The country resembled a grim, statistical dart board on Saturday as law enforcement and media reported the deaths from various regions, including 26 in Ciudad Juarez, 13 in and around Mexico City and 10 in the city of Chihuahua.

More than 6,500 drug-related killings made 2009 the bloodiest year since President Felipe Calderon declared war on the cartels in late 2006 and deployed 45,000 soldiers to fight organized crime, according to death tallies by San Diego’s Trans-Border Institute.

Two weeks into 2010, gang bloodshed is becoming more grotesque as drug lords ramp up their attempts at intimidation. Last week a victim’s face was peeled from skull and sewn onto a soccer ball. On Monday, prosecutors in Culiacan identified the remains of a former police officer divided into two separate ice chests.
Using their so-called Narcobarometer, researchers at the University of Trans-Border Institute track and analyze murders in Mexico, hoping to find ways to quell the violence. Their tally? Over 20,000 murders since 2001, more than half in the past two years.

As Mexico tries to develop, the killings jeopardize its international reputation, said Larry Birns, director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs in Washington.

Melbourne: Two more teenage boys have been charged in relation to the alleged gang rape of two schoolgirls in a park in Melbourne’s north in October.

A 16-year-old from Broadmeadows has been charged with four counts of rape and a 17-year-old from Coolaroo with two counts of rape over the alleged attack in Roxburgh Park on October 24.

Two boys, a 15-year-old from Broadmeadows and 16-year-old from Meadow Heights, have already been charged.

The recently charged teens will face a Children’s Court this afternoon.

Police have alleged up to 10 boys could have been involved in the planned assault.

The alleged victims, both aged 15, were lured to the park after being followed from Broadmeadows railway station to a McDonald’s restaurant, police allege.

Source: http://www.theage.com.au

Source: Agencies

Five youths, aged 17 to 20, went on trial in the High Court on Tuesday for allegedly gang-raping the 17-year-old girl in the early hours of Boxing Day.

Muhammad Shafie Ahmad Abdullah, 19, Mohd Sadruddin Azman, 19, Lim Boon Tai, 20, Rishi Mohan, 17, and Mohamed Firdaus Roslan, 18, were in a Woodlands flat with the alleged victim when the incident took place.

The girl, now 18 years old, cannot be identified. She is known to one of the five accused.

At the time, Rishi was a student, Shafie and Lim were full-time national servicemen, while Sadruddin and Firdaus were waiting for their O-level results. All are Singaporeans except Rishi, a Malaysian who is a permanent resident here.

Each faces separate charges of rape and sexual assault, but the prosecution has applied for a joint trial as the offences were allegedly committed during the same incident – between 4am and 6am at the Woodlands flat belonging to Shafie’s parents.

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com

The two-hour gang rape happened last month outside the girl’s Richmond High School homecoming dance. Police said 10 males were suspected of taking part in the gang rape, while 20 others watched and did nothing, and some took photographs on their cell phones.

Police have arrested and charged six men, ranging in age from 15 to 21, in the Oct. 24 rape.

The unidentified 16-year-old witness told ABC’s KGO-TV, San Francisco, “I feel like I could have done something, but I don’t feel like I have any responsibility for anything that happened.”

Two other witnesses told KGO they didn’t call police because they didn’t want to be called snitches.

Salvador Rodriguez, initially arrested in the gang rape but later released for insufficient evidence, said he saw “crazy things” the night of the attack.

“They were kicking her in her head and they were beating her up,” he told KGO, “robbing her and ripping her clothes off. It’s something you can’t get out your mind.”

ABC said the victim is recovering at home. She is described by friends as a devout Christian who attended church three times a week and had been looking forward to the homecoming dance for weeks.

Because they are being charged as adults, each suspect could face life in prison if convicted.

Source: Agencies

Source: Agencies

According to an annual report released this week by Statistics Canada, the city recorded four homicides in 2008, resulting in a per-capita rate of 1.55 for every 100,000 residents — lower than the overall national rate of 1.83, and less than half the 2007 rate of 3.6.

The highest homicide rates in the country in 2008 were recorded in western metropolitan areas: Abbotsford-Mission, B.C. (4.71), Winnipeg (4.07), Regina (3.82), Edmonton (3.44), Kelowna, B.C. (3.43), Calgary (2.87) and Vancouver (2.37).

On a provincial level, the West remains the wildest part of the country. Manitoba’s overall rate was the highest, followed by Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C.

Prairie cities saw the highest rate of gun- and gang-related murders in the country, the report notes. But in terms of sheer numbers, Toronto led the pack, with 24 gang-related homicides and 50 homicides involving firearms.

A closer look at the numbers, however, reveals Calgary, with 16 gang-related deaths, had the highest rate in the country, based on its population. Winnipeg, with 12 firearm homicides, and Edmonton, with 16, recorded the highest gun-related murder rates among the country’s 10 biggest cities.

Vancouver, where gang killings have made international headlines, recorded 19 gang-related homicides and 29 gun-related murders. Montreal recorded 17 gang-related homicides and 14 homicides caused by guns.

A crime expert said Calgary’s numbers were likely the result of a one-time spike caused by outside gang members attempting to enter the local drug trade to cash in on the oil boom.

“It was drug trade-induced violence caused by new entrants going into the trade,” said Michael Chettleburgh, a nationally recognized gang expert and author.

“That has settled down because, even gangsters know, you can’t continue violence at that level and continue to make money.”

With a total of 611 homicides reported across Canada — 17 more than in 2007 — the national homicide rate increased by two per cent last year, according to the federal agency.

The increase was due almost entirely to deaths in Alberta and British Columbia, most of which were gang-related, its report states. Gangs were at the heart of almost one in four homicides.

Perhaps contrary to popular belief, the numbers show residents of large urban areas are at a slightly lower risk of dying by homicide than those living in rural areas or smaller cities, it adds.

A total of 22.9 million Canadians live in the 34 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) that form part of the annual statistics. The overall homicide rate within that large urban population was 1.8 for every 100,000 people in 2008 — while the rate among the 10.4 million people who live outside those areas was 2.0 for every 100,000 people.

“Homicide rates in CMAs declined seven per cent in 2008, while rates in areas outside CMAs increased 25 per cent. The increase in small urban and rural areas occurred mainly in Alberta and British Columbia,” the report says.

Guns were used in 200 homicides across the country last year — a 24 per cent increase since 2002.

Source: http://www.thestarphoenix.com

Five people have already been arrested, including three juveniles charged as adults with rape.

Police say they expect to make additional arrests in the case, the Contra Costa Times reports.

A sixth person remains in custody and may be charged later this week, authorities say, according to the Chronicle.

Police say the assailants, ranging in age from 15 to their early 20s, committed a “slew of crimes” against the girl, including raping her, beating her and stealing her jewelry.

The young men laughed and shot photos with cellphones as they took turns assaulting the girl, police said.

About 200 students, teachers and community leaders rallied outside the campus after school Wednesday to condemn the rape and to say they wanted people to know the crime was not representative of their campus, the Chronicle says.

“I am devastated,” said senior Norma Bautista, the Chronicle reports. “I’m here because I want everybody in Arizona, in New York, everywhere they are, (to know) that we are not criminals. We are the future leaders. I see people call us animals. Why don’t you look at those of us who are trying to make a change?”

Source: http://content.usatoday.com

Michael-Paul Hamblett-Sewell, 20, of Marlborough Road, Derby, was on trial for the murder of Kadeem Blackwood.

Gunman Callum Campbell, 19, of Osmaston Park Road, Derby, had already admitted murdering the teenager at Caxton Street recreation ground on 11 November 2008.

At Nottingham Crown Court, Hamblett-Sewell had denied ordering the killing.

The court heard Kadeem met rival gang members for a pre-arranged fight at the local park and, when he drew a knife, Campbell pulled out a sawn-off shotgun and shot him in the chest.

The prosecution said Hamblett-Sewell, who was described as a “general” in the A1 Crew gang, had ordered Campbell, who was a “lieutenant” in the group, to pull the trigger in revenge for a perceived insult to his family.

The jury was shown CCTV images of Hamblett-Sewell and Campbell outside an off-licence on the evening of the killing.

Campbell was wearing the purple bandana of the A1 Crew gang.

Two witnesses then saw them at a drive-through takeaway and one of them, Stuart Russell, said he agreed to drive them round the city.

Another witness, 17-year-old Jacob Freeman, told the court Campbell had approached him at the bowling alley and seemed to have been looking for Kadeem or someone who knew him.

Hamblett-Sewell admitted being at the scene but insisted he had been surprised that Campbell had brought a gun and had tried to stop the shooting.

He also claimed he had left the A1 Crew six months before the killing, but refused to name any other members in court.

Both will be sentenced at a later date.

‘Renounce gun crime’

Kadeem’s father, Steven Blackwood, said after the verdict: “It is my true hope that Kadeem’s death will not have been in vain and that the adults, children and young people within the Derby community and society at large will try and give out positive messages about how to conduct themselves on a daily basis, search out positive role models and stay out of trouble.
“The gang mentality needs to be curtailed and the young people within society need to re-educate themselves about how to get on with one another or how to address and deal with difficulties without the use of weapons and items that endanger the lives of individuals.

“Nobody else should lose his or her life through this type of action.”

The trial revealed a violent street-gang culture which had developed in parts of Derby.

It prompted an operation by the police and city authorities – described as the city’s “top priority” – which identified hundreds of local children with links to local gangs.

Derbyshire’s Assistant Chief Constable Peter Goodman said: “We will continue to target those people who carry and use guns, as well as anyone who harbours people connected to firearms or their weapons. They can expect to feel the police breathing down their necks.

“To all our communities I would implore them to stand side by side and renounce gun and gang related crime.

“There is a massive opportunity for people to learn a terrible lesson from all of this and make sure that we do all we can as parents, as friends, as neighbours and as leaders to prevent another young person’s life being wasted in such a fashion again.”

Hilary Jones, leader of Derby City Council, said: “There’s been a lot of work in the community and schools for kids that may have been on the edge of gangs to show them it’s not the way forward.”

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk