Word: gang
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Gangs of youths have become the principal organizations for drug trafficking in the nation's major cities. The gangs are resorting to more and more violent measures to protect their turfs, avoid police interference and enforce discipline. Los Angeles saw 387 gang homicides in 1987 alone. In New York City, gang violence has taken 500 lives during the past five years...
Police have attempted to bring the gangs under control, using almostrepressive measures including mass arrests to scare the youngsters. But the gang members outnumber and outgun law enforcement officers. Last march, a rookie New York cop was assassinated by a cocaine kingpin's hitman...
Equally important, a large percentage of non-gang crime is drug-related as millions of addicts do almost anything to secure their next fix. Thousands of innocents become victims of theft, murder, and assault from drug-crazed citizens...
Ultimately, the question about drugs may prove to be a painful one: should we allow drug usage to expand through decriminalization or allow uzi-toting gang members to rule our cities...
...prisoners' civil behavior seems all the more surprising when they begin to talk about their backgrounds. Darby recalls one tutee describing a childhood of gang violence. "For him this was a blow-off prison. He said he'd get into a fight just like that, shove a pencil in someone's eye," Darby says...