Pubdate: Wed, 14 Jun 2006
Source: Herald-Dispatch, The (Huntington, WV)
Copyright: 2006 The Herald-Dispatch
Contact:  http://www.hdonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1454

CITIES NEED FEDS' HELP TO FIGHT GANGS

Cities across the country are seeing an increase in violent crime, in 
part because gangs from the East and West coasts are looking for new 
turf. This affects cities as large as St. Louis and as small as Huntington.

While Huntington has focused more on the presence and activity of 
gangs from Detroit bringing crack cocaine to town, the city has been 
usually quiet in one regard. The city had six homicides in 2004 and 
13 last year, but none so far this year, with the year almost half over.

When we didn't pay attention to the problem, bad things happened. 
When we paid attention, things got better. But we have had a couple 
of close calls, and it's only a matter of time before another 
drug-related homicide or drive-by shooting brings us back to reality.

Rather than building bridges to nowhere in Alaska and unnecessary 
rail lines along the Gulf Coast, the federal government should 
marshal all the resources available to help local communities fight 
this new problem. This new form of domestic terrorism is too big for 
the communities themselves to solve.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman