New Gods of North America.

Chapter 587 Classification
That evening, in the "archives room" that Lina had created,

Wayne, Inessa, Doug, Willie, and "Soften" sat together listening to Lina's work summary for the past few days.

Lina and her team haven't been investigating for very long yet; they've mainly obtained information through interviews and inquiries, and are still largely in the "hearsay" stage.

However, when enough superficial information is gathered together, and after filtering and sorting, some basic outlines can be sketched out.

"Based on what we know so far, there are at least nineteen organizations in the dock area that can be considered 'gangs'."

"In my own opinion, I roughly divide them into three categories: those that mainly operate on 'funding', those that mainly operate on 'plunder', and those that are loosely clustered together."

“Like James, who came here today, his gang’s income comes from collecting loans for bankers, which means they operate on ‘funding’; while the ‘Sailors’ Gang’ he mentioned, in addition to collecting loans for bankers, also forcibly charges dockworkers extra entrance fees, which means they are predatory or a hybrid type. The rest are loose gangs, which may be from the same hometown or friends, or just some thugs who often hang out together.”

"However, these are just my own rough classifications. For example, there are two 'predatory' gangs that are actually spontaneously organized by some laborers. They will pay for the wages and medical expenses of those who are willing to resist the gangs, or raise money to support the widows and children of those people. The source of funds is indeed 'head fees for ordinary people,' but they have no ill intentions towards outsiders."

The situation in the dock area was indeed somewhat chaotic, with high mobility and a large influx of laborers from various places and countries arriving by ship and transport.
Today, the role of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is to provide legally arriving free citizens with a "legal status," allowing them to maintain their existing status or be more easily accepted by the local community.

There's a bug here that can be exploited—if some people don't have any ambition to "rise up" or have no intention of integrating into "civilized society," and simply come to America to seek refuge with "fellow countrymen" or "relatives," and can find a source of income solely through existing relationships, then customs in this day and age is meaningless to them.

—I'm just here to do illegal work. I don't have money or need legal status to buy houses or land, and I don't even have to stay in Richmond or this crappy place in America for the rest of my life. I don't care about any of that stuff.

Unfortunately, the United States was experiencing a general labor shortage at the time. While ordinary citizens might not welcome these foreign workers who would compete with them for jobs, some needs simply could not be replaced.

This situation has led to Richmond's city council having little incentive to manage this population in the dock area. The lack of law enforcement is tantamount to a breeding ground for crime, and then the law of the jungle comes into play, and life will find its own way out.

Lina briefly described the nineteen known gangs, ranging in size and function, some "full-time" and some "part-time," with varying profit models.
Wayne looked down at the Richmond map in his hand, trying to find a breakthrough:
"According to your classification, Lina, those 'predatory' gangs, whether they are organized by gangsters who force fees or by the public who voluntarily contribute, ultimately all have their own general areas of operation, right?"

"of course."

Lina nodded, then turned around like a teacher, pointing with a thin stick at the Richmond map hanging on the wall next to her. "For example, the 'Sailors' Gang' is currently mainly active around these docks. There are more than one gang similar to them. Basically, apart from the docks used by the military and some large merchant guilds, there is at least one gang in every other dock in the dock area."

"Is there a detailed corresponding distribution?" Inessa asked.

“We only have a general understanding of the situation for now. Because the ‘gang affiliation’ of many docks is dynamic, there have been some changes in just the two weeks we have been investigating.”

As Lina spoke, she pointed at "Softening" with her "teaching pointer," saying, "Later, you'll make a power distribution map and update it monthly for everyone's convenience." "Softening" quickly nodded. By this time, Teacher Lina had already taught about two classes and was probably thinking of replacing her: "That's the basic situation. Does anyone have any questions?"

Willie was the first to raise his hand. "Based on the evidence I have, people tend to hate the gangs the most for collecting loans for bankers or local businessmen—the 'funding' type, as I mentioned earlier. They don't seem to have a specific area of ​​operation?"

Teacher Lina replied, "Actually, there are some. However, they are not as regional as 'predatory' gangs; they often target specific individuals. Some gangs that survive by collecting 'brokerage fees' or 'management fees' seem to allow debt collection gangs to enter temporarily."

Willie thought for a moment, then looked at his three partners in turn, seeking their opinions. "It sounds like the larger gangs are all 'funding' types of gangs. Most of the cases I have with witnesses seem to fall into this category as well. If you all have no objections, then I'll continue to prosecute these gang members with whom we currently have evidence, together with the prosecutor?"

All eyes then turned to Wayne, who was deep in thought when he saw "Soften" silently lower his head. So he asked him, "'Soften,' what are your thoughts?"

"Softening" seemed surprised to be called out at this moment, and answered honestly:

"I support the partners' decisions. However, over this period of time, the witnesses who helped testify in court have been suspected of being retaliated against three times. Two petty thugs who attempted to break in at night were sent to the police station, but they both said they were only trying to steal. One person received a threatening letter with an unclear meaning, which was thrown into his house through a broken window with a stone wrapped around it. Another person's door was splashed with rotten animal blood late at night."

“I’m a little worried that if the number of people we’re protecting continues to increase, it might be difficult to ensure their safety with just the few of us here.”

Holy crap, all the gangsters Willie has actually prosecuted so far are James Damody's henchmen.
That Jimmy guy seemed so timid and submissive in front of me, but when it came to dealing with ordinary people, he was ruthless...

Of course, it's also possible that the banker behind him is behind it all.

Wayne remained silent for a while, trying to piece together the information he already had:
"Let's take it one step at a time. For now, let's focus on those 'predatory' gangs that have territory. Willie, you shouldn't prosecute that James Damody gang member for the time being; put them on the back burner."

"My personal guess is that the reporting rate for 'predatory' gangs is lower than that for 'funding' gangs because they tend to use gang methods to solve problems and have little hope for the law. Ordinary people targeted by debt-collecting gangs may have no effective means of resistance in their local area, which is why their relatives and friends choose to testify in court as their last hope."

“We should still be able to find witnesses in those gangs that can spontaneously resist the gangs. Considering the need for gangs to fight for territory, there might actually be more people in the gangs willing to help us testify in court. And because they will have the protection of their comrades, the safety of the witnesses is more guaranteed, which can also reduce our workload.”

Willie nodded quickly, and then Wayne turned his gaze to the "softened" one.

“Go and tell James Damody that if any of the previous witnesses get into trouble, I don’t care who did it, all the gang members who have done bad things will be executed. In the future, we will notify them in the same way. Witnesses without a record will be given priority, and those with a record will be put on the back burner. If anyone gets into trouble after testifying, and it involves a gang, we will target that gang first.”

No wonder even the police don't want to get involved. Given the current state of affairs in this area, it might really be best to let the "gangs" handle it.

(End of this chapter)