THERE'S NO MAGIC BULLET, BUT A WORLDWIDE EFFORT IS NEEDED TO TACKLE GANGS

As of Tuesday, Vancouver had experienced its 20th homicide this year,
including the 11th by shooting, as well as its fourth homicide in a week.

While not unprecedented, the carnage has many people in the Lower
Mainland worrying about whether it's safe to step outside anymore. It is.

Those not involved in criminal activity have little reason to fear
being gunned down. But it does appear that gang warfare is becoming a
serious problem in Metro Vancouver.

Just about everyone has an opinion on the magic bullet -- the
solution that will put an end to gangs, and gang warfare once and for
all. But of course there is no magic bullet -- the gang problem is a
complex one, and will require complex solutions.

To begin with, not all gangs are created equal. In addition to
well-established crime syndicates with worldwide reach such as the
traditional Mafia, the Hells Angels and the Big Circle Boys -- the
Asian gang in which recently slain Raymond Huang was reportedly a
major player -- there are many smaller and younger groups looking for
a piece of the action.

Some of these, such as the 865 gang, a youth gang believed
responsible for shooting Hells Angels' member Leonard Pelletier in
September, are composed of kids not long out of high school. That
suggests that we need to do more to discourage kids from joining
gangs. Although gang life is a deadly business, gangs still remain
attractive to some kids, because they can provide a supportive peer
group, as well as a source of protection and even income for those
who feel disenfranchised.

Of course, the really big problems are created by the established
crime syndicates, and those problems require really big solutions. In
addition to having worldwide connections, the syndicates are
typically awash in money and are highly sophisticated, using proven
business techniques and availing themselves of the latest
technologies to carry on their criminal enterprises.

Consequently, any individual police force, working alone, will find
itself hard-pressed to make a dent in organized crime, much less put
a stop to syndicates altogether.

Instead, police and intelligence-gathering agencies must work in
concert. The importance of integration has been recognized for many
years and has led to the development of the integrated homicide and
gang units in the Lower Mainland.

In response to the latest spate of killings, Vancouver Police
Department deputy chief Doug LePard also announced the immediate
establishment of a gang violence task force. Exactly what the unit
will do remains to be seen, though deputy chief Bob Rich said it will
be an "in-your-face" type of unit.

These seem like positive developments, though they will ultimately
fail unless they are further integrated with police and intelligence
agencies on a national -- and more importantly, an international --
scale. After all, organized crime knows no borders, and so those
charged with sweeping it away must also work seamlessly.

Just as important, governments -- and this means governments from
around the world, not just in Canada -- must devote sufficient
resources to combat the problem. Organized crime is a
multibillion-dollar business, and will continue to be unless
governments earmark enough resources to stopping it.

In other words, while gang warfare has certainly hit home in Metro
Vancouver recently, it's a problem that extends far beyond home. And
the solutions must therefore come, not just from around the corner,
but from around the world.