In Through The Out Door...


With all references to Led Zeppelin aside, we're talking about the Metro Squad being "out" (for now), and a Gang Task Force being "in" (for now), as in created to deal with related homicides in Fort Wayne this year.
The FWPD has announced plans on dealing with gang-related violence by forming a task force (God, I wish they'd start calling all these things something OTHER than task force...we're knee-deep in them already here), because "officials" (whoever they are) are saying this violence is on the increase (and what made us think otherwise?).

Working in concert with BATF, U.S. Attorney's Office, ACPO (prosecutor for Allen County), and the Indiana State Excise Police (thought excise pertained to taxes, as in excise tax) the FWPD will form a "gang unit" (wow...finally a use for ALL that G-Unit wear, eh?), with the focus being "intelligence-driven". It will be comprised of a uniformed PD supervisor, four officers also "in the bag" (uniform), and one ATF agent.
Another function of this unit will be to follow different gangs in the city and track their members, who "can often switch membership between different gangs". The article goes on to say that in recent years, Fort Wayne has shied away from using the word "GANG" (no surprise with the ACLU and the NAACP breathing down their backs), and have instead used the term "CLIQUES". York states that is a matter of semantics...

Gee, Rusty, what the HELL have I been telling you people all this time? Cliques are the "training grounds" FOR these gangs...DUH!

"You can call them what you want...I call them gangs" says York.
Finally, after a few years, we're on the SAME PAGE...Hallelujah!
So now we're going to be watching thugs like the 7 FIGS, EDEN GREEN THUGS, PAC, and the D-BOYS. OK, Chief...and you better be keeping a lookout for those new BOSNIAN gangs we ALSO have in the city.

Allen County prosecutor, Karen Richards says: "This town has ALWAYS been FULL of gangs, and people who think OTHERWISE are fooling themselves" (yet another pearl of wisdom that obviously the rest of us had NO idea was happening....yeah right). Rusty chimes in: "That's not to say, however, that the average citizen is in danger".
(REALLLLLY???? Coulda fooled the crap outta me, Buster!)
"This is a situation where the citizens have NOTHING to worry about (be happy, huh?), but those involved in gangs should be VERY concerned", (and we think they really ARE?), and that the department will have resources and information about gangs that they previously didn't have at their disposal.

Well....how 'bout THEM apples, folks? Now I wonder how WELL all this is going to sit with the BLACK community? Face facts...you KNOW the main target of the gang unit will BE IN THOSE AREAS that are predominantly BLACK (that would include MY part of town...huzzah!). And you ALSO know that the blacks will be up in arms over this, citing racial profiling (again...that never seems to get old, does it?), with Dear old Rev.Latham and Hana Stith leading the charge. It wouldn't surprise this blogger if the ICLU was called in to say this "task force" might just be "unconstitutional"...you know the way THEY operate, right?
And let's not forget the Latino population as well...they're going to watching this closely as well.

Since this unit wants to gather intel, these agents and officers can ALWAYS look ME up...I'll help them ANY way I can (I have been keeping notes and taking names, as the saying goes), and I can think of no better way that to start than in my neighborhood, especially with the out of state plates I've seen over the years at various "busy" rentals in my neck of the woods.

I think one aspect this task force "should" look into is the manner in which these gangs are "funded"...that being the smaller crimes that are fueling the fire of this activity. Let's think about it...it's not a free "social" club, nor is it the American Legion...there are certain DUES TO PAY, and usually, innocent people have to cough up whatever to front these "members" during their indoctrinations.

This could be a chance to study both the "trickle UP", as well as the "trickle DOWN" effect at the local level for these gangs. In the process, we might be able to nail some of the "big playaz", as well as find out which crimes are being used most frequently as a means of "support" for these gangs. And we all know DRUGS will come into this picture...that's a given. We might even find out sources for all these guns they get.

This is a prime opportunity to make a statement to these criminals, and with the right impetus, it could actually turn around many neighborhoods in certain parts of the city.

But I'm likely to defer to "being from Missouri" in that regard....
In other words..."Show Me".