NationStates Jolt Archive

A man in a dark hoodie strode down the streets of the Bat Cave; a region of Molvin that had gained a bad reputation for drug dealing and drive-by shootings. Few cars drove down the neighborhood streets of the Bat Cave.

The man stroked an uzi hidden underneath his hoodie. He had just loaded it up with plenty of rounds, enough to take down a riot squad. The sound of tires screeching and an engine accelerating floated around the corner. A gold Honda spun around the street corner, with a man in a blue long-sleeve shirt riding shotgun. An AK-107 was in his hands.

The man on the street whipped out his uzi, and pumped 10 rounds into the car, before a parade of bullets blew into his chest. He crumpled to the ground, and was dead 10 seconds after the Honda disappeared from sight.

Drive-by shootings like this are quite common in Comatica, Molvin in particular. In this year, 31 percent of all deaths in Molvin are gang-related. This is a serious problem. Precautions have been taken to stop it, but this seems to provoke the gangs to fight even more. Are there any ideas on gang violence, and how to stop it?

Your nation is FULL of problems, isnt it?

in my opinon

gang related death and gangs in general are a serious problem. In Gothem City Protectorate we have many gang problems. We usually deal with them by bringing in the milatary. The Gangs take this as a real hint and violence stops for a period of time.

(1) What are your drug laws like? Are drugs legal? Is there high drug use/abuse?
(2) Are weapons legal? Are there regulations of any kind on weapons ownership and sale? Do you register weapons?
(3) Are there large groups of immigrants living in urban areas?
(4) Is there a distinct 'underpriveleged' class?

Sincerely,
Comissioner Ridell of the Wye City Watch

((OOC: First post O.o))

The nation of Aliana believes that education is the best weapon against gang violence. Providing extra funding to public schools in problem areas, or establishing public schools if none exist, will ensure that children will have other opportunities and options, instead of joining gangs. Police raids and even military actions are only temporary solutions- in order to permanently reduce the crime rate you should address the root of the problem.

-Jacob McCarson, Prime Minister of the Constitutional Republic of Aliania

((OOC: First post O.o))

The nation of Aliana believes that education is the best weapon against gang violence. Providing extra funding to public schools in problem areas, or establishing public schools if none exist, will ensure that children will have other opportunities and options, instead of joining gangs. Police raids and even military actions are only temporary solutions- in order to permanently reduce the crime rate you should address the root of the problem.

I beg to differ. The Kingdom of Weyr spends three trillion USD on education (http://nseconomy.thirdgeek.com/nseconomy.php?nation=Weyr) However, our crime rating is 'crippling'. Mainly, this is because we do not particularly care what anyone does, but that's besides the point.

Your nation is FULL of problems, isnt it?
Unfortunately, yes.




(1) What are your drug laws like? Are drugs legal? Is there high drug use/abuse?
(2) Are weapons legal? Are there regulations of any kind on weapons ownership and sale? Do you register weapons?
(3) Are there large groups of immigrants living in urban areas?
(4) Is there a distinct 'underpriveleged' class?

1) Drugs are not legal. Smoking regular tobbacco is, though. 1 out of every 5 teenagers aged 14-18 are estimated to try drugs and become addicts. If you are caught with possession of drugs, you can get a sentence ranging from probation to 2 years in jail, depending on quantity.
2) Weapons are not open to the general public, and you are not allowed to have them in public.
3) Immigrants scatter around the country, though they generally stay in the area where they came into port.
4) Inner-city people are very distinctly "underprivilaged, mostly because they do not want to go to school, or cannot make good choices because of their drug addictions.

Give the people some freedom, and the police some money.

Give the people some freedom, and the police some money.

Are you saying to legalize drugs? Because that would ultimately kill off my citizens.
And the police receive the most funding (I think), so that is not the problem.

4) Inner-city people are very distinctly "underprivileged, mostly because they do not want to go to school, or cannot make good choices because of their drug addictions.

Perhaps, then, putting money into programs that encourage children to stay in school would help solve the problem?

To the Kingdom of Weyr, Aliana acknowledges that you need laws to back up a strong education. If the government doesn't make an effort to stop crime, it won't stop on its own.

Are you saying to legalize drugs? Because that would ultimately kill off my citizens.
And the police receive the most funding (I think), so that is not the problem.

To cut the monetary supply line to the gangs, you must legalize drugs. If you refuse this, then a war on drugs, including educational reform, is your only other option. We advise an extensive anti-drug campaign; a boost in the border patrol, on land, sea, and air; and a war on drugs, consisting of special operations forces striking at the heart of the drug supply in addition to striking the actual gangs.

Perhaps, then, putting money into programs that encourage children to stay in school would help solve the problem?


That may work. I shall look into that.

Unfortunately, yes.
1) Drugs are not legal. Smoking regular tobbacco is, though. 1 out of every 5 teenagers aged 14-18 are estimated to try drugs and become addicts. If you are caught with possession of drugs, you can get a sentence ranging from probation to 2 years in jail, depending on quantity.

Legalise soft drugs like marijuana - drug dealing is, after all, the bread and butter of gangland activities and without the gateway drugs, they're not goig to get people onto the harder stuff. Plus you make a tidy profit selling them yourself. Not asking you to legalise heroin, just things like marijuana and natural hallucinogens, similar to the way alcohol is legal - you can take them, but you can't drive/operate machinery/whatever.


2) Weapons are not open to the general public, and you are not allowed to have them in public.
Allow people to buy weapons all they want, but institute registering and stringent tests before they are allowed a licence. Gangs charging protection money will lose out as who needs protecting when they've got a gun? Plus it takes away the gang prestige of owning a gun if you can buy them over the counter with your driver's licence.

3) Immigrants scatter around the country, though they generally stay in the area where they came into port.
Sorry, I can't help you with that one. We've always had a very strict policy on immigration so we've never had issues with large groups being moved into one area at once.

To cut the monetary supply line to the gangs, you must legalize drugs. If you refuse this, then a war on drugs, including educational reform, is your only other option. We advise an extensive anti-drug campaign; a boost in the border patrol, on land, sea, and air; and a war on drugs, consisting of special operations forces striking at the heart of the drug supply in addition to striking the actual gangs.

Your advice is taken. Drugs is not that of serious concern right now, but it should be.

Legalise soft drugs like marijuana - drug dealing is, after all, the bread and butter of gangland activities and without the gateway drugs, they're not goig to get people onto the harder stuff. Plus you make a tidy profit selling them yourself. Not asking you to legalise heroin, just things like marijuana and natural hallucinogens, similar to the way alcohol is legal - you can take them, but you can't drive/operate machinery/whatever.



Allow people to buy weapons all they want, but institute registering and stringent tests before they are allowed a licence. Gangs charging protection money will lose out as who needs protecting when they've got a gun? Plus it takes away the gang prestige of owning a gun if you can buy them over the counter with your driver's licence.


Sorry, I can't help you with that one. We've always had a very strict policy on immigration so we've never had issues with large groups being moved into one area at once.
You make a very good point.

I agree with the others here recommending the legalization of some drugs. The money you put into drug wars now could be better spent on addict rehabilitation programs and educating children about drugs and their potentially harmful effects. Plus, as others have said, a legal drug is one less product a gang can sell at a huge profit.

I'd suggest boosting education funding in inner-city areas. Legalizing drugs and selling them at-cost has greately reduced the income of underground groups operating within Weyr. This will also increase the amount of money addicts have in their pockets, and stop them from going out to kill or mug others for cash that they would spend to buy drugs and fund gangs. You can buy a pound of quality cocaine in Weyr for ten dollars, and no underground organization bothers to deal with it. Granted, out addiction rates are quite high, but we've become quite expert at rehab over the years, so it works out......

We've managed to make a tidy profit selling drugs, rather than selling them at-cost, because only the government and large farming corporations have access to large swathes of land on which to grow them, and growing en-masse costs less in ratio than the dealer growing it in his garden. Sneaking into the farming facilities to steal it to sell wouldn't be a good idea as people can shoot trespassers on your land here, and, in the government-owned fields you're likely to be shot on sight for sneaking in.

The cost of growing in small amounts, or paying to have it sneaked past (very stringent) border control, or paying someone to risk death by sneaking into a dope farm to steal it means that to sell at our prices would be, for even the biggest dealer, selling at-loss.

I shall consider all of this.

Bumpedy bump