Organized Crime, Adult Gangs and Youth Gangs in Canada

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Organized Crime, Adult Gangs and Youth Gangs in
Canada
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General Impact of Organized Crime and Gang
Membership

• Organized crime impacts on the health, safety and
  well being of society at large.
• organized crime groups cost Canadians billions of
  dollars every year. The impact of organized crime
  also goes far beyond monetary effects.
• Violence, intimidation, and corruption are
  mainstays of many organized criminal groups. They
  affect public confidence in our most fundamental
  sources of solace and security- our homes,
  neighbourhoods and communities.
• Organized crime also affects basic Canadian
  rights to peace, order and good governance.

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• In "Transnational Criminal Activity A Global
  Context," CSIS says new trends are evolving in
  organized crime
• cybercrime - organized crime can take advantage
  of international computerized financial networks
  to launder money from illegal activities quickly,
  and make it much harder to trace.
• Soon, organized crime may be hacking into
  corporate networks to extract confidential and
  proprietary information, and then using it in
  extortion schemes.
• legitimization - organized crime uses money from
  illegal activities to set up legal business
  operations. Some even donate to community and
  social causes.
• co-operation - large criminal syndicates work
  together, like their legal corporate
  counterparts, and they will work in any country
  where they find legal and bureaucratic loopholes.
  

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• The impact on Canada comes mostly from
• economic crime - there is potential for Canadian
  stock markets to be used for shell companies to
  launder money.
• environmental crime - trade in ozone depleting
  substances and the illegal treatment and disposal
  of hazardous waste.
• illicit drug trade - CSIS says the illicit drug
  market in Canada may run between 7 billion and
  10 billion annually.
• illegal migration - a 1998 report for the
  Solicitor General of Canada said that up to
  16,000 people may be smuggled into Canada each
  year. As illegal migration increases in Canada,
  it has an impact on legal immigration and visa
  processes. It also puts stress on Canada's
  relations with the United States.
• money laundering - a report by the U.S. State
  Department lists Canada as one of 48 countries of
  "primary concern" for money laundering.

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Youth Gangs

• Canada has 434 youth gangs (7,000 members)
• Ontario highest number of youth gangs and youth
  gang members, followed by Saskatchewan and
  British Columbia
• Majority of youth gang members are male (94)
• 48 of all youth gang members are under 18
• Largest proportion of youth gang members are
  African Canadian (25), followed by First Nations
  (21) and Caucasian (18)
• There is a growing percentage of female gang
  membership in western Canadian provinces,
  including British Columbia (12), Manitoba (10)
  and Saskatchewan (9)
• (Canadian Police Survey on Youth Gangs, 2007
  http//www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/cp/bldngevd/2007
  -yg-1-eng.aspx)

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Female Gangs

• Little research in this area
• Increase in violence amongst women a recent
  phenomenon
• Corrections Canada has data on only 37 female
  gang members (2003) who are or have been
  incarcerated in maximum security facilities (29
  Aboriginal)
• Numbers are increasing
• Gang members tend to be more violent than
  non-gang members (6 of prison population)
• Study shows that female gang members are
  significantly more violent, aggressive,
  anti-social with poor education and employment
  experiences than non-gang members
• (http//www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/rsrch/reports/r138/
  r138-eng.shtml)

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Female Violence

• According to Statistics Canada 1999, Violence
  with adolescent girls is the only area
  consistently showing an increase in reported
  rates of violent offending
• Rate of violence is double that for adolescent
  males
• Aggression differs between boys and girls.
• Males physical aggression
• But when include verbal threats and intimidation,
  girls more aggressive than thought to be in past.
  
• Also, research shows that as some girls age,
  aggression tends to shift from verbal threats and
  gossip intended to harm relationships to actual
  physical aggression.
• (Source Leschied et all, 2000 at
  http//ww2.ps-sp.gc.ca/publications/Corrections/20
  0004_Leschied_report_e.pdf)

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Video

• Mean Girls Mind Games (2003)
• (Patricia Ivins Specht, Direct Cinema Ltd.)

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• For an interesting profile of male and female
  youth gangs and characteristics of gang members
  in Canada, see the Edmonton Police website at
  http//www.police.edmonton.ab.ca/Pages/Gangs/trait
  s.asp

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Presentations

• Motorcycle Gangs
• Youth Gangs