Gangs In Columbia

[sonofaque86]

I'm reading The State on the internet almost everyday and every single time someone brings up gangs in Columbia. I grew up in Columbia and yes I have seen some a couple of years ago while I was in high school, that was really it, it wasn't a major deal, but beside that are they blowing the situtation way up.

Just wondered if you guys feel that Columbia is out of control with gangs everywhere? Where do people keep getting these silly ideas that Columbia is Compton or something.

[krazeeboi]

I'm not denying that Columbia or really any other city has a growing gang problem, but it's not a crisis as some people make it out to be. Even then, their targets tend to be other gang members, not the general public. Still, they need to be targeted and something needs to be done NOW before the situation really gets out of control.

[ilovecharlotte]

I'm not denying that Columbia or really any other city has a growing gang problem, but it's not a crisis as some people make it out to be. Even then, their targets tend to be other gang members, not the general public. Still, they need to be targeted and something needs to be done NOW before the situation really gets out of control.

I agree, it is a growing problem, but it's not that serious. Columbia is dealing with the same problems every other growing city has.

[emerging.me]

I think gangs are more ubiquitous than they used to be. It's not just the Bloods and the Crips anymore. As the whole gang concept becomes more broad, they're more accessible to a wider spectrum of youth.

I also think there must be some kind of federal funding available for gang taskforces or something right now and local law enforcement agencies are trying to capitalize on that.

[ilovecharlotte]

It kills me how ignorant those people on the state sound about the whole gang issue.

[krazeeboi]

Yeah, it's crazy. They think every other city is perfect except Columbia. But then again, I know all the critics that post there don't actually live in Columbia.

[Spartan]

I know people who went to school in Richland 2, and they say that gangs are a noticable problem in some of those schools. I think that they are largely confined to schools too. I have never percived there to be a gang problem outside of your common graffiti.

[krazeeboi]

What most ex-gang members will tell you is that the so-called signs of gang activity, not only in Columbia but in the South in general, are really a joke. What we really have are kids trying to imitate the little of true gang life they see on TV. Still though, it's not good.

[803metlife]

I think people are really blowing things out of porportion. Every city deals with their share of gang activity and alot of times what the news claim to be gang activity doesn't always be so. When I was growing up in the 90's Columbia didn't have any gangs. But just as someone stated most growing cities today have this same problem. I would assure that Columbia's gang problem is nothing compare to other cities I have visted.

[waccamatt]

Sure there are gangs here just like there are in any city of size, but they aren't any worse than in most cities. Those idiots on The State's website don't even know what a gang is. They think any group of teenagers is out to get them.

[sonofaque86]

Exactly. They think a group of Teenagers or young people together are a gang...They act like they see shooting and stuff in the parks. I went to Columbia High and we had those "bloods" and "crips" and now "SUG" but, they were seriously trying to imitate what they saw on TV and I never saw them wondering the streets and parks. It shouldn't be any but they are blowing it out of proportion. They think every group of young people, probably African-Americans is a gang

[waccamatt]

Exactly. They think a group of Teenagers or young people together are a gang...They act like they see shooting and stuff in the parks. I went to Columbia High and we had those "bloods" and "crips" and now "SUG" but, they were seriously trying to imitate what they saw on TV and I never saw them wondering the streets and parks. It shouldn't be any but they are blowing it out of proportion. They think every group of young people, probably African-Americans is a gang

Sad, but true. People are absurdly paranoid.

[Doug L]

Sad, but true. People are absurdly paranoid.

You are right Matt. Many, but not all, people are somewhat hysterical and the State Newspaper seems determined to whip up that hysteria to its max.

[803metlife]

You are right Matt. Many, but not all, people are somewhat hysterical and the State Newspaper seems determined to whip up that hysteria to its max.

The State paper doesn't have anything else better to do!!!!

[klynnnn]

I think gangs have been and are a problem in Columbia/Richland County - having been to several of the Sheriff's Dept meetings held several years ago and being involved with my local region of the Sheriff's Dept. They have also done a great job of keeping the problem under control and they have developed a Gang Task Force to help them do so. If they (the Sheriff's Dept) didn't think there was a problem and didn't do anything about it, then, YOU might notice it!

[waccamatt]

I think gangs have been and are a problem in Columbia/Richland County - having been to several of the Sheriff's Dept meetings held several years ago and being involved with my local region of the Sheriff's Dept. They have also done a great job of keeping the problem under control and they have developed a Gang Task Force to help them do so. If they (the Sheriff's Dept) didn't think there was a problem and didn't do anything about it, then, YOU might notice it!

You're right; of course I think Richland County has the best sheriff in the state, by far.

[Doug L]

I think gangs have been and are a problem in Columbia/Richland County - having been to several of the Sheriff's Dept meetings held several years ago and being involved with my local region of the Sheriff's Dept. They have also done a great job of keeping the problem under control and they have developed a Gang Task Force to help them do so. If they (the Sheriff's Dept) didn't think there was a problem and didn't do anything about it, then, YOU might notice it!

You are very correct! In my opinion the professionals are doing a professional job at keeping this whole thing somewhat under control. Hysteria exacerbates the problem. We must all keep our 'cool' and let the pros handle it.

[SpartanTS]

The gang problem in Columbia is a festering problem that needs to be addressed. Although I don't live in Columbia, reading stories such as the shooting at the flea market with armor piercing bullets is something that frightens me. Also, the T.S. Martin shooting, which killed two innocent people is something that really bothered me when it happened. People are losing their lives due to stupidity.

In order to tackle this problem, we must educate the public on what's going on, even if it means blowing it out of proportion. Maybe parents will take notes and be more watchful of their gullible teenage kids.

[klynnnn]

The gang problem in Columbia is a festering problem that needs to be addressed. Although I don't live in Columbia, reading stories such as the shooting at the flea market with armor piercing bullets is something that frightens me. Also, the T.S. Martin shooting, which killed two innocent people is something that really bothered me when it happened. People are losing their lives due to stupidity.

In order to tackle this problem, we must educate the public on what's going on, even if it means blowing it out of proportion. Maybe parents will take notes and be more watchful of their gullible teenage kids.

Perhaps it's time to start up the awareness meetings again?

[krazeeboi]

In order to tackle this problem, we must educate the public on what's going on, even if it means blowing it out of proportion.

I agree that the problem needs to be highlighted (and it is), but I don't agree that blowing it out of proportion is the way to do it. That leads to mass hysteria and over-stereotyping people that may possibly "fit" the description of supposed gang members. Highlight the problem, but keep it in perspective. What's happening in Columbia is no different than what's happening in just about any other city.

[803metlife]

I agree that the problem needs to be highlighted (and it is), but I don't agree that blowing it out of proportion is the way to do it. That leads to mass hysteria and over-stereotyping people that may possibly "fit" the description of supposed gang members. Highlight the problem, but keep it in perspective. What's happening in Columbia is no different than what's happening in just about any other city.

I agree every growing city has this problem. But we need to address the matter. What's happening now is just the beginning and if we don't fight back with neighborhood awareness and educating the people and even the so called gang task force the problem WILL get out of hand. This is definetly not the Columbia I once knew. I think alot of the kids parents are not even aware their child is participating in things such as this.Charlotte is also having the same problem but with a more notorious gang called the M13 or something like that. Gangs make the environment unsafe and I surely don't want to ride around town scared for my life. But it's nowhere near that point and if something is done now we will never see anything like it.

[krazeeboi]

With the plan that was intercepted the other week for some type of "attack" at a football game, that was a perfect example of how community residents needs to be aware of what's going on in their neighborhoods--which is, I think, the best crime-fighting tool available. Something looked suspicious, the neighbors called the authorities, and the situation was nipped in the bud before it could even see the light of day. Although these gang-bangers usually only target othter gang members, when innocent people get caught up in the fray, that should be enough to get the community mobilized and take the situation seriously.

[TruantSpeakEZ]

Yeah Columbia does have a gang problem and high gang populations, but I think that Richland Co. is looking in the wrong direction. Yeah there are Crips, Bloods, Folks and other sets of the nationwide gangs, but I think the real problem is the neighborhood gangs. I went to CHS and though they were there, the Crips, Bloods and Folks werent the problem. Yes, they would fight each other from time to time but you were more likely to get beat down or killed because of where you lived much more so than because of what color you wore. Roosevelt Village, Broad River Terrace, Bonnie Forest, Pine Valley, Apple Valley, Riverside.. these were the notorious kids. Plus we had kids from the Monticello/Farrow Road areas like Greenview Park and Latimer Manor that went to my school. And they had beef with kids from neighborhoods on my side of town.

Who knows how it starts. Everybody wants to be from the "hardest" neighborhood, so they all have some idiotic point to prove.

I remember some homeless man -- at least I think he was homeless -- getting killed on Broad River Road in maybe 02 or 03 by a group of kids. Come to find out through word of mouth it was a bunch of kids called 48 Boys (Bluff Road area) who killed him just to show a bunch of kids from my school (G-PAN) who they had beef with how serious they were.

Crips and Bloods aren't the problem. People are sleeping on the real problem, and it would much more difficult to tackle because you may be able to create laws to arrest a kid for having a bandana or other identifiers like that, but you'll never be able to arrest somebody because of where they live.

Imagine boarder patrols within the city regulating who goes in and out of every neighborhood... lol

[krazeeboi]

I agree with you about the neighborhood gangs. It can be a little difficult to tell which kids are really doing all of the "pillaging and plundering" and which ones are just "reppin' their 'hood." For instance, at For Sisters Only this year in Charlotte (Charlotte's version of Black Expo), during a performance by some hip hop artist (I forget which one), the show had to be shut down due to a bunch of rowdy teenagers in the audience yelling "West Side!," "East Side!," etc. Now I wouldn't go so far as to say that all of these kids were actually bonafide gang members, but the sad part about this is that you usually don't find out until someone (innocent) is seriously hurt or killed.

[Pillsbury]

I agree, it's much more of localized gang problem. Sure you hear rumors of MS-13 or Latin Kings or whatever and you see the graffiti all over the place, but for the most part, the gangs are usually young kids in groups of about 25-50 acting like gangsters. It's ridiculous at the response, but most people don't know what to do. At my old high school, they banned white t-shirts; no joke, no white shirts and certainly couldn't mix them with khakis. No red or blue bandanas either. I'm not sure what the answer is.