Free Republic

“Welcome to the Poconos. Welcome to the home of gangs,” read a slide at a presentation sponsored by the Pocono Mountains chapter of the Community Association Institute. Interspersed in the slideshow of inner city tribes of Bloods, Crips and Latin Kings were photos of gang members in quaint gated communities and the parking lots of suburban malls. “You never get rid of crime. You displace crime,” said retired Allentown cop Edward Bachert Jr., who worked the gang detail for more than 15 years. “Gangs are like cancer.” … Locally, gangs came to the forefront around 2006 when media attention focused...

In an effort to focus some of the prior analysis, and with an understanding that this specific event has a community aspect different from traditional research, it is important to understand the social elements prior to looking at the psychology of the event itself.With that we’re going to widen the scope while narrowing the focus. Let’s start with the social elements, aided by a friend of the treehouse’s endeavors, and exposing a little of myself in the process.While many are seeking justice for Jessica, it is also part of the larger objective to insure that Jessica’s death was not...