Gang graffiti at Nadaka Nature Park 175th & NE Pacific, Gresham OR |
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Neighbors express frustration with the escalating situation.
With the arrival of spring comes a surge in graffiti vandalisim as area street gangs mark their turf.
When you mention the topic of gangs in Portland, most people think of Bloods and Crips, the overwhelmingly black gangs that arrived here in the late '80s. But that's all changed.
The Rise of Mexican Gangs
As the African-American gang problem has slowly been brought under control, its Hispanic counterpart has quietly grown. In the early '90s, African-American gang members outnumbered Hispanic gangsters in Oregon by a ratio of 9 to 1. Two decade later that ratio has reversed.