KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Vincent Jones has an answer as to why people join gangs.
“Well, first of all, being in a gang period is it's a sign of fear,” said Jones.
Jones is a mentor at the Safe Haven Empowerment House in East Knoxville. The organization works on keeping young people off of the streets and out of gangs.
“And we try to mentor them about life and how to handle the self out in public, how to carry yourself how to treat other people,” he said.
Spanish Version: Organización de Knoxville trabaja para acabar con la violencia de grupos criminales
At one point Jones was in a gang so he knows firsthand how they get started and why people join.
Another reason could be no attention in the home. So you go out in the streets and try to find someone to reach
The Knox County District Attorney Generals office announced Thursday Josh Beasley, a drug dealer who was just convicted on the intent to sell drugs in a drug-free school zone in Knoxville, was reported to be in the "Gangster Disciples." It formed in the Southside of Chicago in the 1960s, and it's not the only gang in our area.
The DA’s office said there are more than thirty identified gangs in Knox County, with more than 1500 identified gang members.
“There is a white supremacy gang and it's like it's swept under the rug here,” said Jones.
The biggest gang in the area is one that hardly makes headlines. With more than 230 members, the Aryan Nation, a white supremacist group, is the largest gang that has found a home in Knox County.
“The white supremacist groups commit the same crimes that the Bloods and Crips commit,” said Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen said in 2016. “It seems for some reason a lot of the cases we have with the white supremacist groups - they tend to plead their cases or admit their guilt or then to go away more quietly.”
Jones says the same way organizations can crackdown on gang violence in African American communities, the same can be done elsewhere.
“So they have to put more focus into finding out what's going on in it, instead of trying to find out what's going on in East Knoxville all the time,” said Jones.