Gang Membership On The Rise In Florida
The
Sun Sentinel recently published a report showing that there is an increasing number of reported gangs and gang members residing in Florida.
Created in 2007 by then Attorney General Bill McCollum, the Statewide Gang Reduction Strategy was an attempt to develop strategies to reduce gang membership.
Evidently, the program did not work out as planned. As of 2010, the Attorney General's Office reports there are 1,403 gangs in the state, and 56,000 documented gang members, associates and suspected gang members.
The report also determined that the number of gangs reported in the state was up by about 27.5 percent from 2009.
According to the 2010 report, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach counties contain nearly a third of the state's gang members and gangs.
According to the report, the most commonly reported gang in Florida is the Crips, or associated Crip sets. The Bloods and associate Blood sets follow as the second most commonly reported gang in Florida, followed by Aryan Nation/Aryan Brotherhood gangs.
Gangs activity is treated as organized crime in the State of Florida. Entire gangs can be prosecuted for the actions of one or a few of its members if the government can prove that the commission of the crime is a goal of the entire enterprise.
Given the organized nature of a gang, many times, the charge of
conspiracy will be added to any other substantive charge.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office has a Gangs Unit, as do many other prosecutors offices statewide. Gangs can also be prosecuted on a federal level under RICO.
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