It's Goin Down

In latest new...helicopters were seen throughout the afternoon in Ridgewood New Jersey today as police searched for apparent gang members who were hiding out in downtown apartments after the raids in Newark, Patterson, and other towns. Apparently, New Jersey is home to more than 16,000 gang members many of whom stem from the national gang know as the Bloods. Groups raided today include: 9 Tree Gangsters and Sex Money Murder. Suspects were arrested in such raids.

"The message has to be clear now: If you are involved in illegal gang activity, we have the resources to begin pushing back," Newark Mayor Cory Booker said in a news conference today at the U.S. Attorney's Office. "We will win this battle."

This says a lot to me. One, the widening gap between rich and poor needs to be addressed immediately or violence and especially gang violence will continue to escalate. If someone has no hope or feels like they have no way out, a gang offers protection and in some cases food and shelter. It needs to be looked at extremely hard.

Secondly, law enforcement has to get tough. There cannot be a double standard of allowing certain criminals to get away with things because they help the police in other ways. That is crooked and it is wrong. There should be a major crackdown especially in Newark, Patterson, Trenton, and Camden, four of the most dangerous cities in America.

There should not be a price that people pay simply because they are close to cities and populous areas. New Jersey residents claim some of the best standards of living in the world. They also claim some of the worst in the country. There needs to be some sort of community interaction so that we can continue to prosper, but also help moderate areas that need the most help.


I wonder if Tony Soprano and the Gottis are counted as part of the 16,000.