No gang presence

Cumberland Police are constantly watching for signs of gang activity or hate groups but so far there is limited evidence of any such activity in the Queen City.

[Liz Kirchner]

Ah Cumberland! Its steeples and hills. Its magnificent architecture and small-town neighborliness. Its haves and have nots.
In August, I bought a delightfully sooty little Georgian townhouse on Fulton Street where bells chimes, trains clank, and scrawny men with crowbars jimmy the locks on the sleeping houses.
Alarmed and BVD-clad dads charge out to chase the scrawny, crow-bar wielding men to the edges of inky black alleys returning home to alert our gallant Cumberland Boys in Blue who respond with,“Well, sir, we’re real busy right now. We got a burglary? But we sure will be out there just as soon as we can,” but who never materialize.
Sigh. How un-nerving and depressing it is then, this glowing report from pussy-footing Police that Cumberland is gang free, when the issue is not gangs of crowbar wielders, but of poverty, drug-abuse, and police presence and response.
Announcements like this merely stoke the sneaking suspicions of residents, both new and old, and prospective businesses that Cumberland city officials and police are in what appears to be a dysfunctional scramble to whitewash some profound and really mighty grubby public safety issues that only honest analysis by a progressive city government and rational fiscal decisions will fix.
Your neighbor,
Liz Kirchner

[Elmer Fudd]

Liz, you should have done your homework. It is no secret that Cumberland is one of the poorer and least educated areas of the state. The area is also home to 3 major prisons and you probably just moved there because you are cheap anyway. Buy a gun and quit whining.

[ooh]

heh heh he said you were cheap.

[you a dick]

ooh wrote:

heh heh he said you were cheap.

um... maybe citizens like you should stop being an jerkand help good people clean up cumberland cumberland deffinetly has a problem with gangs and it needs to be addressed.

[Are you guys nuts]

Cumberland Gangs?? This is insane, Cumberland is a sleepy Leave it to Beaver 60's feel town. Why don't you mention the fact that Baltimore has more poverty or even Montgomery county as a wealthy area has plenty of gangs. If there are gangs in Cumberland, they sure do a good job of blending in with the seniors and old ladies at the bus stops. Let's not be ignorants here, America as a whole has a drug problem, that is not a problem of economy but a social, moral and cultural issue. How you cope with it is starting with your own neighborhood no matter where you live, even in sleep and wonderful Cumberland, MD.

[Barbie]

There isnt no real gangs in cumberland come on now lets be foreal here.I mean cumberland is nothing like balitmore or new york the streets are a lot safer to walk here then anywhere else maybe a few thugs that steel or try to be tough and put on a good show i dont think it is anything to worry about.And maybe we should help cumberland and the kids,and teens stay of the streets there isnt anything for teens to do in the area.No dances,arcades, nothing fun lazer tag...so maybe we should do a little less of moving are mouths and workin on fixing the commuity!

[BDR]

The fact of the mater is that gangs, drugs, an crim are every where now in a small city like cumberland its more easily to hid such things becuase ignorent people such as your selfs block out the fact. I know for real there are gangs in cumberland but they arent as active as they would be in a big city with a more dense population...Like the one dude said 3 major prisons.. comon you know they famliys aint gona drive 100 miles or more everyday or every couple of days to see them no they gonna move as close as they can. An its no secret that drugs are around how do they get here Gang hustlers white,black,mexican,w/e they hear you just dont see them like you would if they had greater numbers...Get real people

[Cody]

There are confirmed Blood and Crip cells in Cumberland and Frostburg. The Bloods are more noted to be doing business around the College.

[craig]

Cody wrote:

There are confirmed Blood and Crip cells in Cumberland and Frostburg. The Bloods are more noted to be doing business around the College.

yeah rite im a blood im be all i can be straight from the burg peace

[just me]

I have lived in cumberland all my life and worked in the prison for 16 years.I started in jessup and transfered here when WCI opened in 96. I know gangs very well I deal whith them everyday. Whoever says cumberland has no gangs are just fooling themselves. thier are over 130 validated gang members in cumberland. DMI,bloods and crips have all made our so called leave it to beaver town home. open your eyes and stop fooling yourself. educate yourself and your children about gangs and realize cumberland is growing and not that sleepy little town we all enjoyed years ago.

[East Side]

Yes there are gangs! And they are recruiting! White washing the problem will not make it go away. You will be dealing with it, sooner or later. Take your pick, nip it now, or struggle later.

[westernmd]

Go to Rocky Gap in the summer. MS13 is everywhere. Gangs are everywhere. Meth Labs are in this area. We just don't see the evidence surface quite like you see in other areas.

http://www.cumberlandtalk.com

[West Side from Maryland]

If there are gangs in cumberland how are they making money,let me guess, I'll bet they are selling drugs to the old bags in the nursing homes.

[WesternMD]

Are you serious? Do you really believe there is no gangs in this area? This is a perfect place to lay low and make money. Sure we don't have the gang fights and shootings that big cities have. But don't be naive.

[West Side from Maryland]

The next time I see a bunch of teenagers knocking over trash cans in my neighborhood,I will call Homeland Security and let them know that there is gang activity going on in cumberland.

[WesternMD]

I guess you better. I guess we don't have the drugs in our area also. Thank goodness we don't have the big city crime exposure here. But once again, there are many little towns that have gang activity that naive citizens don't want to see. Chalk this up to one more.

[WesternMD]

Just a little note. A buddy of mine is in the C3I unit and they are trying to form a gang unit for this area due to the gang activity, gang symbols in town, and other evidence. It is here and if we start getting death row inmates up here, it's gonna get worse.

[West Side from Maryland]

There ain't no gangs up here.

[WesternMD]

And what do you have to prove what you are saying? It is here no matter what you say. The writing is on the wall. Literally! There has been gang symbols found in Cumberland. There is drug trafficking in this area. It is a VERY well known fact that MS13 quite often visits Rocky Gap in the summer. Face it buddy.

Peace!

[West Side from Maryland]

At the most around cumberland,the cops might have a shoot-out with a litterbug.