Tag Archives: territory

Crime, News

Google Mapping Seattle Gangs, or “Surf & Turf”

What a lifesaver! It’s one thing to Google map things like Seattle gas stations, but how much more useful to know that you’re venturing into the territory of the Deuce 8, 74 Hoover Criminals, or South Side Locos 13!

The updated map of Seattle gang territory does come with a disclaimer:

The Seattle gang territory map gives a rough estimate of where certain gangs hang out and operate. By no means are the gangs listed here bounded by the colored area. Seattle gangs are very transient and often are allies with other gangs, therefore it is common to find gangs outside of their so-called area.

Still, it’s gotten more than 35,000 views since April 2011, and you wonder whether this may help in reducing gang tensions, since it’s easier not to wander into another gang’s territory by mistake: “‘Fight on sight’ gang war menaces South King County.”

So many of us are lost without our smart phone GPS these days, I find it hard to believe gang members are any different. If only we could turn real-world turf disputes into an online flame war, as occurs in Wikipedia entries. E-bullets, people. Think about it.

Mapper “Brad” also maintains a gang site detailing the activities and proclivities of Northwest gangs. You may find it troubling to learn that he’s assembled “listings of several hundred different gangs throughout the Northwest,” which can be “as small as 3 or 4 members, to upwards of several hundred members.” The Seattle Weekly spoke with him about his foray into cultural anthropology. In their interview, you learn the secret to 3rd & Pine:

SW: The area at 3rd and Pine is notorious–tell me about the two gangs that are active there according to your map?

I don’t know why, but it has always been a Blood area. It does fluctuate when people get arrested or some people get harassed by cops for selling drugs and get pushed off the corner. But those two [Valley Hood Piru and West Side Street Mobb] are the gangs that dominate that area. I’ve been told gangs will come in from outside areas, they’ll come from the CD and west side to do drug dealing downtown where they make the most profit. That’s like their day job, working at Third and Pike.

 

Environment, News

Crows Know Where You Live, Never Forget a Face

Crows. It’s not your imagination. They are out to get you. Or at least, scare you off.

It’s that time of year when territorial crows are looking out for their young, and feeling ill-tempered enough to take a dive at just about anyone who comes to close to the nest or their crow babies. Joggers. Ballard residents. Even cops. Like bullies on a corner, these birds do not care about your health, Scandinavian family tree, or badge–unless it’s very shiny.

Part of the human-crow elbow-room issue could be due to population pressures (I speculate). Seattle’s crow population seems to have grown “exponentially” between 1970 and 2000, according to one survey. Thereafter, it seems to have reached a plateau, and if that’s true, it could indicate maximum-crows-per-square-inch, meaning territory is at a premium, and crows may be forced to nest in areas that are more public than they’d prefer.

No matter how you look at it, there’s a lot of crows out there. The Seattle Audubon Society counted “18,180 American crows in the greater Seattle area” in 2009.

And if you’ve ever upset one of them, you’ve upset a lot of them. Seattle’s crow whisperer, the University of Washington’s John Marzluff, has studied how crows specifically remember a threatening face, and transmit that information to other crows.

When a crow loudly scolds you, it’s also calling to others to note the threat. Any crows in the area will join in harassing you out of the vicinity. Marzluff says the do-not-disturb zone is some 330 feet. But even afterwards, through the power of social networks, any of those crows will recognize you as a threat, and pass along that information to crows nearby:

“Our study shows the memory lasts at least five years and counting,” Marzluff said. “Individual crows that are adults can live 15-40 years in the wild (most die when young, but those that make it to adulthood can live a long time) and they probably remember important associations they have formed for much of their lives.”

They are the eye in the sky, looking at you. They can probably read your mind. For a good example of what scolding crows sound like, here’s “When Crows Attack.”