I don't know about halloween, but gang activity is so pervasive I bet just about every kid in every school knows someone in a gang - probably a few and probably different gangs. If gangs were not prevalent in schools, I doubt this would have been formed in Philadelphia:

http://www.ppdonline.org/cmty/cmty_great.php

And this alone would prevent me from letting my daughter ride alone:

http://www.kyw1060.com/pages/1688400.php?

What is the westside of Philly like? Here there was a gang shooting outside a school:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmtpi/is_200701/ai_n17139959



>>The thing is, we had no fear of going into strange neighbourhoods and knocking on doors. Now you can't even do that safely on Halloween.
>
>Really? Is Halloween really more dangerous than it was, or do we just think so? Do you know anyone who ever got adulterated treats on Halloween, then or now?
>
>Now one thing has changed. When we were kids, only little kids trick or treated. By the time you were 13 or 14, you were done with that. The teens now go out as well, at least around here.
>
>Tamar