America's Gangs: 33,000 Gangs With 1.4 Million Members

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13 American Gangs That Are Keeping The FBI Up At Night -- Business Insider

More than 1.4 million Americans are wearing the colors of more than 33,000 gangs across the country, according to a report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Based on evidence from federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, the FBI says gangs commit 48% of violent crime, and are only becoming more dangerous. Some even source weapons from the military.

While many of these groups are regional and only loosely organized, many gangs are expanding their ranks and establishing themselves at international levels.

Read more ....

My Comment: Forget about the warlords in Afghanistan .... we have a bigger problem back home.

War Against Crime In Eastern Europe

Ivo Pukanic was the publisher of the leading weekly Nacional, known for its investigations into corruption and organised crime (EPA/STR)

War Declared On Mafia As Car Bomb Kills Journalist Ivo Pukanic -- Times Online

Croatia declared a war on organised crime last night after one of the country’s most prominent newspaper publishers was killed by a car bomb in the capital, Zagreb.

Ivo Pukanic, 47, the publisher of the leading weekly Nacional, known for its investigations into corruption and organised crime, was killed after an explosive device was detonated beneath his new Lexus car outside the magazine’s offices. Niko Franic, 38, the marketing manager, was also killed in the blast.

“The criminal underworld has confronted the country with an unprecedented challenge,” said Stjepan Mesic, the Croatian President, summoning an emergency meeting of the National Security Council.

“This is the moment when our society must stand as one because the question we are facing is: us, the rule of law, or them, the criminals, the terrorists and the mafia,” he added.

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My Comment: Crime is the number one problem in all former Eastern European Communist states.

The List: The World’s Most Dangerous Gangs

From Foreign Policy:

Their darkest dealings often go unreported and unnoticed. But from Nairobi to São Paulo, many urban gangs are becoming more sophisticated, more brutal, and more powerful than ever.

Read the list ....

Update: Another list that is more comprehensive is at Raj Mangalam's blog.

My Comment: I agree with the Kings of War blog's comments on this subject .... they are the following:

Wars all over the place, typhoons, earthquakes… Just in case your dystopia isn’t dystopic enough have a look at the list from Foreign Policy at the link above of the world’s most dangerous gangs. ‘Dangerous’ is a subjective term, however. What seems to have made the list are the gangs which are biggest–which is alarming enough. But size is not all; moreover the distinction between criminal gang and insurgent is rather gray and mutable. For a fuller treatment of a fasciniating subject see the SSI monographs of Dr Max Manwaring (available at the link).