.
Sureño gangs, primarily based in Southern
California, are now spread around the %
country. I saw Sureño gangsfighting Latin
Kings in Delaware, and the reason why that
is so is because L.A. has suppressed and
squeezed gang communities. We have 40
gang injunctions in the city of L.A.
All we’ve done is make crime slightly less
in L.A., even though it’s not really that
better. But we’ve spread out the problem
around the country. In Storm Lake, Iowa, /
they were worried about MS 13 (Mara
Salvatrucha) and the Latin Kings going to
war. This is going on in Chicago too. You
have the same problem: L.A. and Chicago
are squeezing the gangs, but all they’re
doing is spreading it out. So now part of that
800,000 to a million new gang members are
guys that are imitating L.A. gangs or being
recruited by L.A. gangs, but most have
never been to L.A. So we’re just spreading
the problem. It’s not just U.S., it’s global.
In Mexico you have a large number of
L.A.-based and California-based gangsters
raised in the U.S. and deported. In Central
America, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala,
you see the presence of LA..-based gangs.
From 1996 to today, they deported close
to 700,000 criminally involved'
undocumented people around the world, bqt
primarily to Mexico and Central America.'*’*
That’s a whole lot of people. That could
change a culture in a place like El Salvador.
Part of the problem in Portland is the rise
of LA..-based or other major areas gangs,
like Norteños. Some of them aren’t even
guys from those places. All it takes is one or
two guys to set up shop in that area and
recruit people and establish a gang in that
area. I think that’s one of the big problems.
J.T.: Are we seeing a new age of gang
globalization?
L.R.: Yes, absolutely. But where people
think it’s coming from is Latin America to
w
us, it’s the other way around: It’s coming
from us to Mexico and Central America.
Now there’s been drug cartels in Mexico
that have been around for several
generations. They’re recruiting some of
these tattooed, jobless, homeless mostly,
gang kids that are building up these drug
cartels, which is a problem in those
countries separate from the U.S., but
unfortunately it’s being fueled by a large
number of deportees that have criminal
récords and are being deported in large
numbers and don’t know where to go.
zones you would have churches wherq kids
think people support these deportation
could come in and use those services.
policies. They sound good because it
Schools would open up later. There would
involves deporting criminals, but a lot of the
be jobs training. All the businesses would
problems too are being exported to other
try to hire kids from the community and
countries. For instance, there was no crack
train them. Even the police would be
in El Salvador in the early ‘90s. Now crack
involved by not harassing the kids but by
is big in those countries because it’s
working with the kids.
become a jump-off point from Colombia to
It would be a place where we work toward Central America to Mexico. I just think that
the well-being of our
people have to be
children and our
aware of those
youth and provide
polices. Expedient
services, jobs
isn’t workable. We’ve
training, anything so
become a global
"Gangs, to me, are a
J.T.: In Portland, the mayor is advocating
that these children
economy. We’ve have
special zones where people who’ve had gun or
won’t be taken into
reflection of vacuums,
an impact globally.
gangs. If you have
drug violations are excluded from certain
empties: social, economic,
vacuums, the kids get
areas.
J.T.: When urban
political empties. In almost
taken in. If you have
areas are gentrified,
every community where
L.R.: Those are kind of like the gang
decent long-range
how does that affect
injunctions that L.A. has. This model
relationships with
gangs?
people have revitalized
doesn’t work. Kids are under scrutiny that
adults and youths and
themselves, where they've
they wouldn’t be put under in any Third
teachers and students
L.R.: We did a
brought
in arts, culture and
World dictatorship. Kids can’t have cell
and even the police,
study on some of
phones. Two or three kids can’t be on the
have created new ways to
you’re going to find
these gang
corner at the same time. If you’re a former
that gangs will have a have work, a ll these
injunctions and we
gang member or you were a prison gang
hard time getting a
found that most of
communities don't have
member and you talk to another gang
foothold in those
them were not in the
gangs or hardly any gangs." worst gang
member, you could be picked up. You can’t
communities. Those
have bats at certain hours. The curfew, for
are the long-range
communities. Some
non-expedient
them, is 6 p.m. They make things worse.
of them were areas
I don’t know your mayor, and I don’t
policies we have to
that were being
start looking at now.
doubt he’s doing what he thinks is the right
gentrified. For
thing to do. But I really want people to know Everything else is
example, if you take
making the problem worse.
that it’s only politically expedient, it’s not a
downtown L.A. which for a long tune was
long-range solution.
Skid Row. You had this enclave of homeless
J.T.: You had a long career working as a
people, mostly African-Americans. What
J.T.: Does that sort of a approach end up
journalist. What do you think the media
happened is they started building downtown
targeting minorities?
misses on this issue, and how well do you
art galleries and cafes. And they had a gang
think the public really understands what’s
injunction against some little gang, no one
happening?
L.R.: Absolutely, All those gang
had ever heard of them. And what they did
injunctions. All 40 of them (in L.A.) are in
is they used that to clear out parts of Skid
black or brown communities. But there are
L.R.: I think what happens, unfortunately, Row to make way for gentrification. In
white gangs. There are Asian gangs, but all
is that they tend to go with the official
another area here in L.A. is a place called
the 40 gang injunctions are in black or
police statements and tend to get
the Avenues. They’re mostly Mexican.
brown communities. You’ll see in Portland
misinformation. I’ye worked with some good They’re part of Highland Park, and recently
th a t th a t’s w here they’ll end up being.
police officers, and some of them are very
they had one big effort where they brought
¿Mother police departments. But Highland
honest and very knowledgeable. But law
J.T.: What are we as a society getting right
enforcement often has to make the problem
Park is now becoming gentrified and there’s
in dealing with gangs?
So bad and so scary that people vote for all
monied people coming in. In Chicago, I saw
these policies that result in more crime.
the same thing.
L.R.: Gangs, to me, are a reflection of
It’s good they’re revitalizing communities;
vacuums, empties: social, economic, political
J.T.: Local law enforcement is being used to it’s good that they’re rebuilding, but
empties. In almost every community where
carry out national policies on immigration
unfortunately they’re squeezing the
people have revitalized themselves, where
•and terrorism. Specifically, what I ’m thinking
community and not keeping it intact
they’ve brought in arts, culture and have
about is Portland’s collusion with the Joint
They’re just throwing people out. And now
created new ways to have work, all these
Terrorism Task Force and how the ICE has
you’re seeing gangs in suburban
communities don’t have gangs or hardly any
been used by local law enforcement to enforce
communities. They-’re now in Riverside.
gangs. There’s pot that many communities,
immigration policies. Does this impact the
They’re now in Lancaster. I’m sure the same
but a few are getting it together.
issue of gangs?
is happening in Portland.
What I would propose is that instead of
gangs zones we create peace zones. In those
L.R.: Yeah, I think it’s unfortunate. I
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