Gangs not against working together: expert..

OFF THE WIRE
Amanda Wawryk
Vancouver Sun
Says loyalty isn't as concrete as you might think......
From the HA to the UN, there are plenty of gangs operating around the province.

Today, we're taking a look at some of the major players and the way they interact. While they might not always get along, Pat Fogarty with the Anti-Gang Task Force says they aren't against working together.

"These organizations, they aren't as tight as you think they are. There is no loyalty here. You are with this group because you need to be with this group. If you can do better elsewhere, you'll do better elsewhere."

Just this weekend, when Jonathan Bacon -- the leader of the Red Scorpions gang -- was shot in Kelowna, he was with members of rival gangs. Looking at gangs around BC, the Red Scorpions gang was formed just over a decade ago and since then, the Bacon Brothers have become prominent members, with Jonathan being called the leader.

The Red Scorpions don't get along with the United Nations group; the UN's enemies include the Independent Soldiers and the Hells Angels, which operates in more than 20 countries.

Why do people join gangs?

The shooting death of Red Scorpions leader Jonathan Bacon on Sunday is once again raising the question: Why do people joins gangs to begin with? We're finding out the traditional risk factors don't seem to apply in BC.

In many cases, poverty, family dysfunction and alienation lure kids to gangs, but experts here say we are seeing highly educated, affluent people attracted to that type of lifestyle. That means we can't exactly borrow solutions from cities like Los Angeles or Toronto.

A professor at Kwantlen is looking into ways to prevent kids from joining gangs and tells the Vancouver Sun more police officers is not the answer; they need to get help from families, schools, and the community as a whole.