BulletBlocker 100% Satisfaction Guarantee

No Permit or Background Check required in any U.S. state.

Average Cost of an Emergency Room visit in the U.S. in 2008 = $1250+

100% Free Ground Shipping on Orders over $100.00!

ATTENTION: We are sorry but due to heavy order volume, orders may take up to 7 days to ship.
ecommerce provided by Yahoo! Small Business Secure Credit Card Transactions BulletBlocker in the News

Gang Violence Blog and Roll

Our Complete Blog & Roll List School Violence & Prevention Gang Violence Personal Security Training


Size: According to the FBI, gang population was estimated to be up by 200,000 in January of 2009 from 2005. That brings estimates up to about 900,000 gang members with about 147,000 more in prison or jail. Bear in mind that the prison population in the United States in 2008 reached over 2.3 million with another 1.5 million under some form of state or federal jurisdiction or supervisory program. Per the National Drug Intelligence Center, "Gangs are present in every state and U.S. territory and some particularly violent urban gangs have expanded from inner cities to suburban and some rural areas. Gangs increasingly represent a threat to many smaller communities, and they control most retail-level drug distribution nationally. Gangs are also increasing their involvement in wholesale-level drug distribution."

Scope: In another report, "As of 1995, gang problems had been reported for all 50 States and the District of Columbia, for about 700 counties, and for about 1,500 cities and towns... States accounting for 100 percent of the population of the United States, cities and towns accounting for 50 percent of the total municipal population, and counties accounting for almost 80 percent of the all-county population reported the existence of youth gang problems." Gang activity can take place anywhere and everywhere - and that's based upon a 1995 report. Today, with the ongoing financial crisis in the United States and around the world, government budget cuts are forcing early releases of thousands of criminals. Federal courts in 2009 have mandated for California to reduce its prison population by 36,000 to 57,000 inmates over the next two to three years.

Solutions? Obviously, there is no single miracle solution for fighting gang violence; there are numerous root causes to tackle. Root causes can only be addressed at the family and community levels. There are eight basic layers of response:

  1. Parents
  2. Teachers
  3. Neighborhoods
  4. School Systems
  5. Police
  6. Courts
  7. Prison
  8. Government


The higher up this chain you have to go, the less effective the problem solving is - as it turns more and more from prevention to response and punishment. Quite obviously, *overall* none of these are working very well - not to say they are not trying. Everyone has their own pressures from work to paying the bills - life is getting harder for everyone. Families need to work together, develop buddy systems, communicate more and perhaps stop minding their own business a little less. It is one thing if one parent chastises a kid for spraypainting a wall, but when everyone is on the watch and children know they are being watched, and that their parents will be told - they will think twice.

When the next round of budget cuts starts hitting the ranks of the police and law enforcement, the matter will get worse. This is inevitable - 41 of 50 states are having budget problems in 2009 and anticipate it to continue well into 2010. Fifteen of these states have budget deficits in excess of 18% of their annual tax revenues. Consequently, local communities will by necessity need to step up to confront the presence of gangs or face even greater risks to safety and security. Communities which develop aggressive neighborhood watch programs that work together with local police are effective. There was an incident in which a store clerk was shot and those within the store simply continued to shop. Only one person called 911. If someone believes they can get away with anything, the odds are higher they will try to get away with anything. That's really what it comes down to.

One or two people trying to do this all on their own makes them vulnerable. Get the whole community involved - and it is the gang members, their methods of operation, and their entire organizational basis that becomes vulnerable. We can actually kind of take a look at foreign policy - if a country is unwilling or unable to police themselves, it increases the odds another country will step into police things. That's not very effective either, but when you start getting multiple communities communicating and working together to solve problems, things will change. This is what needs to be done. Community organization.

MAJOR INDICATORS:

  • Illinois to Release 6-10,000 Prisoners because of budget issues. Again, refer to California's situation and budget problems of 39 other states.

  • FBI: Burgeoning gangs behind up to 80% of U.S. crime - Criminal gangs in the USA have swelled to an estimated 1 million members responsible for up to 80% of crimes in communities across the nation, according to a gang threat assessment compiled by federal officials. Kevin Johnson, USA Today, January 29, 2009

  • Gang Warfare - Criminals have found a new way to hone their combat skills: joining the U.S. military. According to the FBI, “Members of nearly every major street gang … have been documented on military installations both domestically and internationally. - The American Conservative, May 5, 2008

    GANG CRIME IN THE NEWS:

    • Minneapolis struggles with rise of Somali gangs - "It was all gang activity, totally, 100 percent," said Shukri Adan, a former Somali community organizer who estimated in a 2007 report for the city that between 400 and 500 young Somalis were active in gangs. "The police don't want to say that but everybody else knows that." - by Patrick Condon, My Way News, July 20, 2009

    • Gang members shot men for wearing red, cops say - PDT DALY CITY -- Two suspected members of the MS-13 gang have been arrested and a third is being sought in the Daly City slaying of a 21-year-old college student who was shot because his friends were wearing red - a color claimed by a rival gang - police said Thursday. - Demian Bulwa,Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writers, San Francisco Chronicle, July 10, 2009

    • 3 killed in drive-by at motorcycle fundraiser - Janet DiGiacomo, CNN, June 28, 2009

    • Children dying in Chicago a 'national catastrophe' -Two weeks ago, 3-year-old Jaquan Reed was fatally shot on Chicago, Illinois', West Side... While the case shook the city, such shootings involving children are no longer rare in the Windy City. Within the current academic year, 36 Chicago-area students were killed. - CNN, May 25, 2009

    • Dayton Killings - What's Going On? - I could hear the frustration in the voice of Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin yesterday as she urged Dayton residents to co-operate with Dayton Police to help solve the recent spate of what have been suggested are gang related shootings and killings. - The Dayton Defender, WHIO News Talk Radio, May 14, 2009

    • Gang-style killings account for increase in NJ homicides, study says - A study has confirmed what many law enforcement officials have long felt: Street gangs are responsible for the rising homicide rate in New Jersey. - Rick Hepp, The Star Ledger and NJ.com, April 8, 2008

    • Canada - Politicians battle over gang war - Attorney General Wally Oppal and Solicitor General John van Dongen are in Ottawa Thursday to seek all-party support for reforms they say are urgently needed to cope with violence on B.C. city streets. - Tom Fletcher, BC Local News, February 25, 2009

    • 20 alleged Hispanic gang members indicted in Colorado - CNN, February 24, 2009

    • Federal Experts To Help With Salinas Gang Problem - Federal violence and terrorism experts are coming to the Central Coast farming region to help authorities combat a deep-rooted gang problem... Authorities said most of the 31 people who have died in Salinas a city of about 150,000 people since January 1, 2008 were victims of gang violence. - CBS, February 23, 2009

    • Gang violence tied to increase in homicides - 32 killed in 2008; sheriff's officials say injunctions displacing activity - Adam Fox, Ventura County Star, January 20, 2009

      Mexico drug gang killings double - Making news all the way down in Australia - A record 943 people were killed in the month of November alone, most in the northern border states of Chihuahua and Baja California - key trafficking routes into the United States - and in the northwestern historically drug-producing state of Sinaloa, Medina Mora said. The Australian, December 9, 2008

    • Review: More People are Getting Away with Murder - Despite the rise of DNA fingerprinting and other "CSI"-style crime-fighting wizardry, more and more people in this country are getting away with murder. FBI figures reviewed by The Associated Press show that the homicide clearance rate, as detectives call it, dropped from 91 percent in 1963 - the first year records were kept in the manner they are now - to 61 percent in 2007. Law enforcement officials say the chief reason is a rise in drug- and gang-related killings, which are often impersonal and anonymous, and thus harder to solve than slayings among family members or friends. As a result, police departments are carrying an ever-growing number of "cold-case" murders on their books. - Karen Hawkins, Black America Web News, December 9, 2008

    • Fearful Witnesses Protect Gangs - Police fighting gang crimes in Trenton, N.J., are stymied by witnesses who are too afraid to come forward. - Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal, Law News Now, Jul 9, 2007

    • 31 Men Accused in Gang-Related Killings - Thirty-one men have been charged with murder in 22 gang-related killings that date back nearly two decades... - Fox News, June 29, 2007

    • Killings defy LB crime trend - Homicides in Long Beach rise over a year ago. Official calls the spike unusual. Tracy Manzer, Press Telegram, Long Beach, CA, March 7, 2009
Network with us

Anti-Gang Violence Resources:

National Institute on Drug Abuse - NIDA's mission is to lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction.

National Youth Gang Center - The proliferation of gang problems over the last two decades led to the development of Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) formation of the National Youth Gang Center (NYGC).

California Gang Investigators Association - Founded in 1977 and while membership is limited to law enforcenement, the site has a wealth of information including articles and e-books regarding gangs, threat assessments, and anti-gang legislation.

Bulletproof Executive Backpack

A great backpack for adults and students alike, fully functional with the same standard of bulletproof protection used in the vests police officers used that have saved over 3,000 lives. Check out the BulletBlocker Store for more options and information.

bug out bag

Gang Warfare Showing on YouTube

Gifts for Guns

On the Front Line: Gangs, Guns and Violence Part 1

On the Front Line: Gangs, Guns and Violence Part 2

On the Front Line: Gangs, Guns and Violence Part 3

Gun Control in England: A Myth

Bulletproof Laptop Carry Case

All of the space, utility and organizational function of a conventional laptop carry case with Threat Level IIIA anti-ballistic protection rated against 97+% of all handgun rounds including .44 caliber bullets. Keep protection at your fingertips! Check out the BulletBlocker Store for more information, pictures and video demonstrations.

bug out bag
$195