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My understanding is that this is really a national phenomenon, too. Gang and/or gang-like activity is cropping up all over the place. Maybe Jersey City is actually a little ahead of the curve in dealing with this issue because people here went ballistic so early.

this whole thread really irks me. it seems like there's a disconnect between what is really happening with these kids and what some think about what is really going on. we're talking gangs....they're downright dangerous and increasingly out of control. very few parents or guardians are part of this scenario. it's a group think mentality in which the family exists within these units, and there's a lot more going on here than "kids" just "rumbling".

i think these kids need voices they can hear....ex gang members, those who have been through it, those who can try to steer them in the right direction. i applaud those in our community who are already doing this. i don't propose to fully understand, but i also realize it's a lot more serious than just "letting the kids fight it out."

honestly, when i see a group of kids on the street, i am super careful. i don't trust what can happen.
i see this as an issue that is only growing deeper and think that the opinions i've read in here so far do not fully grasp the seriousness of the issue....

the solution is simple....castration.......

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Lets just hope these 'kids' had the same gun as I did as a kid, and the 'someone' was pistol whipped with one of these - A potato-gun!

my two cents . . .

What concerns me is that someone was pistol whipped, which, I could be wrong, but means someone had a gun, to me that seems a bit more than just kids being kids and rumbling . . .

I agree with you guys, let the kids fight! The thing that concerns me about this case is that someone got stabbed and someone got pistol whipped. That's taking it too far. But if some kids want to get into a fair fight, we should not freak out as you have said. It's all good.

can't disagree there. kumbayah!

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On the one hand, I really agree with you about this. The police should stop kids from rumbling if they see the rumbling, but really, it ought to be up to parents, guardians and schools to control this sort of thing. Kids shouldn't end up in juvenile court and get a criminal record because they got into some stupid fight with other kids.

But I think there's evidence that there's an increase in juvenile gang or gang-like crime throughout the country, whether that's because of some change in demographics, schools, policing practices, etc.

Folks have to figure out how to deal with this before a lot of kids ruin their lives and ruin their communities.

If kids are just rumbling, OK, let's not go ballistic about the rumbling. But it does seem as if some of the kids we're seeing are doing more than rumbling with each other.

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I think there's a difference between listening to nihilistic or ultra-violent song lyrics, or even watching an ultra-violent movie, and actively playing the role of a video game character who goes around killing hookers to get their money.

Again: I don't think the Grand Theft Auto people ought to be censored. I think, from what I saw, that it's really well done. But society somehow has to figure out how to make sure that 10-year-old and 12-year-old kids understand that playing a real life version of Grand Theft Auto isn't funny.

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Who knows what happened during this particular incident, but I don't have to read the Jersey Journal or watch TV to know that I see groups of intimidating-looking kids roaming past my home late at night.

whats so terrible with groups of kids beating each other up? thats what kids have always done. you can't stop boys with hormones. two groups of kids wanting to beat each other up is nothing like a group of kids randomly beating up innocent bystandards.

is a guy beating up a home intruder the same as a guy beating up a 90 year old women?

the police chief seems to be trying to make some careful distinction between what's a "wolf pack" and what's a group of kids out looking to beat up another group of kids...

wtf is the difference?

are the police saying it is now OK for groups of kids to go out and fight as long as they only fight each other? and I suppose we are all supposed to believe that these kids would not beat up ANYONE they want?

does the police chief think the movie "the warriors" was a documentary? what the hell!

You forgot to blam NIN and marolyn manson. I have an ideal.. how about you stop watching the evening news and start living life. If you read a little more you will realize there were no wolf packs. also there were not random crimes. these kids lost a fight that they started not once but twice. Go figure fox news gave completely wrong information. is there much difference between most media and the inquire?

dude read into it and stop beating the hookers and taking their money.

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I think what\'s happening is that the little creeps are trying to play Grand Theft Auto with real people.

Have any other people here seen Grand Theft Auto?

For well-adjusted people, it\'s just another stupid, tasteless game. But, for a kid who starts out with some problems, I think it could make the problems a lot worse. (Example: instead of blowing up some kind of abstract spaceship to get energy points, a player might \"have sex with the hooker, then shoot the hooker and get her money.\")

My understanding is that there are games out there that are even worse than Grand Theft Auto.

I\'m opposed to limits on what video game publishers publish or what the shops sell to adults, but parents, the game shops and the game publishers have to figure out a way to keep the ultra violent games out of the hands of troubled 10-year-olds.

Also, in response to other comments:

a) Even if some of these incidents don\'t involve \"wolf packs,\" it seems pretty obvious that there are groups of poorly supervised kids looking for trouble all over Jersey City.

One obvious solution is that every kind of child and youth program here has to be strengthened. Everything from nutrition programs for pregnant women to job training programs for teens.

But another quick-fix solution might be to enforce the youth curfew laws vigorously and make a lot more use of home arrest ankle bracelets for curfew violators.

b) If you see a violent crime taking place outside a bus: Tell the driver to stop the bus, and, whether or not the driver will stop (and I think it ought to be an absolute legal duty for a bus driver witnessing a violent crime to stop and call a dispatcher) ask any other passengers on the bus if they can use their cell phones to call police and maybe use their phones to photograph the perps.

If other passengers aren\'t doing anything, that might be because they refuse to see or hear evil, but it might be that they simply haven\'t noticed what\'s happening or have slow reflexes and haven\'t figured out how to respond to what they\'ve noticed.

STACK SEEKS TO COMBAT 'WOLF PACK' RAMPAGES
Says State Needs Tougher Measures against Street Gangs

FROM -- politicsnj.com
http://www.politicsnj.com/assemblyman-brian-p-stack-6966

(UNION CITY) - Calling the recent rash of "wolf pack" attacks in Jersey City "appalling and unacceptable," Assemblyman Brian P. Stack today called for enactment of legislation that would give police new tools to fight criminal street gangs across the state.

In particular, Stack (D-Union City) said the Legislature needs to complete work on a measure that would enable law enforcement authorities to shield crime-scene witnesses from intimidation and threats by criminal street gangs. The measure is part of a sweeping 17-bill anti-gang initiative that the General Assembly passed last year.

"Intimidation and the threat of reprisal are the tools that street gangs use to keep themselves from being identified by witnesses," said Stack. "As good as police have been in fighting the street gang menace, current laws are making it harder for them to bring some of the thugs to justice."

Stack said it is imperative that members of critical street gangs be deprived of the easy ability to obtain identify information about crime-scene witnesses who testify or submit evidence to a grand jury.

Such a measure (A-2989) would bar the disclosure of all personal identifying information save the name of a witness testifying or submitting evidence to a grand jury. Attorneys would still have access to the redacted information; however, any attorney who purposely, knowingly, or recklessly discloses that information could face up to 18 months in jail and $10,000 in fines.

Stack called for enactment of the measure - and all remaining elements of the 17-bill anti-gang package - in response to a series of "wolf pack" attacks in Jersey City. According to Tuesday's Jersey Journal, a wolf pack consisting of 30 to 40 people individually assaulted three young men in the span of an hour late last Friday. The police have blamed these wolf packs for upwards of 20 attacks a week, however residents and victims have been hesitant to speak out for fear of retaliatory attacks.

Stack said similar fears are keeping witnesses to murder and violent crime silent in Trenton, Essex and across the rest of the state.

"Throughout New Jersey, gangs are employing witness-intimidation techniques to prolong their crime sprees and keep law abiding residents cowed," said Stack, who also is the mayor of Union City. "If we are going to catch gang members who continue to use violence as a weapon, a status symbol, and as currency, law enforcement officials need to have all the tools available to ensure witnesses to violent crimes can be kept from harm."

Stack said the continued escalation in gang violence across New Jersey shows a concrete need for local, county, and statewide officials to work together to pass legislation mandating information redaction in gang and violent crime cases.

"A concerted effort will ensure that witnesses who choose to testify in violent crime cases remain safe and are not endangered by a piecemeal approach to witness protection," said Stack. "The public has a right to expect they will remain safe when they choose to come forward and help put gang members behind bars."

Stack said the recent published reports should help raise awareness of why the witness protection legislation and other anti-gang measures should become law.

"We have a unique opportunity to protect people who want to do the right thing by reporting crimes and attacks," said Stack. "Ensuring private information does not fall into the wrong hands will go a long way toward that goal."

--30--

Contact:

Assemblyman Stack
(201) 330-3233
John Duthie
(609) 292-7065

Teen beaten on his way to School 23

Thursday, April 05, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A 15-year-old Jersey City Heights boy got his face bloodied when he was jumped Tuesday morning by six boys while walking to School 23.

The eighth-grader, a resident of North Street, told cops he was almost at the school at Nelson Avenue and North Street when a boy he described as 14 or 15 years old walked up, asked "What's good?" and then punched him in the face, reports said.

The boy punched him in the face several more times before other boys joined in, kicking and punching him, he said.

The boy said his attackers then ran away west on North Street, reports said.

The victim was treated by the school nurse for cuts on the left side of his face and a cut on his lip that may have required stitches, reports said. The boy's parents picked him up from the school and took him to Meadowlands Hospital in Secaucus.

Three individuals filed separate police reports on Friday night saying they'd been attacked by groups of young people in the Journal Square and Heights areas of the city. Police Chief Tom Comey declared Tuesday that there is no "wolf pack" roaming the streets, saying instead the incidents were better described as "a mutual fight."

Did you see the updated Jersey Journal story?

Not that it by any means makes it ok to beat up on other kids, but that was no wolf pack -- it's two groups of kids who got in a fight. Both seem to have started something with the other group, so I wouldn't say all they're quite harmless.

just watched the Fox 5 Video. i feel sick to my stomach. what a bunch of pussies those kids must be, running around beating up harmless kids.

i hope they are walking in a "pack" this weekend, and a bus conveniently doesn't see them crossing the street.

"In my day our fists were all the protection we needed, you won some and you lost some, but you lived....you lived to fight another day."

oh man.. what a bunch of losers. They better start picking on the elderly.

Here is the full article:

Police chief: No wolf pack, just fighting teens
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

"There is no wolf pack," Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey howled yesterday during a news conference in which he took The Jersey Journal to task for what he characterized as a "misleading" headline and front page story in yesterday's paper.

The article told the tale of three individuals who filed separate police reports stating one was pistol-whipped, another stabbed, and the third knocked unconscious by a gaggle of warlike youth Friday night in the Journal Square and Heights sections of the city.

Teresa Giovine - a distraught mother of one of the victims - was quoted as saying, "We have to find these people and put them away so they can't keep doing this."

But her son, Comey said yesterday, participated in the fighting.

"He just had the misfortune of getting his butt kicked a second time," Comey said.

Reached yesterday, Giovine acknowledged her son was part of a group that fought and lost and then followed the winning "posse" back to their home turf and got beat again.

"My son is a little disabled and tripped, and that's when they caught him," Giovine said. "Sometimes he just doesn't think fast enough."

Comey didn't dispute crimes had been committed. But he insisted the victims were hardly innocent bystanders.

"They might be charged as actors," Comey said. "This was a mutual fight."

The Jersey Journal's calls to the Jersey City Police Department on Monday for comment for the story on the three incidents had not been returned.

So far, Comey said yesterday, his department's investigation has found that two groups of youths began brawling Friday night around 8:30 p.m. at a carnival at Pershing Field in the Heights.

The victors then retreated to their home turf, Baldwin Avenue between Vroom and Academy streets, and the losing side regrouped and went to the area seeking revenge, Comey said. But they were beat down for a second time, Comey said.

Around 9:30 p.m., Giovine's 17-year-old son - an admitted member of the losing contingent - got knocked unconscious from a bottle smashed over his head, Comey said.

The losers began to run back to Pershing Field. But the winners chased them, and around 10 p.m. at Central and St. Paul's avenues, they pistol-whipped a fleeing 16-year-old, Comey said.

About 20 minutes later, a 19-year-old member of the twice-defeated group was stabbed in the back and left tricep at Manhattan and Summit avenues, Comey said.

Comey insisted the crimes would be investigated and arrests made. But he said he wanted to assure the public the crimes were not random acts.

Interesting that this turned into yet another example of where the details of the crime reported on the Journal (one can assume based on the victim's account) aren't exactly what happened. I'm confused though, as the new story mentions two incidents but the original story mentioned 3 'wolf pack' attack incidents.

-----

From the Jersey Journal news blog:

'No wolf pack,' Jersey City chief says

?There is no wolf pack,? Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey howled today during a news conference in which he took The Jersey Journal to task for what he characterized as a ?misleading? headline and front page story in today?s paper.

The article told the tale of three individuals who filed separate police reports stating one was pistol-whipped, another stabbed, and the third knocked unconscious by a gaggle of warlike youth Friday night in the Journal Square and Heights sections of the city.

Teresa Giovine ? a distraught mother of one of the victims ? was quoted as saying, ?We have to find these people and put them away so they can?t keep doing this.?

But her son, Comey said today, participated in the fighting.

?He just had the misfortune of getting his butt kicked a second time,? Comey said.

The Jersey Journal?s calls to the Jersey City Police Department for comment on the three incidents were not returned yesterday.

Reached today, Giovine acknowledged her son was part of a group that fought and lost and then followed the winning ?posse? back to their home turf and got beat again.

Ken Thorbourne

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edge, makes an excellent point. Does anyone know who the lead investigator is?

is there any relation with these wolf gangs to wolf gang puck? I mean.. he has knives readily available and all. anyone investigating this lead?

I caught some of my students watching this video stream on Fox 5's site today. Warning: It is not pretty.

Fox 5 Video

I didn't have Josh in class but helped him find where he was supposed to be during my hall duty. Another one of these victims is in my 1st Block. Here comes the warm weather . . .

The violence in JC needs to be addressed. I am ready for some Clockwork Orange type measures myself.

Downtown Jersey City is also very dangerous, I saw a kid get mugged and punched in the face the other day on Newark. I was in the bus, so I was powerless to stop them, because we were driving away.

Initiation my ass. Among civilzed people, initiations involve doing stupid things like standing on one leg for 15 minutes or whatever.

These kids should be found and sent to boot camp until they can learn to read and be productive members of society. BUT these liberal judges will set them free, allowing this cycle to continue.

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The Guardian Angels are too busy protecting Marco and Pepe customers to go after 'Wolf Packs'.

Who came up with this term "Wolf Pack'?

'WOLF PACK' ON RAMPAGE

Tuesday, April 03, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

3 attacks; police not talking

A Jersey City Heights woman whose son was brutally assaulted Friday night by a wolf pack of boys filed a police report yesterday and is pleading with residents to help police catch the juveniles before others are hurt.

"We have to find out who these people are and put them away so they can't keep doing this," said Teresa Giovina, whose 17-year-old son was attacked Friday night at Baldwin Avenue and Academy Street by the wolf pack. The group of thugs may be responsible for two other attacks less than an hour later in the Heights.

When police arrived at the scene they found the boy on the sidewalk, unconscious and bleeding from his head, police reports said. Police saw a large group traveling north on Baldwin, reports said.

Giovina said someone smashed a bottle over her son's head and began punching and kept hitting him even after he was unconscious. She said that when she filed the police report, detectives told her emergency medical technicians found her son unconscious and saw about 30 to 40 people running away.

The Graham Street boy was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center, where doctors used staples to close a gash across his head and released him in the early morning hours Saturday, Giovina said.

At the Jersey City Medical Center, the 17-year-old told police he was with friends at Baldwin and Academy and the next thing he knew he was waking up on a stretcher, reports said. He was treated for cuts and bruises to his face and head, as well as bruises on his body, reports said.

About 20 minutes after that attack, a 16-year-old boy was pistol whipped by a gang at Central and St. Paul's avenues, officials said. About 20 minutes later, at 10:20, a 19-year-old man was walking on Manhattan Avenue when the wolf pack began chasing him and stabbed him in the back and left triceps at Summit Avenue, police said.

Giovina said a number of people told her members of the wolf pack are from the Vroom Street area and said police told her there were additional wolf pack attacks in the area that night.

In July, the Jersey City Police Department said it was going on the offensive against wolf packs of young men who had been blamed for up to 20 incidents a week, ranging from muggings to vandalism.

Yesterday, police would not provide information on the effectiveness of the crackdown, nor would they say if there were other attacks Friday, or give information on the progress of that investigation.

It was just an initiation requirement to join the gang and the new recruits were looking for an easy target.

Then again these youths might have read JClist and thought they would get in early to qualify for one of those $40,000 job with the city! I wonder if there is a similar 'program' for victims who become disabled by these felons?

any chance they stabbed a guardian angel? i hate those pricks.