Obviously the nut does'nt fall far from the tree.These wannabes copy these examples of their parents,peers.Sad when revenge is a motive,and no guidance from "adult's".So now we the taxpayers will shoulder another load through courts,probation,(possible) jail time.Vicious cycle to be revisited again,again,again,etc.

I don't think these little wannabes would last very long running around the big city with their soiled Ecko Jeans sagging around their knees.
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Switchblades were sooo Westside Story... how about meat cleavers?

This is exactly the mess we are leaving to our children! Parents too wrapped up in their own DRAMA to give a damn about their own children. But quick enough to point to someone else's child when there is trouble.
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I don't know WHAT the answer is... I like the Alaskan floating hunk of ice though....
And give them EACH a meat cleaver! Gotta eat, ya know!!!

kscmomof2 I dont really think you stopped and read anything I wrote I think you take pieces of the article and then make of it what you want. The problem does start with the parent's both of them not just the woman, I thought I made that clear. The dead beat dad I have no respect for at all being a single father , I kno what it takes to raise kid's and it is a 24 hr a day job, the problem is most of these cases are kids having kids, not yet ready to commit to a full time job of raiseing children because they cant take care of thereselves yet let alone a child. So who suffers the child. Until we can instill values back into or kid's through education this problem will grow like a cancer and never stop.

Gang activity is very real and I believe it should be handled seriously by the police dept. However, some of the kids the police arrested are good kids and were not even involved in the gang related activity. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and the kids that were involved in the gang just walked away.

Do like the Native Americans in Alaska used to do: Drop them off in pairs on empty islands with a promise to return for them in two years ... give them a chance to gain self-esteem as they learn real survival skills, get a chance to grow up and get the heck out of our hair. Some of us have those meat cleavers too, ya know.

And in reality, if this isn't taken care of, our city will become worse. History has proven this to be true. Any community that was once industrialized and became desolate, becomes run down, and these types take over in a heart beat. It is like a vulture on roadkill.

DKUSH, I agree, but how do you suppose we do that? And where will they go? To someone else's city? Out of our sight, out of our mind? So it is some other city's problem, and not ours? This isn't as simple as 'getting them out of here'. It is a bit more in depth than that unfortunatly. I wish we could just say...enough~! Knock it off! We can, but it has to be in numbers! The community has to work together, not only the one's being directly effected. The ones that aren't being effected but are aware also need to be proactive and help your fellow citizens. Look at the forces taken when the deer were taken out because of a threat (CWD). Why can't there be that much energy put into taking out these threats?

Get them out of here! We don't need our city to get any worse than it is already.

hannah, nobody has ever said Janesville does not have gangs. There were informal gangs when I was a kid. It was once stated that Janesville's gang problem was not serious, but that isn't saying there are no gangs. Since that statement was made more troubling events have taken place and I know from personal conversation that from Chief Moore on down it is being taken seriously.

It's the infamous "Six Inch Meat Cleaver Gang". They've been around a long time. You don't want to mess with these kids. They use be known as "The Potato Peeler Gang" back when I was bangin'.

They are all PUNK WANNA-BE'S. And the sad part is they want to be so bad they will do anything. I hope lincoln hills and the adult prisons all have their names soon!! I dont mind my taxes paid out to shelter that low life scum as long as they are off the streets!!

realitycheckagain>>With all due respect violence will not solve violence. And an 'old school gang' wouldn't stand a chance. The 'old school gangs' weren't such cowards and dealt with things face to face. Gangs today are too big of cowards to normally face each other without weapons. Just look at drive by shooting, how big of cowards could there be?And please do not group all kids today using a phrase like kids nowadays. I've been a youth specialist for many years and I've worked with a diverse cross section of the youth today. Many are caring, sensitive and have a purpose in their life. Many make a positive impact on their peers, the adults in their lives and the world today. Many of the kids in gangs do not have positive role models in their lives. They have never been taught the key to being a responsible citizen. It is up to us--the adults to be the role models for those kids. Get involved. Volunteer at a youth center, be a mentor, be a Big Sister or Big Brother. Prevention is the key when it comes to dealing with gangs. Get to these kids BEFORE they get in the gang!!

does anyone know if the one kid who was severly beaten on Sat. night was ever taken to the hospital and what his condition is. This would be the fight that the victim and suspects had already disappeared before the police arrived. This young man could not even walk. His friends hid around the corner till the fight was over then they carried him away and the police were not able to find him to call an ambulance.

the gang activity in Janesville is very real. One of the gangs call themself "blood". The gang Mr. Kong is more than likely a member of. This name comes from a symbal they make with thier hands that spells out blood. What needs to happen is some old school gang needs to come in and bang some heads. These kids now days do not have a care in the world if they get arrested for a day or who's life they are messing up. The only thing on thier mind is payback and revenge.

It's all Obama's fault!! His left-wing, looney, liberal, gun control ideas are responsible for this mess! Meat cleavers....baa humbug! Whatever happened to good ol' pistolas?!

I take NO joy in saying this and I not going to say I told you so ! When I said back in Dec. 2007 that Janesville had a very bad drug and gang problem I was told I didn't know what I was talking about.If our school district and police department had really been up front about what was/is happening in schools and on the streets,would this be as bad as it is now ?Until parents,teachers police and anyone else that has daily contact with kids don't start giving a rats behind what really is happening this is what we are left with.In the end it's the kids that pay the price for adults that don't step- up and do the right thing.And don't tell me it's up to the kids parent to take care of the trouble makers... Remember your CHILD goes to school with them and by all accounts comes in contract with them outside of school one way or another.Keep turning away from the issuses and see how it works for you in the end.

KSCMOM...you have a very valid point. There are the exceptions to the rules, but statistically, the fact is, the majority of this behavior begins in a home without values/supervision...etc., which does tend to come from low income families that have a low self worth and feel as if they have been beat by the world. And as another poster said, most of the parents aren't all there when they conceive, but where does it begin? With that parent? Their parents? Their grandparents? The reality here is, there is a problem, and whatever the government has done to step on the toes of authority figures has definitely added to the problem. There is never an absolute prediction of how one will turn out, even the best intended parents can contribute to character flaws...i.e. over protective parents sometimes lead to rebellious teens...you just never know, parenting is a hands on job, and if us as parents can sleep peacefully at night knowing in OUR hearts we have done the best we can, that is all we can do. But there is no denying the fact that there are parents that can't claim to have a clear conscience.
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I also want to add, even though you are a church going person, as you stated, it is a known fact that many people who attend church are hypocrites. I am not saying you are by no means, I am just saying that many think that just because they attend that service on Sunday morning they are void of all wrong doing....no matter what they did the last six days. I am VERY spirtual, and lead a life full of faith, but I can tell you I have never HAD to attend a day in church as an adult to learn how to be a christian. Therefore, I tend to disagree with the people who tend to say.....GO TO CHURCH....it isn't the church that makes you whole, it is your heart and spirit, I just beg you remember to give yourself that credit! :)

Mr. Kong needs some serious "in facility" rehabilitation.

As far as the LK's....I know for a fact they are in Milton as well as Janesville....guess who is bringing all the drugs???? I know other gangs are as well, but I am just saying this from actual knowledge, I can't say with certainty of other gangs.

OMG! A meat cleaver?????? I didn't even know those things exsisted anymore! I guess it beats a gun! Hand, paper, meat cleaver....
If only we could see these rival fights being of those in the 60's and 70's. Duke it out, and move on. Such a shame of what our youth have become. And, yes, I am going to be cynical here, but thank you government for sticking your nose into our rights as parents, and allowing kids to have the upper hand! Really has turned out well don't you think? I tell you what, the kids in my home don't have the upper hand! And I will go to jail before they do, because a good ole case of red 'a$$' is given when needed!

The GD's (Gangster Disciples) and LK's (Latin Kings) have been in our area for quite awhile. When my husband was first out of college (16 years ago or so) he worked as a counselor at a half way house for juvenile deliquent males. EVERY boy who came through his program had an affliation with one of those 2 gangs.
BTW, it doesn't matter how you classify them. 'Wannabes' or 'real' gang members. Kids with a gang mentality will cause destruction and violence.

Last time I checked open carry was legal. Responsible adults in these gang areas can go out purchase a firearm, learn how to use it, learn laws and where you can legally carry it. And spend some time in the open with it. And if the community arming themselves doesn’t scare the “gangsters” away then maybe the police will put more effort into resolving the gang problem. It is your legal right as long as you are a law abiding citizen. You do not need to sit and wait for the police to protect you; you can take your community back. Of course this is just an opinion, I am not condoning violence in any form, and you need to make sure you do everything legally, and are not adding to the problem.

Cardtrader....I truly hope that you are not that ignorant. If you believe everything you initially wrote and are that judgemental, then I hope that you as well are not reproducing. Speaking from experience as a middle class college educated MARRIED woman, church goer, mother of 4....it's way more than whats at home (or the lack thereof). I have a child who was a precollegiate student; he made poor choices in friends and activities and eventually got into gang banging and marijuana use. In just 2 short years he got so involved that he has been shot at, in rehab, can't sleep at night, and struggles every day now with addiction while trying to get his life back on track. He HAD people to talk to, people who loved him, a church and home family who tried to support him....no crutches....these kids make choices for themselves. Some of parents try really damn hard to keep our kids on the right path and still, we feel as though we have failed, but ITS NOT ALL THE PARENTS FAULTS.

It's all fun and games till someone gets shot.My Mother-inlaw lives on Johnson and literally lives in fear of these thugs.No respect for themselves,so there is no respect for life,or property.One long hot summer to come.

This is funny...and sad...
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I believe this is about the 6th gang-related article I have responded to simply because people in Janesville refuse to believe it is a legit problem.
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It is real and if we don't continue to act now it will only get worse.

cardtrader,
"The biggest thing I see and hear are the excuses why parents cant be parents I have a job working 60 hours a week I'm tired or I'm working 2 jobs because
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my babys daddy left
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these are all crutches for not doing the job you took on when you became pregnant, or him when life all of a sudden jumped up and hit him."
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I agree with much of your point about crutches for parents not being parents. However, the single-mom trying because the "father" left should not be grouped with other parental crutches. That single-mom is trying the "father" is the one that should be targeted and jailed. I believe it is unfair to criticize the single-mom who has chosen not to leave and basically let the father off the hook.
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As a society we need to go after the dead-beats and make sure the single-moms get the help they need.
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Yes, some of them made horrible decisions to sleep with some loser but they are trying to make the best of it. The father shouldn't get off the hook so easily.
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I know this, I would not be as good of a parent without my wife. My kids would suffer if she decided to leave.
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Not sure how much of a crutch that is.

cubfan48, they may not be hardcore by big-city standards, but the gangs are real. I just hope this event is an outlier like the one at the YMCA about a year ago. Come sit on a porch in the Fourth Ward and you can watch the human parade. If two groups of young people meet at an intersection, there's a high probability of some drugs being exchanged. Until this incident I would have said that we were seeing a much quieter year than in the recent past.
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Based on graffiti, Gangster Disciples and Latin Kings -- or local affiliates -- seem to be the main gangs around here. Both are originally Chicago-based but have spread throughout the Midwest. The LKs were responsible for the very first gang graffiti known in Janesville about 20 years ago, actually. And we had "GDK" sprayed on our stop sign a while back: Gangster Disciple Killer. A pretty blunt territorial marker.
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I have heard occasional street references to "folks" and "peeps", the two broad gang families in the US.
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There's a list of known Janesville gangs, but it's about ten years old:
http://www.lafollette.wisc.edu/gangs/Jan...

are these kids really part of a gang or just a bunch of wanna-bees....do they even have a gang name?

yeah!!!....our gang is the United States...we the people!! We own nuclear bombs! Get out of Janesville if you are not part of this gang. lol

I thought they only had gangs in Beloit and Rockford?

Personally if I catch one more schmuck "tagging" a building with his GD or M12 crap designating their drug selling territory I may just pick up the cellphone and call the police. ;O)

Hey, Let's start a gang called the "Responsible American Citizens." Anybody who isn't one of us should watch out, we don't take kindly to this crap in our neighborhood.

Skiddz and cardtrader... great points! However, we now have tons of "parents" ( and I use the term loosely) who are screwed up before the day they conceived! How can they POSSIBLY be any kind of a role model? They should have given their children up for adoption to parents who could actually OFFER these kids a stable future. Losers!

It sounds like there were several White Boys involved in this. I wonder what the name of their "gang" is, something like "The Dumba****"?

The problem with these kids starts at home with parenting, and the crap they watch on t.v., Parents need to do there job and be apart of there kid's live's ask question's and do a little foot work like checking out some of the places there kid's are going to and with who they are going with. Meet the parent's of the other kid's and get phone numbers and address's. Watch for sign's of drug use blood shot eye's slurred speach mood swings, missing valueables , money missing , do some snooping around your kid's room look for hidden drugs or sign's of use. Do not let them have a computer in there room keep it out in the open like a front room or dining room be aware of what and who your kid's are with and doing. It is a 24 hour a day job. The biggest thing I see and hear are the excuses why parents cant be parents I have a job working 60 hours a week I'm tired or I'm working 2 jobs because my babys daddy left these are all crutches for not doing the job you took on when you became pregnant, or him when life all of a sudden jumped up and hit him. People just get involved in your kid's live's and talk and listen that is all some of these kid's need is someone to talk to.

Sad part is, they are probally back on the streets... Wish our justice system would serve justice. If your in a gang you should not be released to the public. To me its the same as you being a member of a terrorist group... It's true what are they here to do? NOTHING BUT scare and bring terror to everyone that lives by them.. And we ALL know that as soon as they are released over at the station they will be walking a couple blocks south and be right back where they left off.... So what good came of it??? KEEP EM POLICE CAUSE WE DONT WANT EM in our city

Thanks JVPD for getting the scum out of our neighborhood. Good job.

Now I know why the neighborhood was riddled with squad cars all day Monday. And why the gangbangers I saw ran like hell when they saw one. A meat cleaver?! Sheesh.