So if the police know that there are precisely 17 gangs, not 16, not 18, but exactly 17, then why aren’t they tailing all 17 gangs and busting them when they commit crimes?
Oh yeah, because that would be racist profiling.
The cops should find some unknown actors looking for jobs and set up sting operations in the rich enclaves. How to keep them locked up after they are nabbed is another problem.
In all likelihood, the number 17 is used as some sort of coded message.