Getting a jump on gangs McKenna plan tackles issue head-on.....

OFF THE WIRE
One word comes to mind to describe state Attorney General Rob McKenna’s newly proposed anti-gang legislation: inevitable.
The Pacific Northwest has many home-grown institutions – grunge music and Microsoft come to mind. But criminal street gangs are largely a California import. It comes as no surprise that McKenna’s office has tapped into a California resource, in this case the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, for tools to suppress our state’s explosive problems with gang-related crime.
California has been a national leader in gang enforcement, a fact that has as much to do with necessity as ingenuity.
Most of the well-known gangs trace their origins to the Los Angeles area more than 50 years ago. Turf wars between the Crips and Bloods shocked the area with its violence, spurring the development of specialized gang units that were depicted in the now-classic movie, “Colors.” The more recent and violent rise of Hispanic gangs, which partner with Mexican cartels, has been behind the newest wave of violent street crime.
The bitter relationship between gangs in Washington and California began in the early ’80s, when L.A.-based gang members, looking for new markets for crack cocaine, found our corner of the country.
One word comes to mind to describe state Attorney General Rob McKenna’s newly proposed anti-gang legislation: inevitable.
The Pacific Northwest has many home-grown institutions – grunge music and Microsoft come to mind. But criminal street gangs are largely a California import. It comes as no surprise that McKenna’s office has tapped into a California resource, in this case the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, for tools to suppress our state’s explosive problems with gang-related crime.
California has been a national leader in gang enforcement, a fact that has as much to do with necessity as ingenuity.
Most of the well-known gangs trace their origins to the Los Angeles area more than 50 years ago. Turf wars between the Crips and Bloods shocked the area with its violence, spurring the development of specialized gang units that were depicted in the now-classic movie, “Colors.” The more recent and violent rise of Hispanic gangs, which partner with Mexican cartels, has been behind the newest wave of violent street crime.
The bitter relationship between gangs in Washington and California began in the early ’80s, when L.A.-based gang members, looking for new markets for crack cocaine, found our corner of the country.
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