Gangs in Canada
Encyclopedia
Gangs in Canada are mostly present in the major urban areas of Canada
, although their activities are not confined to large cities.
According to a 2004 police report, "The Hells Angels
remain some of the largest and most powerful motorcycle gangs in the country, with growing influence in British Columbia and Ontario. Its presence has declined in other provinces due to police efforts, internal conflict and increased competition from other crime groups."
The same report stated that Aboriginal street gangs are not as highly organized as other criminal organizations in Canada, but are amongst the most violent. Aboriginal people also constitute a significant portion of prison populations throughout Canada, and the number of First Nation inmates continues to rise at a considerable rate. As of 2005 it is believed over 1000 Aboriginal youths were members of street gangs.
According to the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada
(CISC), "The established, well-financed and -connected Hong Kong
Triad groups and crime syndicates remain, to our mind, the biggest long-term threat to Canadian law enforcement and society." Most of the gangs in Canada are based upon American gangs such as Crips
, Bloods
, MS13, 18th Street
, Zoe Pound, Pagans, Folk Nation
, People Nation
, KKK, BHO
, and the Hells Angels
.
In addition to Triad Societies, other Asian criminal groups, such as The Big Circle Gang, have also established national networks based in the major cities of Canadia.
include Aboriginal street gangs, Aryan Nation groups, Asian street gangs, other groups, black street gangs, South Asian street gangs, "multicultural" street gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs, RotPin gangs, most notabley Ringo and Dieter whom are involved in dealing of illicit drugs, and prostitution.
Eastern European mafia gangs own significant tracts of downtown real estate and are actively involved in money laundering through well known local oil and gas business leaders. Italian mafia gangs from Quebec have a significant presence in the construction industry accounting for approximately 30% of contracts in construction contracts awarded in Alberta generally and in Calgary and the tar sands industry in particular - even more significant than is presently understood to be the case in Quebec.
include Aboriginal street gangs, Aryan Nation groups, Asian street gangs, Black street gangs, Hispanic street gangs, Indo-Canadian street gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs.
has calmed down over the past few years there are still many street level gangs, and organized crime families. Once home to organized crime figure Rocco Perri
Canada's Al Capone, and Johnny Pops Papilia. Much of the gang activity is within the inner city, mostly within the downtown and east end, and mainly attributed to smaller street gangs, one of the more infamous being an Asian gang, the Oriental Blood Brothers.Also the younger Asian gang under Oriental Blood Brothers are GrandVille Boys known for a brutal attack at Glendale Secondary School
. Areas affected by gang activity include: the North End, Oriole Crescent neighborhoods, and much of the downtown sector.
. Over the years numerous members have been arrested, firearms and homicide charges. Between 1994 and 2002 a biker war between gangs led to a period of increased violence which would become known as the Quebec Biker war
. Traditional organized crime has had a presence in the city since the early 1900s, mainly in the form of the Irish mob and the Italian mafia
.
United smaller street gangs made up of mostly youths are pocketed in different areas of the Montreal area
, particularly in Montréal-Nord
, Sud-Ouest
, St-Michel, Parc-Extension
, West Island
, St-François
, Côte-des-Neiges, NDG
, Ville St-Laurent (St-Low)
, Rivière-des-Prairies and St-Léonard neighbourhoods.
The city's largest street gangs in 2006 were:
patrolled by five police forces (Ottawa Police
, Ontario Provincial Police
(OPP), Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP), Gatineau Police, Quebec Provincial Police
(QPP), the city of Ottawa
is still home to a number of gangs, ranging from minor neighbourhood street gangs, to well organized crime families. Most street level gangs in Ottawa are located in the Ledbury area of the city's south side, and the west end between the Caldwell area, and Lincoln Heights. The two most prominent street gangs in Ottawa are the "Bloods" and "Crips". Ottawa is also home to the Hells Angels
, Italian Mafia. There is a presence of Asian gang activity, however, major police operations resulted in the arrest of the groups hierarchy, and they have since mostly disbanded in Ottawa. To a lesser extent, there is also a presence of Hispanic gangs in the city.
Gang activity in Ottawa spiked in the 1990s with many high profile brazen crimes including a daytime jewelry store robbery/shoot out in the Rideau Centre
, a busy downtown shopping mall, and a random drive-by shooting murder of a British
student on a busy downtown street. Today drive by shootings are rare and most gang activity includes narcotic distribution.
are almost entirely aboriginal based. The largest gang activity is in Regina
and Saskatoon
. There is also a branch of the Hells Angels
in the province. Youth gangs are also almost entirely aboriginal based. Saskatchewan had the highest concentration of gang membership in Canada at 1.34 per 1000 in 2002
have experienced gang activity. Many gangs have migrated out of the city limits into the suburbs such as Mississauga, Markham
, Vaughan
, Pickering
and limited amounts in Richmond Hill, Ontario
. This has been attributed to the Toronto Police Service
s being alerted to their activities and cracking down with arrests. Toronto Police Services work in conjunction with other Toronto area police services such as Peel Regional Police, Halton Regional Police, York Regional Police, Durham Regional Police and Hamilton Police. Police raids in the early to mid 2000s took down many gang members resulting in some being deported back to Jamaica, Trinidad, Liberia, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Portugal and others. However, most of the youth street gang members are Canadian youth that have chosen the path of crime.
Toronto has a strong Italian Mafia presence, most notably in Woodbridge and the St. Clair area of downtown.
There are also many Black, Hispanic, Asian, Indian, and Filipino gangs throughout the Greater Toronto Area
(GTA).
There has been a recent rise in gun violence in the greater Toronto area
. The most focal incident was the Boxing Day shooting, resulting in the death of 15-year-old bystander Jane Creba
on December 26, 2005 on Yonge Street
. The incident was a shootout between rival gangs.
There were several high profile gang raids in the city namely in Malvern, Jane and Finch, Driftwood, Galloway and the largest dismantling, in Rexdale. American gangs such as Crips and Bloods have been part of Toronto's gang scene since the early 1990s specifically in the West End neighbourhoods of Jane and Finch, Rexdale and Jungle (Lawrence Heights), Weston Road, Jane St.and Eglinton ave West. As well the East End neighbourhoods of Flemingdon Park, Malvern, Galloway and others.
include Asian street gangs, Aboriginal street gangs, motorcycle gangs, Black street gangs, Indo-Canadian street gangs, Hispanic street gangs, and "multicultural" street gangs.
Vancouver has a growing Italian mafia presence and various Eastern European bratvas are also known to be active in the Lower Mainland.
According to law enforcement agencies, the most powerful of these crime groups in Vancouver, are the motorcycle gangs, Indo-Canadian street gangs, and Asian street gangs. However, in recent years, "multicultural" street gangs have grown significantly in power and prominence, and have attained much media attention due to their involvement in numerous shootings and slayings throughout the city. including the 2009 Vancouver gang war
.
gang activity involves mainly Native Canadian gangs. Throughout the 1990s, Winnipeg was the gang capital of Canada per capita.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, although their activities are not confined to large cities.
Types
The most prevalent gangs in Canada include:- Street gangsGangA gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
- Outlaw Motorcycle GangsMotorcycle clubA motorcycle club is a group of individuals whose primary interest and activities involve motorcycles.In the U.S. the abbreviation, MC or MCC, can have a special social meaning from the point of view of the outlaw subcultures, and is usually reserved by them for those clubs that are mutually...
- MafiaMafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
s and Organized crimeOrganized crimeOrganized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
groups, including Aboriginal Based Organized CrimeAboriginal Based Organized CrimeAboriginal-based organized crime is a term used to refer to Canadian criminal organizations with a high, statistically significant percentage of Aboriginal members. These organizations are primarily found in the prairie provinces - geographical areas which statistically hold a higher concentration... - White supremacistWhite supremacyWhite supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
and Hate groups
According to a 2004 police report, "The Hells Angels
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
remain some of the largest and most powerful motorcycle gangs in the country, with growing influence in British Columbia and Ontario. Its presence has declined in other provinces due to police efforts, internal conflict and increased competition from other crime groups."
The same report stated that Aboriginal street gangs are not as highly organized as other criminal organizations in Canada, but are amongst the most violent. Aboriginal people also constitute a significant portion of prison populations throughout Canada, and the number of First Nation inmates continues to rise at a considerable rate. As of 2005 it is believed over 1000 Aboriginal youths were members of street gangs.
According to the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada
Criminal Intelligence Service Canada
Criminal Intelligence Service Canada is an inter-agency organization in Canada designed to coordinate and share criminal intelligence amongst member police forces. The CISC has a central bureau in Ottawa and ten bureaus in each province offering services to over 380 law enforcement agencies in...
(CISC), "The established, well-financed and -connected Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
Triad groups and crime syndicates remain, to our mind, the biggest long-term threat to Canadian law enforcement and society." Most of the gangs in Canada are based upon American gangs such as Crips
Crips
The Crips are a primarily, but not exclusively, African American gang. They were founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969 mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams...
, Bloods
Bloods
The Bloods are a street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. They are identified by the red color worn by their members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs...
, MS13, 18th Street
18th Street gang
18th Street gang is considered to be the largest transnational criminal gang in Los Angeles, California. It is estimated that there are thousands of members in Los Angeles County alone...
, Zoe Pound, Pagans, Folk Nation
Folk Nation
The Folk Nation is an alliance of street gangs, based in the Chicago area, which has since spread throughout the United States, specifically in the Midwest and the South. They are rivals to the People Nation....
, People Nation
People Nation
People Nation is an alliance of street gangs generally associated with the Chicago area. They are rivals to the Folk Nation.The People Nation were formed much in the same way as the Folk Nation. In 1978, the El Rukns People Nation is an alliance of street gangs generally associated with the Chicago...
, KKK, BHO
BHO
BHO can refer to:*Bhojpuri language *Bibliotheca Hagiographica Orientalis*Browser Helper Object*Barack Hussein Obama II, 44th President of the United States*Butane hash oil*Bearer handover*British History Online...
, and the Hells Angels
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
.
In addition to Triad Societies, other Asian criminal groups, such as The Big Circle Gang, have also established national networks based in the major cities of Canadia.
Calgary
Known crime groups in CalgaryCalgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
include Aboriginal street gangs, Aryan Nation groups, Asian street gangs, other groups, black street gangs, South Asian street gangs, "multicultural" street gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs, RotPin gangs, most notabley Ringo and Dieter whom are involved in dealing of illicit drugs, and prostitution.
Eastern European mafia gangs own significant tracts of downtown real estate and are actively involved in money laundering through well known local oil and gas business leaders. Italian mafia gangs from Quebec have a significant presence in the construction industry accounting for approximately 30% of contracts in construction contracts awarded in Alberta generally and in Calgary and the tar sands industry in particular - even more significant than is presently understood to be the case in Quebec.
Edmonton
Known crime groups in EdmontonEdmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
include Aboriginal street gangs, Aryan Nation groups, Asian street gangs, Black street gangs, Hispanic street gangs, Indo-Canadian street gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs.
Halifax
Biker gangs played a key role in Halifax's gang world, but a crackdown on Hells Angels activity in the wake of the Quebec Biker War virtually wiped them out of the Province and they no longer have an active chapter in Halifax. Recently, Bacchus MC, an affiliate club of the Hells Angels had staked out territory in the city, with a current hangout spot being a tattoo shop at the corner of North and Agricola Streets. Two major crime families play a major part in Halifax's gang activity and consist mostly of whites. Lebanese Crime families have also become prominent in the city. In 2004, Halifax had the worst Crime Rate of any City in North America with 71,000 Violent Crimes for only ~410,000 people (~17,317/100,000 rate).Charlottetown
Street gangs in Charlottetown are localized to the downtown area and as such are name by the 'hangouts'. The most notorious of Charlottetown's gangs would be the subway gang although they are know for mostly petty crimes.Hamilton
Although HamiltonHamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
has calmed down over the past few years there are still many street level gangs, and organized crime families. Once home to organized crime figure Rocco Perri
Rocco Perri
Rocco Perri was an organized crime figure in Ontario, Canada in the early 20th century...
Canada's Al Capone, and Johnny Pops Papilia. Much of the gang activity is within the inner city, mostly within the downtown and east end, and mainly attributed to smaller street gangs, one of the more infamous being an Asian gang, the Oriental Blood Brothers.Also the younger Asian gang under Oriental Blood Brothers are GrandVille Boys known for a brutal attack at Glendale Secondary School
Glendale Secondary School
Glendale Secondary School is located at 145 Rainbow Drive in Hamilton, Ontario. The school was founded in 1959 and is a part of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board. The school is located close to the Hamilton suburb of Stoney Creek, Ontario and services students from there as well as the...
. Areas affected by gang activity include: the North End, Oriole Crescent neighborhoods, and much of the downtown sector.
Montreal
Biker gangs operate from clubhouses based in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. Over the years numerous members have been arrested, firearms and homicide charges. Between 1994 and 2002 a biker war between gangs led to a period of increased violence which would become known as the Quebec Biker war
Quebec Biker war
The Quebec Biker war refers to the violent turf war that began in 1994 and continued until late 2002 in Quebec, Canada.The war began as the Hells Angels in Quebec began to make a push to establish a monopoly on street-level drug sales in the province. A number of drug dealers and crime families...
. Traditional organized crime has had a presence in the city since the early 1900s, mainly in the form of the Irish mob and the Italian mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
.
United smaller street gangs made up of mostly youths are pocketed in different areas of the Montreal area
Greater Montreal Area
Greater Montreal is one of the two metropolitan communities of Quebec.Greater Montreal is the most populous metropolitan area in Québec. As of 2009, Statistics Canada identifies Montréal's Census Metropolitan Area as Canada's second most populous with a population of 3,859,318...
, particularly in Montréal-Nord
Montréal-Nord
Montreal North is a borough of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city of Montréal-Nord on Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It was amalgamated into the City of Montreal on January 1, 2002...
, Sud-Ouest
Le Sud-Ouest
Le Sud-Ouest is a borough of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Geography:Le Sud-Ouest is an amalgam of several neighbourhoods with highly distinct histories and identities, mainly with working-class and industrial origins, grouped around the Lachine Canal...
, St-Michel, Parc-Extension
Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension
Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension is a borough in the city of Montreal, Quebec. It has a population of 145,485 and an area of 16,05 km².-Location:...
, West Island
West Island
The West Island is the unofficial name given to the western cities and boroughs of the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada...
, St-François
Saint-François, Quebec
Saint-François is the second largest neighbourhood of Laval, Quebec, Canada, after Duvernay. It was a separate city until the municipal mergers on August 6, 1965.Agriculture occupies most of the land area....
, Côte-des-Neiges, NDG
Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce is a borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada-Geography:Located to the north and west of Mount Royal, it was part of the City of Montreal prior to the 2002 municipal mergers...
, Ville St-Laurent (St-Low)
Saint-Laurent, Quebec
Saint-Laurent is a former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is now the largest in area of the boroughs of the city of Montreal....
, Rivière-des-Prairies and St-Léonard neighbourhoods.
The city's largest street gangs in 2006 were:
- the Crips located in Saint-Michel, Pierrefonds, Villeray, Ahuntsic, Parc-Extension, Lasalle, Lachine, NDG , Little Burgundy, and Côte-des-Neiges.
- the Bloods located in Côte-des-Neiges, Montréal-Nord, Rivière-des-Prairies, Laval, St-Léonard, and Ville St-Laurent (St-Lo 64).
Ottawa
The National Capital RegionNational Capital Region (Canada)
The National Capital Region, also referred to as Canada's Capital Region, is an official federal designation for the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario, the neighbouring city of Gatineau, Quebec, and surrounding urban and rural communities....
patrolled by five police forces (Ottawa Police
Ottawa Police Service
The Ottawa Police Service serves the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.-History:The OPS roots come from the formation of the "Bytown Association" in 1847. In 1855 Roderick Ross was the first Chief Constable for the newly formed City of Ottawa...
, Ontario Provincial Police
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...
(OPP), Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP), Gatineau Police, Quebec Provincial Police
Sûreté du Québec
Sûreté du Québec or SQ is the provincial police force for the Canadian province of Québec...
(QPP), the city of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
is still home to a number of gangs, ranging from minor neighbourhood street gangs, to well organized crime families. Most street level gangs in Ottawa are located in the Ledbury area of the city's south side, and the west end between the Caldwell area, and Lincoln Heights. The two most prominent street gangs in Ottawa are the "Bloods" and "Crips". Ottawa is also home to the Hells Angels
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
, Italian Mafia. There is a presence of Asian gang activity, however, major police operations resulted in the arrest of the groups hierarchy, and they have since mostly disbanded in Ottawa. To a lesser extent, there is also a presence of Hispanic gangs in the city.
Gang activity in Ottawa spiked in the 1990s with many high profile brazen crimes including a daytime jewelry store robbery/shoot out in the Rideau Centre
Rideau Centre
Rideau Centre is a three-level shopping centre on Rideau Street in Downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It borders on Rideau Street , the Rideau Canal, the Mackenzie King Bridge, and Nicholas Street....
, a busy downtown shopping mall, and a random drive-by shooting murder of a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
student on a busy downtown street. Today drive by shootings are rare and most gang activity includes narcotic distribution.
Saskatchewan
Adult gangs in SaskatchewanSaskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
are almost entirely aboriginal based. The largest gang activity is in Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
and Saskatoon
Saskatoon
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
. There is also a branch of the Hells Angels
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
in the province. Youth gangs are also almost entirely aboriginal based. Saskatchewan had the highest concentration of gang membership in Canada at 1.34 per 1000 in 2002
- insideprisons.com lists 108 street gangs for the Prairie region alone.
Toronto
Certain neighbourhoods in all geographic parts of TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
have experienced gang activity. Many gangs have migrated out of the city limits into the suburbs such as Mississauga, Markham
Markham
-Biology:* Markham's storm-petrel , a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia* Markham's grass mouse , a rodent subspecies found on Wellington Island and the nearby Southern Patagonian Ice Field in southern Chile* Ulmus americana 'Markham', an American elm cultivar-Companies:* Markham & Co., an...
, Vaughan
Vaughan
Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...
, Pickering
Pickering, Ontario
Pickering is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, the largest metropolitan area in Canada.- Early Period :...
and limited amounts in Richmond Hill, Ontario
Richmond Hill, Ontario
Richmond Hill is a town located in Southern Ontario, Canada in the central portion of York Region, Ontario. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, being located about halfway between Toronto and Lake Simcoe...
. This has been attributed to the Toronto Police Service
Toronto Police Service
The Toronto Police Service , formerly the Metropolitan Toronto Police, is the police service for the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Canada and second largest police force in Canada after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police...
s being alerted to their activities and cracking down with arrests. Toronto Police Services work in conjunction with other Toronto area police services such as Peel Regional Police, Halton Regional Police, York Regional Police, Durham Regional Police and Hamilton Police. Police raids in the early to mid 2000s took down many gang members resulting in some being deported back to Jamaica, Trinidad, Liberia, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Portugal and others. However, most of the youth street gang members are Canadian youth that have chosen the path of crime.
Toronto has a strong Italian Mafia presence, most notably in Woodbridge and the St. Clair area of downtown.
There are also many Black, Hispanic, Asian, Indian, and Filipino gangs throughout the Greater Toronto Area
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
(GTA).
There has been a recent rise in gun violence in the greater Toronto area
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
. The most focal incident was the Boxing Day shooting, resulting in the death of 15-year-old bystander Jane Creba
Jane Creba
The Boxing Day shooting was a Canadian gang-related shooting which occurred on December 26, 2005 on Toronto's Yonge Street, resulting in the death of 15-year-old student Jane Creba. Six other bystanders—four men and two women, were wounded. The incident took place on one of Toronto's most crowded...
on December 26, 2005 on Yonge Street
Yonge Street
Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...
. The incident was a shootout between rival gangs.
There were several high profile gang raids in the city namely in Malvern, Jane and Finch, Driftwood, Galloway and the largest dismantling, in Rexdale. American gangs such as Crips and Bloods have been part of Toronto's gang scene since the early 1990s specifically in the West End neighbourhoods of Jane and Finch, Rexdale and Jungle (Lawrence Heights), Weston Road, Jane St.and Eglinton ave West. As well the East End neighbourhoods of Flemingdon Park, Malvern, Galloway and others.
Vancouver
Known crime groups in VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
include Asian street gangs, Aboriginal street gangs, motorcycle gangs, Black street gangs, Indo-Canadian street gangs, Hispanic street gangs, and "multicultural" street gangs.
Vancouver has a growing Italian mafia presence and various Eastern European bratvas are also known to be active in the Lower Mainland.
According to law enforcement agencies, the most powerful of these crime groups in Vancouver, are the motorcycle gangs, Indo-Canadian street gangs, and Asian street gangs. However, in recent years, "multicultural" street gangs have grown significantly in power and prominence, and have attained much media attention due to their involvement in numerous shootings and slayings throughout the city. including the 2009 Vancouver gang war
2009 Vancouver gang war
In early 2009, a series of gang-related shootings occurred due to what police describe as a gang war in Vancouver. Alleged participants include the Independent Soldiers, the Sanghera Crime Group, the Buttar Gang, the Bacon Brothers , the United Nations Gang, the Red Scorpions, and the Vancouver...
.
Winnipeg
Winnipeg'sWinnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
gang activity involves mainly Native Canadian gangs. Throughout the 1990s, Winnipeg was the gang capital of Canada per capita.