Keeping it Real

When one mentions "organized crime" what do you think of?  Often we think of the traditional "mob" and the days of yesteryear.  Visions of old gangster movies may come to mind and the romantics portrayed by such.
But let's keep it real, organized crime is alive and well in America today.  Some may be surprised that these organizations are the criminal street gangs and, yes, they are controlling the flow in the criminal arena.  From drugs to murder, prostitution to gambling and intimidation to extortion.  These gangs are far more sophisticated than they are often given credit for and they find a way to stay a beat ahead of law enforcement.

There are dozens and dozens of gangs operating across America today yet how often do we really here of the negative impact they have on our communities?  We typically think of gangs as a big city problem but the reality is they have saturated our suburban and rural communities.  It's time for public officials to admit this and stop putting on like each criminal incident is an "isolated incident".  Until we admit we have a problem how on earth could we ever solve it?

I know this because I lived it.  I worked the beat as a law enforcement officer for over 26 years.  The highest rank I attained was sergeant, therefore, I was in the trenches day in and day out.  I saw first hand how the higher ranking members shrugged off our requests for a step up in gang crime enforcement and even went so far as to deny we had gang problems.  I saw how drug trafficking and violent crime was the handiwork of street gangs yet no one at the top would admit it.  For how dare they admit to such a problem in our fair city.
Fear will cripple and paralyze like nothing else.  And that is what is happening ladies and gentlemen.  Fear of the unknown, fear of the wolf, fear of being exposed.  Why is it that gangs, who are public enemy number 1, get little attention from administrations, the press, the public?  It is because we don't know them.

I decided in 2007 to get to know them so I got trained by the best gang man I've ever met or even heard of.  His name is Denny Davis and he is second to  none.  The knowledge I gained led to phenomenal results on the street.  The veil was lifted and the dirt exposed.  So were those dirty little secrets of some of the so called "elite" members of our community.  Then it all started to make sense.

This is my first post but it won't be the last.  If you are interested in learning about gangs and how to degrade them stay tuned in for future posts.  Denny and I will each write on this blog and be it known  that we won't sugar coat, we keep it real.