GANG GROWTH A THREAT TO YOUTH

Naive Teens Can Be Lured by Sense of Belonging

It should not be surprising that Calgary's economic boom is attracting
more than entrepreneurs and workers flocking here to make an honest
dollar.

Tremendous growth is bound to bring with it criminals and gangs
looking to profit as well from heightened opportunities for money
laundering, drug dealing, gaming, loan sharking and other forms of
organized crime.

The annual report from the Criminal Intelligence Service Alberta
points to the local growth of an Asian crime syndicate, the spreading
of gang activities to places such as Fort McMurray and native
reserves, the combining of forces between aboriginal and Asian gangs,
and the creation of puppet clubs by the Hells Angels.

These clubs are akin to farm teams of motorcycle gang wannabes who do
the dirty work the Angels consider beneath them.

The report's bluntness is a refreshing change from the days when some
in the Calgary police balked at uttering the "g" word -- gangs -- and
despite mounting evidence to the contrary, in the form of drive-by
shootings and other violence, denied Calgary had a gang problem.

Acknowledging the blight, however, is the only way to begin to deal
with it, and provincial initiatives such as the Southern Alberta
Marijuana Investigative Team and the Integrated Response to Organized
Crime have made a successful start in doing just that.

However, none of this should be cause for undue alarm about the
personal safety of individual law-abiding Calgarians.

The situation must be kept in perspective.

While there have been six shooting deaths linked to gangs this year,
none has involved non-gang members. The chances of an innocent
bystander being hurt -- caught in the crossfire of warring gangs -- is
still extremely remote. Buying a lottery ticket is still a surer bet.

Of far greater concern is the potential for teenagers to be lured into
gang activity -- and suburban parents should not lightly shrug off the
possibility as something that happens to other people's kids, and not
their own.

During the teen years, the almost biological imperative to be part of
a group and to have that group's approval, is at its peak.

Teens want to belong, and gang recruiters know how to take advantage
of that desire, and use it to trap a naive kid and frighten his or her
family into silence for fear of retaliation.

This has worked extremely well for street gangs in Los Angeles, who
recruit by playing on the need of kids from often chaotic homes to
feel like they belong somewhere.

For some teens, the idea of being in a gang has a near-mythical allure
- -- witness the 14-year-old on the Siksika reserve who broke into a
home to steal some liquor and told the residents he belonged to the
Redd Alert gang. Police surmise he was making it up for the thrill of
scaring the homeowners.

Of equal concern to parents should be the increase in drug
trafficking, leading to a greater prevalence and availability of
illicit drugs such as methamphetamine, that is part and parcel of the
jump in criminal gang activity.

Keeping perspective and keeping aware are the keys. Calgary remains a
long way from Los Angeles. And we're still one of the safest cities in
which to live and work.