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80 gangs active in Toronto: police
City is a centre of vehicle theft, experts warn
Aug. 18, 2006. 11:04 AM
PETER EDWARDS
STAFF REPORTER
There are some 300 often-violent street gangs in Canada – with an estimated 11,000 members – and many of the most dangerous members live in the Greater Toronto Area, organized crime experts say.
“There are approximately 80 street gangs currently active in Toronto with an additional 95 identified in the following regions of Ontario: York (Vaughan, Markham and Richmond), Peel, Waterloo/Kitchener, Thunder Bay, Niagara Falls and Ottawa,” states the annual report of the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada, an information gathering organization run by Canadian police investigators.
“Street gangs use a wide variety of weapons across the country including swords, knives, machetes, hammers, screwdrivers and firearms,” the report states. “Illicit firearms used by street gangs are typically acquired through residential or commercial thefts, or are smuggled into the country from the United States. In some instances, street gangs are directly involved in acquiring these illicit firearms, though more often the firearms are acquired indirectly through an illicit firearms trafficker.”
The report also calls Toronto and Montreal Canada’s hotspots for vehicle theft, noting that some 170,000 vehicles are stolen each year in Canada.
“A significant number of un-recovered vehicles (especially newer luxury models) are typically smuggled by criminal groups to foreign markets concealed in containers and moved through the marine ports of Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax,” the report states.
Street gang violence often stifles the justice system, intimidating law enforcement officials and witnesses alike, the report states.
“Murder, shootings, assaults, property damage and threats against law enforcement, corrections staff, justice personnel and crime witnesses continue to be reported across Canada,” the report states. “The threat of retaliation by the street gang, directed either at the individual involved or that person’s family, has at times impeded the justice system, resulting in withdrawn charges or reduced sentences. Witness intimidation remains a significant law enforcement concern as public fear of street gang retaliation has made some communities fearful of co-operating with police.
Street gangs have been in Canada for more than a century, but they have grown rapidly in numbers and strength since the 1980s. They’re getting more violent as they encroach on each other’s territory, and innocent members of the public are sometimes victimized by drive-by shootings, street gang cross-fire and mistaken identities, the report states.
“In Toronto, street gangs may have distinct territories in low-income housing areas that are subject to regular incidences of violence, often firearm-related,” the investigators conclude. “The street gang presence within these communities can create an intimidating atmosphere and an often dangerous environment for its residents. Street gangs in the city often reflect the predominant ethnicity of its claimed territory.
“Gun violence is prevalent among street gangs in the Greater Toronto Area with continued reporting of drive-by shootings, attempted murders and murders involving firearms.”
The report notes that some Canadian street gangs identify themselves as Crips or Bloods, but says they’re independent from the U.S.-based Bloods or Crips.
...... click on the link for more.
80 gangs active in Toronto: police
City is a centre of vehicle theft, experts warn
Aug. 18, 2006. 11:04 AM
PETER EDWARDS
STAFF REPORTER
There are some 300 often-violent street gangs in Canada – with an estimated 11,000 members – and many of the most dangerous members live in the Greater Toronto Area, organized crime experts say.
“There are approximately 80 street gangs currently active in Toronto with an additional 95 identified in the following regions of Ontario: York (Vaughan, Markham and Richmond), Peel, Waterloo/Kitchener, Thunder Bay, Niagara Falls and Ottawa,” states the annual report of the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada, an information gathering organization run by Canadian police investigators.
“Street gangs use a wide variety of weapons across the country including swords, knives, machetes, hammers, screwdrivers and firearms,” the report states. “Illicit firearms used by street gangs are typically acquired through residential or commercial thefts, or are smuggled into the country from the United States. In some instances, street gangs are directly involved in acquiring these illicit firearms, though more often the firearms are acquired indirectly through an illicit firearms trafficker.”
The report also calls Toronto and Montreal Canada’s hotspots for vehicle theft, noting that some 170,000 vehicles are stolen each year in Canada.
“A significant number of un-recovered vehicles (especially newer luxury models) are typically smuggled by criminal groups to foreign markets concealed in containers and moved through the marine ports of Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax,” the report states.
Street gang violence often stifles the justice system, intimidating law enforcement officials and witnesses alike, the report states.
“Murder, shootings, assaults, property damage and threats against law enforcement, corrections staff, justice personnel and crime witnesses continue to be reported across Canada,” the report states. “The threat of retaliation by the street gang, directed either at the individual involved or that person’s family, has at times impeded the justice system, resulting in withdrawn charges or reduced sentences. Witness intimidation remains a significant law enforcement concern as public fear of street gang retaliation has made some communities fearful of co-operating with police.
Street gangs have been in Canada for more than a century, but they have grown rapidly in numbers and strength since the 1980s. They’re getting more violent as they encroach on each other’s territory, and innocent members of the public are sometimes victimized by drive-by shootings, street gang cross-fire and mistaken identities, the report states.
“In Toronto, street gangs may have distinct territories in low-income housing areas that are subject to regular incidences of violence, often firearm-related,” the investigators conclude. “The street gang presence within these communities can create an intimidating atmosphere and an often dangerous environment for its residents. Street gangs in the city often reflect the predominant ethnicity of its claimed territory.
“Gun violence is prevalent among street gangs in the Greater Toronto Area with continued reporting of drive-by shootings, attempted murders and murders involving firearms.”
The report notes that some Canadian street gangs identify themselves as Crips or Bloods, but says they’re independent from the U.S.-based Bloods or Crips.
...... click on the link for more.
