Native gangs, long a problem in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, are spreading throughout Canada, according to law enforcement officials and experts.

The gangs are exploiting poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunity among Native people who live on and off reserves. They are going after youth and women, according to one expert, who said Native gang violence has reached "epidemic levels" in some areas.

A government report from 2005 said the Native gangs weren't as "sophisticated" as Asian, motorcycle, Eastern European and Italian gangs. But the RCMP officer in charge of Native gangs says that has changed recently.

"They are certainly increasing in numbers and becoming more sophisticated in how they do business," Sgt. Merle Carpenter of the RCMP National Aboriginal Policing Services told the Canadian Press.

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Native gangs spreading across Canada (CP 3/16)

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