But instead of weaning their kids from the gangs, their kids formed their own crews. Instead, what happened is they initiated some of their friends. An Oakland County survey Gibson completed in 1993 showed signs of 110 gangs in 20 communities. Gangstas chased down and severely beat a Waterford teen because he resisted joining their group. A Lake Orion junior high school kid who was arrested for burglarly told police he carried a sawed-off shotgun hidden in a pant leg of his baggy pants to school for two days.
Gangs know no gender.
When Gibson surveyed Oakland County gangs from 1992 to 1994, he found girl gangs in Auburn Hills, Madison Heights, Pontiac, Southfield and Waterford. Like their male counterparts, female gangstas wear gang colors, carry weapons and commit crimes. The only difference is in their initiation. There are no recent studies on the number of gangs in Metro Detroit or any known local or national statistics kept on gang-related crimes. But local police say gang violence appears to be declining in suburban Detroit.