Seattle Crime Reports : Seattle Crime Blog : Seattle, Washington

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That Northwest Gangs website that The Apprentice wrote about over the weekend? Well its founder Brad has also got a Northwest Gangs MySpace page, offering a much more personal look at the criminal world on than it's static website counterpart.

While the website offers mostly factual information, the MySpace is complete with tidbits about the author, a friends list that - judging by the profile pictures - includes at least a few gang-affiliated youths, and even some blog entries. Worth noting is the post titled Fallen Homies of 2008, originally published on February 12 (though updated since), which offers up a list of gang-related locals who've died so far this year.

Less than 3 months, and the list already includes 8 names. Some of them we've heard the local dailies repeatedly associated with Seattle's gang problem - Allen Joplin (aka "Ali"), DeChe Morrison (aka "Little Streets") - while others haven't been graced with as prominent coverage.

A rundown of the data Brad presents:

• The first killing happened on New Years Day, while the most recent was this past Sunday
• 5 of the 8 deaths were in Seattle; 1 was in Grandview; 1 was in Tukwila; and 1 was in Medford, Oregon
• 6 of the 8 victims died after being shot by someone else; the remaining 2 committed suicide
• Of the 6 murders, only 1 - that of Perry Henderson, gunned down on January 26 - has so far resulted in an arrest.

There are only two comments on the post, but one of them - from a local 23-year-old woman - sums this depress-fest up most succinctly:

These streets ain't no joke so I suggest ya stay away from em. Unless yu wanna be another R.I.P. It's only bout ta be March and I cant believe how many niggas that I kno been murdered. This shit is heavy...

You said it, sister.

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It seems gangbangers have graduated to the Internet age.

There's a story in the P-I today about Northwest Gangs, an online database of local street gangs and their members. The site started as a personal project of a Yakima native, and has since grown into a comprehensive sociological profile at gang members in the Northwest. 

Apparently, the guy who runs the site gets information on gangs from concerned parents, school officials...and the gang members themselves:

Through word of mouth, the Seattle-based Northwest Gangs Web site has become a resource for parents and school officials, even detectives seeking information. Some police officers, however, worry that it gives gang members sought-after hype that could help them recruit young teens, as well as a forum to threaten each other.

There's a lot of controversy surrounding this one, as some argue the site only works to glorify these street thugs, but I see a different problem here: why does "Brad" from Yakima have more credible and comprehensive information on gang members then the friggin' police departments in the area?

I'm sure they will argue that their information simply is not public, but come on. When a security guard has a better relationship with concerned community members than those sworn to protect and serve, we've got issues.

Sites like this may do some harm by essentially giving a badge of honor to the punks who sully our streets, but at least "Brad" is taking a grassroots, proactive approach to the problem. The gang issue in Seattle is getting worse.  At least people like "Brad" aren't ignoring it.