Counterinsurgency Plan To Fight Gangs « Liveshots

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Counterinsurgency Plan To Fight Gangs

November 23, 2009 - 2:22 PM | by: Claudia Cowan

The birthplace of author John Steinbeck, and home to sprawling fields of vegetables, now faces one of the worst per capita gang problems in America.

Police say the 24 homicides in Salinas, Calif. this year --all gang-related-- make the city twice as deadly as Los Angeles.

Frustrated city officials are now turning to the military for help, collaborating with combat vets and faculty at the Naval Postgraduate School in nearby Monterey to adapt counter-insurgency techniques that have worked overseas to address gang violence at home. Military software developed to track terrorists is also being used to map crimes and link suspects.

Veterans helping police put this program together say there are many parallels between fighting terrorists overseas and murderous gangbangers at home. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the goal is getting the locals to work with the military against the bad guys. In Salinas, residents need to trust the cops, so they'll report crimes and make the gangs unwelcome.

It's a long term strategy that relies on winning hearts and minds, and with an estimated one-million gang members nationwide, other cities plagued by youth violence are watching closely to see if this experiment pays off -- reducing crime, strengthening communities and, hopefully, saving lives.

-Claudia Cowan

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552 Comments

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kayl

This is just a precursor to Martial Law for the dissolution of all rights. Let the local police departments handle this. We don't need military on every street corner and conducting check points on all highways. Jiggle Bells, Jiggle Bells, Dictatorship is coming to town...

November 26, 2009 at 3:07 AM

tmtpitieny

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November 26, 2009 at 3:00 AM

Chris

Take away their constitutional rights as a war as been declared on gangs and allow the police to do what they have to do to make communities a safer place to live.....Amen!!!!!

November 24, 2009 at 1:45 PM

S Parker

California deserves all the gangs, drugs, and crime it gets for its ridiculous policies, laws and liberal thinking. For welcoming illegal’s because they need a new voter base since sensible people now know that they are incompetent and would be voted out if they didn’t give the store away to minorities, illegal’s etc. in exchange for their votes They disarm law abiding citizens so they are helpless to stop it or prevent crime. And NO it isn’t law enforcement’s job. The Supreme Court has ruled several times what their job is. The front line of defense is armed citizens. California has (illegally) stripped an unalienable right from its law abiding citizens so they should suffer the consequences and are. It is the same in all major metropolitan areas that have tried it and the crime increase is the price. The government officials don’t run around exposed however. They have protection that citizens aren’t allowed to have apparently because they are so important and needed.

November 24, 2009 at 1:42 PM

Alex

Diversity is our greatest strength! Or something...

November 24, 2009 at 11:53 AM

Big Country

When it comes to crime we should be more like the Asian countries. If you steal you lose a hand. I bet that kid that spray painted the cars in Singapore and got caned won’t make that mistake again! Not to mention in Europe the police will beat you before they ask questions if you don’t listen. The cops can’t react without the public claiming abuse.

November 24, 2009 at 10:58 AM

Bowline

So far, most of you have "solved" the problem. However, California deserves what it gets! If you really cared about this, you would fire the people that make the laws that allow this to fester. You are all bark and no bite. If it's too hard the vote in people that will do the right thing, then either stop complaining, or move.

November 24, 2009 at 10:42 AM

L.J

Amen!!This country is in the state it is in because our nation as a whole stands by quitetly and does/says nothing as the liberals and there liberal 'lawmakers'(that's a joke,should be 'law-breaker's) take down any moral,political and constitutional boundries that were ever present. Anything goes,not healthy and especially not 'productive' for a healthy and moral society.We have arrived in our nation to a point where there is no personal'accountability'!!!

November 24, 2009 at 10:39 AM

blamedrugs

It is a fact that marijuana,grass, will change a persons values and will become a cinic, thief, despot, selfish degraded human; Forget about forgiveness or love.. marijana is the start of the fall in human behavior. You erradicate it and things will start changing.. of course there will be people asking Why eliminate it? make it better, Legalize it, and add it to regular cigarettes.

November 24, 2009 at 10:27 AM

Will

As long as there is money to be made, people will die because of illegal drugs and the gangs that distribute these narcotics. The war on drugs cannot be won, just like prohibition did not reduce alcohol problems. In fact history demonstrates that prohibition becomes a part of the problem of substance abuse because it pushes consumption underground. The solution- legalize, manage, and tax illegal drugs. Once the revenue stream dries up, then the true and only gang color- green as in the color of money- will evaporate and all the nasty little bangers will lose the impetus to fight drug driven wars. Another benefit of legalizing drugs is it will have a negative impact on gun ownership. If communities become safer then the people will not feel they need to pack weapons just to step out of their front door.

November 24, 2009 at 10:27 AM

Nathan

I'm actually surprised that Salinas has a gang problem. Salinas is just a small desert town in Cali. I think this is a good approach using a military approach to drive out the gangs. I would rather have our military working here in the US than fighting wars that can't be won in the Middle East.

November 24, 2009 at 10:24 AM

Earl

I run a state licensed home for morally impaired boys and I see gangbangers all the time. Your taxes send them to therapy and buy them drugs to help them sleep at night and allegedly behave better. They don't even bother to hide their gang colors when they go to the probation officer. If I were to driver the getaway car for a bank robber and he inadvertantly killed a clerk, I would be tried for murder, even if I had told him "make sure you don't shoot anyone". These gang members and gangs have a common bond and should be held to the same standard. It's time we stop letting psyciatry dictate how laws are applied and how the prisons are run. The prison guards are in danger daily because it wouldn't be nice to separate everyone and keep them apart. Ben Franklin said "if you want people off welfare, make it uncomfortable for them" and the same rule would apply to gangbangers and prisoners being coddled.

November 24, 2009 at 10:23 AM

Hatethesystem

SSGPat The problem is that we feed these gangs with the black markets (mainly drugs). If there was no black market we would take away their money and they would lose their power. November 24, 2009 at 9:08 AM ____________________________ This is why I grow my own. :D

November 24, 2009 at 10:21 AM

piker

I think this is a great idea

November 24, 2009 at 10:17 AM

steve

We import poverty by not enforcing OUR borders. We deserve what the end result is because the silent majority refuses to speak up. NUMBERSUSA.com Join and help out.

November 24, 2009 at 10:11 AM

Mary Ann

Since they have no regard for life, I say gather them up and drop them in the ocean.

November 24, 2009 at 10:02 AM

Roxanne

Now the libs of California need the military? Well keep voting for people like Pelosi and Boxer who think these people are "patriotic" and an "asset" to America. While the "Thug" in the White House wants to give health care to these thugs your great state is being overrun by crime. Doesn't add up to me.

November 24, 2009 at 10:00 AM

Karen

unfortunately they would just stop wearing the gang colors. shut the borders!

November 24, 2009 at 9:18 AM

Mr,T

I live here in salinas,I moved from Fresno to get away from these little SCUM bags.Now its worst here,We should round up all the little gang bangers put them in the rodeo arena give them a gun and 1 Bullet and see if they can shoot them selves BUT there such POOR shoots they May, May hit only 1 person out of500 . When this country stops treating these little Punks like we are afraid of them and treat them like the SCUM they are.and quit WORRING about there damn rights, who cares.Ithought you lost your rights when you went to Jail.But appartentley they " the gang punks" have more rights than the people they hurt. It always takes 3-5 or more of thes punks to hurt a 70yr old man or a 5 yr old child. they should all be ELIMINATED on Site...

November 24, 2009 at 9:14 AM

Dew

Round them up and send them to a real war for there crimes, lets see how there colors work overseas!! The cockroaches would come back as human beings, possibly?

November 24, 2009 at 9:11 AM

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