Allegany County is located adjacent to Washington and Garrett counties and is bordered by Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. According to the 2000 census, the population is approximately 75,000 with 21,500 of those living in Cumberland. Most of the county is rural and gang activity is primarily in the city of Cumberland.
As in many jurisdictions in Maryland, gangs are an emerging problem in Allegany County, primarily in Cumberland. Police gather information from a variety of sources but it is hard to identify all of the gangs and gang members in the area and to get an accurate picture of how much gang-related crime exists. Gang information is often gathered as a supplemental to other investigations focusing on drug crimes.
Gangs in Cumberland are primarily Bloods and Crips organized into small sects with a total membership of approximately 40+ members. These gangs are dominantly African American and are involved in destruction of property, assaults and drug sales. These gangs include the Rollin 90’s Neighborhood Crips, South Side Soldiers, Queen City Kings and the Cumberland Gangstas. There is little Latino gang involvement; currently there are unconfirmed reports of possible Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) presence in the area. The Latino population is small but there are a growing number of Latinos working in orchards and poultry farms in surrounding areas. There are also possibly a small number of local neighborhood gangs.
If a parent is concerned about a child as potentially being involved in gangs, the first resource is the child’s school counselor or pupil personnel worker. For a list of school telephone numbers, please consult list of schools
.