DallasMorningNews | Harold Pollack
is co-director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab and an expert on
gangs and guns. Just as important, he lives in a city where urban
violence is so entrenched that Mayor Rahm Emanuel began his second term
Monday with a speech warning that the city may lose an entire generation of children to gang violence.
So how would Pollack compare outlaw motorcycle gangs, like those that
got into a gun battle Sunday in Waco, with urban street gangs, such as
those that commit terror in Chicago? Here’s his take, courtesy of The Marshall Project:
#1 The
number of perps involved in the Waco shootout – not to mention the nine
deaths – far exceeds the typical urban gang-related shooting. “I have
never encountered a gang incident in Chicago remotely like this.”
#2 Urban gangs and their criminal organizations rarely get into gun battles with police.
#3 Outlaw
biker gangs are rarely found in big media centers. Given our
expectations regarding race and geographic location of people who
perpetrate crime, biker gangs are perceived as more “curiosity” than
threat. That must change.
#4 100 weapons at one crime scene is absolutely remarkable.
#5 Biker gangs have far-flung connections, particularly in South and Central America.
Money quote: “If these biker gang members were non-white, I think this would cause a national freakout.”
My take: Outlaw
biker gangs are homegrown terrorists. That doesn’t mean everyone who
walked into that Twin Peaks Sunday is an outlaw or a homegrown
terrorist. But those who weren’t should be charged with stupidity for
associating with bikers who clearly are.
