By Canadian Press

The unusual suspects: British Columbia’s middle-class gangs by the numbers

Aug 26, 2019 | 5:33 AM

SURREY, B.C. — Law enforcement in British Columbia report the gang landscape in the province is unlike any other because so many members are joining from the middle and upper classes. Here’s a look at some of the numbers as reported by Statistics Canada and the Mayor’s Task Force on Gang Violence Prevention in Surrey, B.C.

37: The percentage of homicides in B.C. that were linked or suspected to be linked to organized crime or street gangs in 2018.

32: The percentage by which the homicide rate rose in 2017 in B.C., the highest rate since 2009.

47: The percentage of all gang-related homicides in Canada that occurred in British Columbia and Alberta in 2017.

53: The percentage of B.C.’s 2017 homicides involving firearms.

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68: The percentage of B.C.’s 2017 homicides involving firearms that were known or suspected to be gang-related.

46: The number B.C.’s 2017 homicides with a nexus to organized crime.

40: The percentage of individuals involved in the 2014-16 gang conflict that Surrey RCMP say had been exposed to some type of domestic violence in their upbringing either as victims or witnessing it in the home.

55: The percentage of gang-involved youth who reported their crime was motivated by a lack of parental supervision in a study of incarcerated youth in B.C. between 1998 and 2012.

36: The percentage of youth incarcerated for non-gang related crimes who say they were motivated by a lack of parental supervision in the same study.

91: The percentage of incarcerated gang-involved youth who say their crime was motivated by friends.

69: The percentage of youth incarcerated for non-gang related crimes who say they were motivated by friends.

69: The percentage of incarcerated gang-involved youth who reported their crime was motivated by status.

19: The percentage of youth incarcerated for non-gang related crimes who say they were motivated by status.

35: The percentage of incarcerated gang-involved youth who reported their crime was motivated by a sibling.

12: The percentage of youth incarcerated for non-gang related crimes who say they were motivated by a sibling.

51: The percentage of incarcerated gang-involved youth who say their crime was motivated by dropping out of school.

32: The percentage of youth incarcerated for non-gang related crimes who say their crime was motivated by dropping out of school.

The Canadian Press