Street gangs gain foothold on Native American reservations : Native Americans live in some of the most extreme cases of rural poverty in the world and in recent years have encountered many of the same issues plaguing some of the country’s largest urban centers. A prime example of such is the Badlands of South Dakota, which is home to the Pine Ridge Reservation and the Oglala Lakota tribe. Pine Ridge has also become home to another growing problem facing many Indian Reservations: gang violence. According to the FBI, Native American gang membership has sharply risen in the last decade, with many notorious street gangs making their presence felt on reservations across the country. Some of these gangs originated in the prison system.

 Burbank felons get 25 years for Armenian and black street-gang-aided identity theft: SANTA ANA -- Two men behind a massive identity-theft conspiracy that was hatched and operated from a prison and victimized more than 500 people were sentenced today to 25 years in federal prison. The two were convicted earlier this year of spearheading the identity theft ring, which included Armenian and black street gang members, while the defendants were serving time in Avenal State Prison. As a result of that investigation, authorities were able to obtain a wiretap on cellphones smuggled into Avenal State Prison for Sharopetrosian, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally

 Stopping gang violence takes data, group says: MERCED -- In a meeting with city officials and area residents, community leaders from Sacramento on Wednesday stressed the need for a data-based approach to the gang violence prevention program CeaseFire. A wide range of local nonprofit groups as well as law enforcement and city agencies showed up for the public meeting at City Hall. In talking about the program, Pastor Sherwood Carthen of Bayside of South Sacramento church stressed the need for a statistical analysis, going back several years, that identifies those who are at the core of the violence.

 Gangster Sukh Dhak and his bodyguard shot to death in Burnaby hotel, police confirm : METRO VANCOUVER -- After months of well-publicized threats to his life, gangster Sukh Dhak and his bodyguard Thomas Mantel were shot to death in a brazen targeted execution at a busy Burnaby hotel Monday morning. The violence against Dhak and associates in the Duhre crime group escalated after the August 2011 murder of Red Scorpion gangster Jon Bacon and wounding of Hells Angel Larry Amero and Independent Soldier James Riach.

 Gang-Violence Project Kicks Off: First they called in the Tre. Then they called in the ‘Ville. Finally, they called in the governor and President Obama’s attorney general—to launch a new project to stop gang-fueled carnage on the streets of Connecticut’s cities. The new effort has a name: “Project Longevity.” After a year of quiet planning, it was launched with two gang “call-ins” at New Haven’s Hall of Records late Monday involving 27 alleged members of the city’s two most violent gangs, based in the Dwight-Kensington and Newhallville neighborhoods; then with a high-profile press conference a block away Tuesday morning with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Gov. Dan Malloy.

 Five key themes in city report on gang violence : It’s a problem Ottawa police say they cannot arrest their way out of. To tackle the issue of gangs in the city, strategies include creating support networks for parents before problems arise, identifying high-risk youth and building on skills development to help young people get out of gangs.

 NC Latin Kings gang head convicted : Jorge Cornell, the founder and leader of North Carolina’s Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation, bowed his head Wednesday as the verdict came in. But the man known as King Jay otherwise showed little emotion as he was found guilty on three counts — conspiracy to commit racketeering, committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering and use of a firearm in a violent crime

 USMS 'Operation Triple Beam III' targets gang violence: Clayton Johnson, United States Marshal for the Northern District of Oklahoma here, joined by Chief Chuck Jordan of the Tulsa Police Department, announced in a USMS press release dated Nov. 19, 20121, the culmination of a strategic gang enforcement operation that removed 146 violent gang members and gang member associates from the streets of the Tulsa metropolitan area.

 Has Wheatley Courts turned corner on gang violence? Residents see a difference: Three months after the Bexar County District Attorney's office served an injunction against the Wheatley Courts gang and more than a dozen of its members, residents say they have noticed a decrease in gunfire. Bexar County Assistant District Attorney Adriana Biggs said the main purpose of the injunction was simply to keep the gang members from being around each other.

 Community's help sought to combat gang threat: Welcoming participants to a presentation on "Criminal Street Gang Awareness" at the Kill Devil Hills Town Hall meeting room, KDH Police Criminal Investigations Division Captain Gene Johnson introduced Detective David Johnson and Sergeant Brandon Henderson. Commending the cooperative work of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, Detective Johnson reviewed northeast North Carolina's largest gangs -- Bloods, Crips, Gangster Disciples -- along with smaller motorcyle gangs and white supremacist, Asian and Hispanic gangs. While Bloods are exclusively African American, some other gangs are becoming "hybrids," expanding to include any and all races and ethnic groups in pursuit of higher profits. "It's all about the money," Johnson said.

 MOB street gang has grown into major threat: police report : They started out as a small complement of a few Winnipeg hoodlums who believed they could rake in more cash slinging drugs by breaking away from their gang and its baggage of violent rivalry. But today — a mere six years after the Most Organized Brothers (MOB) first blipped on the Winnipeg Police Service radar — cops say the gang has grown into a major criminal threat with more than 100 documented members and associates. Some of them have been implicated in serious violent mayhem, including murders.

 Sting operation targets Norteno gangs: An alarming increase in violent gang activity prompted law-enforcement officials from federal, state and local agencies to join forces in a sting operation dubbed Operation Family Feud, resulting in multiple arrests and weapons seizures Wednesday morning. Warrants were served in 11 locations – including 10 in Stockton and one in Lathrop, police said. The total number of arrests was not available at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday

 Montreal anti-gang squad facing cuts: Federal budget cuts have left the future of the specialized Montreal police Eclipse Squad, which fights organized crime, in jeopardy. The squad was formed in 2008 to target street gang activity, drug trafficking and cybercrime. The forty-officer team patrols bars, clubs, and known gang hangouts in Montreal.

 APNewsBreak: Idaho inmates claim gangs run prison: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A gang war that appears to have taken over parts of an Idaho private prison is spilling into the federal courts, with some inmates contending prison officials are ceding control to gang leaders in an effort to save money on staffing. The lawsuit, filed Friday in Boise’s U.S. District Court, paints the prison as a place where correctional officers work in fear of angering inmate gang members and where housing supervisors ask permission from gang leaders before moving anyone new into an empty cell. The inmates also contend that CCA officials use gang violence and the threat of gang violence as an ‘‘inexpensive device to gain control over the inmate population,’’ according to the lawsuit, and that housing gang members together allows the company to use fewer guards, reducing payroll costs.

 Police, schools watching ‘Juggalos’ - Classified as gang in Arizona (Show Low, AZ): Juggalos consider themselves a family and fans of a rap group’s music. But due to reported criminal acts by some of them, Show Low school administrators and police are keeping a close eye on young people who identify themselves as Juggalos.

 Nine-Trey Headbustas member admits helping to kill street gang leader (New Brunswick, NJ): When members of the Nine Trey Headbustas Bloods street gang didn’t like how their set was operating in New Brunswick, they decided to get rid of the leader.

 Fatal stabbing may be linked to gang feuds, police say (Manassas, VA): Targeted stabbings in Manassas on Friday and Saturday - one fatal - appear to be linked to disputes between two rival Hispanic gangs, violence that has spurred investigations by local police and the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force

 Police say Saturday's killing is gang-related (Macon, GA): Macon Police say the shooting that killed a 20-year-old Macon man and wounded a teenager late Saturday night is gang-related.