Is Charlotte Really Serious About Gangs? »
On one hand, you could say that perhaps they are. After all, they sure talk about gangs a lot. Or at least, with a lot of fanfare. For instance, an article in October 2003 (apparently no longer available online, sorry) talked about the gangs in Charlotte. Last month, the Charlotte police talked about gangs again. In today's paper, there on the front page, above the fold it was mentioned in big letters: Arrests made in gang crackdown. Sounds impressive, no?
If you've paid attention for any amount of time, then you likely know that Charlotte has some issues with gangs. That's never been in doubt. What I'm wondering is if they really take these issues seriously. Some time back, the transit center uptown had so many people hanging out on weekend nights that they were actually wanting to get rid of them. Not good news if you were one of the businesses that opened in the transit center (and they wonder why the uptown streets are so dead?).
So what's the story? Is Charlotte really serious about the gang problem? Is there even a gang problem?
