> I don't understand why governments don't just crack down hard on anyone affiliated with gangs. The difficulty with this suggestion is defining a "gang" and d

> I don't understand why governments don't just crack down hard on anyone affiliated with gangs. The difficulty with this suggestion is defining a "gang" and defining cracking down "hard". First there are moral questions... If a single person does something bad, would that implicate an otherwise peaceful gang? If a group has an aggressive self-image, but is never violent or breaks the law, should you crack down hard? Second, there are practical issues: it's often difficult to find everyone that's part of a "gang". Also, because of their size and organization, they often have out-sized influence and likely have protection from within the system.