Portland Police Nix Gang Database. Due to Lack of White Gangs. Yes, Really…

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Anyone who lives near a city knows how much of a problem gangs are. If you’re downtown after dark, you could very well get caught in a crossfire between mental midgets who think it’s perfectly acceptable to murder somebody for wearing the wrong color. So, over the years, the authorities created resources to help catch these lead-slinging douchenuggets. But now, Portland is nixing their gang database. Because there aren’t enough white gangs on the list. Yes, really…

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Portland police will no longer maintain a database of suspected gang members, due to concerns that the vast majority of people with the gang label are racial minorities. Starting Oct. 15, the Portland Police Bureau will end the 20-year practice of issuing gang member designations, which police say can lead to “unintended consequences” and a lifelong stigma even for those who have given up the gang lifestyle. Officials intend to notify the approximately 300 people on the gang list that the bureau will purge all records related to the designations, The Oregonian reported. City officials and community activists had long urged the bureau to stop attaching the gang designation to criminal suspects, claiming the practice disproportionately impacted people of color. A review of police data by The Oregonian last year found that 81 percent of the “criminal gang affiliates” in Portland’s database were racial or ethnic minorities.

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