Pubdate: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN) Copyright: 2007 The Leader-Post Ltd. Contact: http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361 THE SCOURGE OF GANG VIOLENCE The gunfire that rang out Thursday night in Fort Qu'Appelle, taking the lives of two men and wounding three others, was a brutal reminder of the sad presence of violence in our world -- even in quiet towns. At the time of writing, nobody had been charged in this case, thought there are rumours galore that it was gang-related. If so -- and this is by no means certain -- it is shocking, but not surprising. Since the early years of this decade, police have been warning that gangs in Saskatchewan -- and everywhere else in Canada -- were moving into smaller communities. Eastern Canada's wake-up call came in April 2006, when eight members of an outlaw motorcycle gang were killed by gunmen near London, Ont. Alberta and Manitoba have long been concerned about gangs in rural communities. Criminal gangs dealing in horses, and then whiskey, operated in rural Saskatchewan a century ago for the simple reason that they offered young -- and not-so-young -- men criminal communities into which they could fit and make money -- sometimes big money. The most recent report by the national criminal intelligence agency said gangs now operating in Saskatchewan include four street gangs, an outlaw motorcycle gang and several smaller ones, with groups in towns and villages all over the province. Drugs -- getting them and selling them -- were their main economic engine. Whatever occurred in Fort Qu'Appelle, police fear that gang members, in the course of fighting other gangs, will kill or injure members of the public -- something that should worry everybody. Police also note with concern gangs' increasing use of guns and estimate that no other province has such a high proportion of its youth involved with gangs. Getting rid of gangs, wherever they operate, will not be easy and certainly will not be quick. There is no guarantee that violence will not touch other small communities. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart