Detroit's gangs: Who they are and how to stop them.

[michael]

Okay we all know Detroit has it's gangs. But how many are there? What can we all do to put an end to this?

[irish_mafia]

Vote out the City Council. That should take care of a good part of the criminal element

[Bobl]

Whatever happened to the "Purple Gang"?
How about the "Bishops" and the "Chains"?
Or the "Coneyonlys" and the "BKs"?
Gangs have been around in one form or another for decades. Perhaps Ray or tponetom have some recollections or comments.

[MichaelAnthonyVideos]

Vote out the City Council. That should take care of a good part of the criminal element

[lizaanne]

Start at birth to teach children how to treat others.

I'm afraid this current generation is a total loss.

[Wintersmommy]

Start at birth to teach children how to treat others.

I'm afraid this current generation is a total loss.

well the current generation will be raising the next generation so from your view point we are all screwed..

[GREENTROIT]

Start at birth to teach children how to treat others.

I'm afraid this current generation is a total loss.

Well since you stated that this current generation is a "total loss," then later described them as thugs, I called myself that.

Relax old lady, I don't want highjack this thread away from what it was intended to be about, but please keep in mind in every illegal crime organization its usually someone old orchestrating actions carried out by the young. So each generation would be at fault.

You gotta love the blue hairs that are preoccupied with only three things:

1. Everything was good back in my day.
2. Things aren't as good as they used to be.
3. Back in my day, things were better than they are now.

[Danny]

There are some gangs in Detroit, but they are dormant due to lack to community cultural revolution. Various community social service organizations vowed to put a stop to the growing number of Detroit street gangs. However Detroit street gangs are still involve with the flow of drugs, prositutions and quick gun fights at local Detroit Public School buildings. Most Detroit street gangs have move on to hid themselves in various suburbs to get the flow of drugs to white kids. I have seen the event happen in Garden City/Westland border when a couple of 12 to 14 year old white kids have require weed to make their homemade blunts in their parents homes while they are work. Now the flow of street drugs from various Detroit street gangs are everwhere in the suburbs and tagger their territories as they go. Don't believe me go to all the way out of Sterling Heights, West Bloomfield, Canton TWP. Livonia ect.. and see for yourself.

[Ray1936]

Strikes me that gangs were not particularly a problem in Detroit in the fifties and sixties. By the seventies, I had moved to administration and kind of lost touch with the street, but it would appear they are a problem today.....although not nearly as bad as the situation in southern Cal. I don't think Detroit gangs are anywhere near as organized as there.

And....lizaanne....don't be so pessimistic. I watch the kids on the National Geography Bee and the National Spelling Bee; and I watch them on Jeopardy! during the teen and college tournaments. America's future is still bright, trust me.

[Locke09]

Strikes me that gangs were not particularly a problem in Detroit in the fifties and sixties. By the seventies, I had moved to administration and kind of lost touch with the street, but it would appear they are a problem today.....although not nearly as bad as the situation in southern Cal. I don't think Detroit gangs are anywhere near as organized as there.

And....lizaanne....don't be so pessimistic. I watch the kids on the National Geography Bee and the National Spelling Bee; and I watch them on Jeopardy! during the teen and college tournaments. America's future is still bright, trust me.

They were a big problem in the late seventies and early eighties, as they became a part of the drug trade. But I thought they had been successfully dealt with during the Young Administration. I seem to remember he basically declared war on the gangs. I had no idea they had gotten strong again.

[lizaanne]

And....lizaanne....don't be so pessimistic. I watch the kids on the National Geography Bee and the National Spelling Bee; and I watch them on Jeopardy! during the teen and college tournaments. America's future is still bright, trust me.

I intend the current generation of thugs. They are a lost cause.

And yes - they will indeed be rearing the next generation of thugs. Most frightening indeed. We need more police, and to get rid of the abandoned buildings, crack down on drugs and illegal guns. Takes money the city does not have.

I am a pessimist when it comes to Detroit's current city council doing anything positive for the city. They all need to go, then maybe, just maybe there is a chance. Until that happens expect business as usual.

[GREENTROIT]

Well this "thug" in the current generation is paying your Social Security... so relax and try to focus on the positive in the world.

[DetroitDad]

Well this "thug" in the current generation is paying your Social Security... so relax and try to focus on the positive in the world.

How exactly do thugs pay social security? I highly doubt they report much taxable income.

[rajdet]

Well this "thug" in the current generation is paying your Social Security... so relax and try to focus on the positive in the world.

Thank you Greentroit, keep doing what you do.

[Alley]

Coneyonlys is a funny gang name

[EastsideAl]

Coneyonlys is a funny gang name

It apparently came from a mishearing/misspelling of the name Corleone from the Godfather movies.

Hey, it's Detroit, we all know how to spell "coney," don't we?

[Bobl]

It apparently came from a mishearing/misspelling of the name Corleone from the Godfather movies.

Hey, it's Detroit, we all know how to spell "coney," don't we?

True. I was told back then that it was, indeed, a mishearing/misspelling of Corleone, and also that it was a reference to a particular Coney Island restaurant located in the neighborhood where the gang originated. Maybe there is a middle aged former member here who can enlighten us!

[Cincinnati_Kid]

It apparently came from a mishearing/misspelling of the name Corleone from the Godfather movies.

Hey, it's Detroit, we all know how to spell "coney," don't we?

They were called the ConeyOneys or Sconi Oni's, not ConeyOnlys.

[rajdet]

There will always be gangs. It’s human nature. What’s the difference between a Coneyonly a Phi Kappa Theta and a Pershing Doughboy? Kids join all for the same reasons, social networking, protection, economic opportunity ... I think if inner-city kids felt safe and secure, had guidance and role models, as well as the promise of economic opportunities then their gang bangin’ activities would be more positive in nature.

[ruxy17]

the Dexter Boyz [[with a "z," mind you) have given me quite a few headaches. They've stolen my brother and my boyfriend's cars from our gated parking lot, and my brother's friend's car twice, and I'd venture to guess at least 40 other cars from our lot and guest lot in the 3 years I've lived there [[M-10 and the Blvd, roughly). my brother's car was found in pretty bad shape with "dexter boyz" carved in every panel. the night they took that, they took umpteen catalytic converters from our lot. When gas prices were extremely high last year they punctured a lot of gas tanks.

the funny thing is that they all have myspaces. when my brother's car was stolen we looked and found all of them online, most of their profiles bragging about crimes they had committed.

Interestingly enough, Dr. Luke Bergmann [[Director of Research at the city's Health and Wellness Dept and husband of my lovely urban anthropology professor) spent 2 years doing fieldwork with the Dexter Boyz as research for his book "Getting Ghost." Very good read.

[Wintersmommy]

Interestingly enough, Dr. Luke Bergmann [[Director of Research at the city's Health and Wellness Dept and husband of my lovely urban anthropology professor) spent 2 years doing fieldwork with the Dexter Boyz as research for his book "Getting Ghost." Very good read.[/quote]

Reading that book now...it is a good read

[Locke09]

the Dexter Boyz [[with a "z," mind you) have given me quite a few headaches. They've stolen my brother and my boyfriend's cars from our gated parking lot, and my brother's friend's car twice, and I'd venture to guess at least 40 other cars from our lot and guest lot in the 3 years I've lived there [[M-10 and the Blvd, roughly). my brother's car was found in pretty bad shape with "dexter boyz" carved in every panel. the night they took that, they took umpteen catalytic converters from our lot. When gas prices were extremely high last year they punctured a lot of gas tanks.

the funny thing is that they all have myspaces. when my brother's car was stolen we looked and found all of them online, most of their profiles bragging about crimes they had committed.

Interestingly enough, Dr. Luke Bergmann [[Director of Research at the city's Health and Wellness Dept and husband of my lovely urban anthropology professor) spent 2 years doing fieldwork with the Dexter Boyz as research for his book "Getting Ghost." Very good read.

Some of that just seems particularly malicious. Was this some personal vendetta against your family?

[ruxy17]

no, not at all. beyond sharing physical space, i don't share much else with the "Boyz," so i can't imagine them having any idea that i exist, let alone having a personal vendetta against me. as much as it seems high for my family, it seems to be in keeping with the average theft rate around my building. my neighbor had the exact same car stolen 4 times within 3 weeks. each time they'd find it in a few days, and within days it'd be stolen again.

pretty much all the cars that are stolen are found in a few days and within blocks of my apartment. once they caught two young kids [[13ish) during a rash of break-ins. i have a feeling the theft is a part of initiation; used for joyriding then dumped.

[Al Publican]

Coneyoney[[sp) reportedly was the result of a corruption of the Corleone family of Godfather movies. Catchy moniker.

[DetroitDad]

There are no real gangs in Detroit.

I didn't think we had gangs in Detroit, unless you count the small groups of people trying to sell drugs or prostitutes. The big guys all know Detroit isn't a market worth entering. It's the Walmart and chain culture; people don't care what they get, so long as they get the cheapest price imaginable. I would bet there is higher demand for street marjoram, pure baking soda, and 40 year old transvestites than there is for marijuana, cocaine, or 19 year old female prostitutes. Our residents also aren't of mixed incomes, and don't usually carry more than what the most desperate would steal.

The other issue is combined age and density. There aren't enough young people in a concentrated area in the city limits for them to get big enough. You have the starts of some grass roots gangs in the suburbs, or a few members moving to Southwest Detroit, but not enough to really make them much of a sizable gang.

Police also take gang activity very seriously in Metro Detroit.