Liberty Tree/Gangs Rife on our City Streets, Corruption Everywhere



Gangs Rife on our City Streets, Corruption Everywhere is an article written for the Liberty Tree newspaper by Walt Karl in May 2001.

Article
The Liberty City Police Department has conducted a survey into the roles gangs play in our city's violent crime problem. The results were staggering. For a long time, social commentators had argued that problems were caused by a lack of services for the mentally ill and deranged, along with the lure of easy money to be made in petty street crime. Politicians used this to argue crime was only endemic in the lower echelons of our society, but it turns out we're all at it!

Apart from the widespread and well-documented problems with mugging, carjacking and physical assault, street gangs have become a way of life for all minority and ethnic groups as they attempt to assimilate into the American dream. At present, it is believed Japanese gangsters have begun to flex their muscles in Liberty City, joining the Chinese gangs, thought to be Triads who have been operating in Liberty City since the Hong Kong handover in 1997. Also causing concern is the rise in Jamaican and reggae-influenced gangs who have begun to be arrested within the city. Originally thought only to exist within Kingston and in the large Jamaican communities in London and Canada, they are a new menace on the streets of Liberty City.



For young kids from all backgrounds, joining a gang is becoming an increasingly fashionable lifestyle choice. The South Street Hoods, taking their influence from hip hop music, have grown ten fold in the past five years and are increasingly linked to extreme acts of violence, while Hispanic youths are also thought to see the gangster lifestyle as a desirable option.

At the same time, a new report shows just how rife corruption is in our city. From the Mayor's office to the police department, from ambulance drivers to construction firms, it seems everyone can be bought and the only dirty word is 'integrity'. Well, at least we're all in the same boat! The well-documented documentation on the subject documents that the one thing that keeps our city functioning is an appreciation of just how bad things could get if it were to get any worse, if you see what I mean. Better news, spring is finally here, so at least we'll be taking bribes and killing each other in the sun!