In short, Mr. Weis’s strategy boiled down to this: launch a concentrated attack on street gangs by assembling a special force of 400 officers to work with residents in poor neighborhoods to pre-empt and reduce violence. The superintendent and his team faced an intriguing new challenge. Past crackdowns by the police had created a shifting landscape in the world of street gangs; as an older generation of gang leaders was put behind bars, the sociology of gangs changed, spawning fragmentation and turf wars. With no leadership to enforce discipline, once-petty arguments over dice games or girlfriends quickly escalated into violent and even fatal attacks, making enforcement particularly tough.
