Thanks guest blogger and Baltimore Sun reporter Julie Bykowicz, an expert on juvenile crime, who attended a meeting on gangs last night:

The usual array of law enforcement officers gathered in West Baltimore last night to talk about gangs and youth violence. What's often missing from community meetings about kids is ... kids. This one was different. After local gang experts spouted interesting -- but predictable -- statistics (see below), two 17-year-old students at New Era Academy in South Baltimore stepped forward to share their experiences.
 
Soft-spoken Christian warned the crowd of about 100 in the University of Maryland BioPark auditorium that this was his first big speech. But his tale tumbled out easily: His brother, a gang member in New York City, "blessed" him into the Bloods just after he was born. Urged on by his brother, Christian grew up fighting to prove himself to the gang. After one tussle, his victim came back with his own gang and burned down Christian's house. He said that fight changed his life. Now he stays off the streets, keeping busy with programs like Community Law in Action, a group that prepares young people to be leaders.
 
Next up was Donovan, who, as a boy, watched his drug-addicted father regularly hauled away in handcuffs. He allowed that these early images of officers -- bad guys taking away Dad -- have left him unable to trust the police. Many of his relatives and friends are Crips. Gang members are everywhere, he said, adding that he resisted joining one because he likes to think for himself. To the community leaders in the room, he offered up his philosophy on gangs:
 
"Gangs are like an incurable disease. You need to let go of the 11th and 12th graders. The disease got them. Quarantine them. Get to the young ones before they get too sick."
 
Some Baltimore Gang Statistics:
 
* Number of students last year positively identified as gang members: 456. (Akil Hamm, Baltimore School Police)
* Number of identified gang members in Baltimore, the majority of whom are juveniles: 1,800. (Marlon Mosely, Baltimore Police Department)
* Of the dozens of gangs in Baltimore, number of "sets" of Bloods: 15. (Mosely)
* Since 2007, number of juvenile criminal cases involving members of a gang: 242 (Jennifer Rallo, Baltimore State's Attorney's Office)
* Number of those cases that were violent charges: 76 (Rallo)
* Number of concerned parents who showed up at an emergency meeting to discuss a major gang problem at a public school: 6 (Frank Clark, Department of Juvenile Services)
 
Last night's community meeting was hosted by Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia Jessamy as part of her fall community justice series on juvenile delinquency. The next meeting, focusing on resources available for kids and their families, will be held Nov. 12 at the BioPark auditorium.