What San Francisco Can Do About GangsJeff Adachibyline‚ Mar. 20‚ 2008San Francisco’s gang problem is not new. In the 1850s, the "Sydney Ducks," a gang of ex-cons from Australia, reportedly committed countless murders, robberies, assaults, and arsons in Sydney-Town, an area that encompassed much of today’s Financial District. A group called the “Committee of Vigilance” responded to the violence by conducting secret trials, lynchings, deportations, and summary executions. While the vigilantes were successful in driving out the criminal element, many innocent people were also misidentified and stereotyped as gang members. |