wahyinghung
03-01-2009, 01:21 PM
VANCOUVER — The next generation of street thugs is literally at our fingertips.
They call themselves gangsters and they’ve got the criminal charges to back up their reputation.
But unlike most organized crime groups who try to stay undercover, they’re glorifying the thug lifestyle in the most public of forums — online.
“It’s once again become cool to be associated with a street gang,” says Robert Gordon, director of Simon Fraser University’s criminology department. “With the availability of the Internet and networking sites . . . they are communicating more online now.
“So, rather than marking territories with violence or making their presence known by wearing particular uniforms or clustering in particular places, they are transferring all of that to the cyber-world.”
It’s an activity that’s become known as “net-banging.” Gangs use the Internet to recruit, intimidate, distribute information and show off — going so far as to post photos and videos of members posing with guns, money and what appear to be drugs.
The Facebook group “Hug A Thug” is the social network for Family Affiliated — a Kamloops, B.C.-based group of prolific offenders and petty criminals.
Members post when they’re released from jail, identify who to write in prison and list “no goods” or rats.
Kamloops RCMP officers, who have been monitoring the online group since its inception, don’t consider Family Affiliated a gang.
But Canada’s leading gang expert disagrees.
“If they are groups of three or more people with some sort of commonality — whether it’s a name or colours, whatever — and they are involved in any criminal activity, let’s call a spade a space, they’re a gang,” says Michael Chettleburgh.
According to Chettleburgh, there are about 1,300 gangs operating in Canada — the majority in the Lower Mainland.
They include youth gangs or wannabe groups, street gangs and organized crime groups.
“The path to being a strong, vibrant gang is an evolutionary one,” says Chettleburgh.
“That’s why we need to pay attention to these younger groups. They’re at the margins.”
http://www.theprovince.com/news/story.html?id=1341176
They call themselves gangsters and they’ve got the criminal charges to back up their reputation.
But unlike most organized crime groups who try to stay undercover, they’re glorifying the thug lifestyle in the most public of forums — online.
“It’s once again become cool to be associated with a street gang,” says Robert Gordon, director of Simon Fraser University’s criminology department. “With the availability of the Internet and networking sites . . . they are communicating more online now.
“So, rather than marking territories with violence or making their presence known by wearing particular uniforms or clustering in particular places, they are transferring all of that to the cyber-world.”
It’s an activity that’s become known as “net-banging.” Gangs use the Internet to recruit, intimidate, distribute information and show off — going so far as to post photos and videos of members posing with guns, money and what appear to be drugs.
The Facebook group “Hug A Thug” is the social network for Family Affiliated — a Kamloops, B.C.-based group of prolific offenders and petty criminals.
Members post when they’re released from jail, identify who to write in prison and list “no goods” or rats.
Kamloops RCMP officers, who have been monitoring the online group since its inception, don’t consider Family Affiliated a gang.
But Canada’s leading gang expert disagrees.
“If they are groups of three or more people with some sort of commonality — whether it’s a name or colours, whatever — and they are involved in any criminal activity, let’s call a spade a space, they’re a gang,” says Michael Chettleburgh.
According to Chettleburgh, there are about 1,300 gangs operating in Canada — the majority in the Lower Mainland.
They include youth gangs or wannabe groups, street gangs and organized crime groups.
“The path to being a strong, vibrant gang is an evolutionary one,” says Chettleburgh.
“That’s why we need to pay attention to these younger groups. They’re at the margins.”
http://www.theprovince.com/news/story.html?id=1341176