Reasons for Greater Gang Prevalence in Some Schools

Demographic Characteristics

Significant differences appear in the age and race/ethnicity of students reporting gangs in schools. The percentage of students reporting gang presence in their schools increased considerably with age (see table 3): 26 and 34 percent of students ages 12 and 13, respectively, reported gang presence, compared with an average of 41 percent for students ages 14-19. More than one-fourth (26 percent) of 12-year-olds reported gangs in their schools, and more than one-third of 13-year-olds and 40 percent of 14-year-olds reported gangs. Fifteen-year-olds were most likely to report gangs (43 percent) (excluding 19-year-olds, for whom the number of surveyed students was very small).

Table 4 shows that consideration of gang criminal involvement (violence, drug sales, and carrying guns, as measured by the gang crime scale) changes how students of different ages perceive gangs in school. On average, 31 percent of the students reported that the gangs in their schools were not involved in any of the three specified criminal activities. Of the 12-year-old students, 43 percent said that the gangs in their schools were not involved in any of the three types of criminal activity. The proportion decreased each year up to age 16, at which only 26 percent of the students said that the gangs in their schools were not involved in criminal activities. At age 17, the proportion rose to 31 percent; at age 19, it fell to a low of 25 percent.

Table 4 also shows the average percentage of students reporting criminal involvement of gangs at their school. About two-thirds of the students reported gang involvement in one or more of the three specified types of criminal activities. Students ages 15 and 17 reported the highest percentage of gangs involved in all three types of criminal activities (11 and 12 percent, respectively). However, the largest percentage (40 percent) of the students reported gang involvement in one type of criminal activity; one in five students (21 percent) reported gang involvement in two types of criminal activities; and only 8 percent of the surveyed students reported gang involvement in all three types of criminal activities. Thus, only a small fraction of gangs appears to be highly active in all three types of crimes.

The percentage of white, black, and Hispanic students who reported gangs in their schools in 1995 varied significantly. According to the gang presence scale, 61 percent of Hispanic students reported gangs, compared with 44 percent of black students and 33 percent of white students. There was no significant difference between the percentages of males (38 percent) and females (37 percent) reporting gangs in schools.

Population Size

Table 5 shows the percentage of students who indicated gang presence in school according to the population size of their community. As expected, the presence of gangs in schools increases with the size of the community, up to 50,000. The response from students living in areas with populations of 50,000 or larger did not vary greatly (from 51 percent to 54 percent of these students reported gangs). The highest percentages of student reports of gangs were not in the most populated areas but rather in areas with populations between 100,000 and 249,999 (54 percent), followed closely by areas with populations between 250,000 and 999,999 (53 percent). Students in areas with populations of 1 million or more were slightly less likely to report gangs (51 percent). Even in the smallest jurisdictions (populations smaller than 1,000), 23 percent of students reported gangs in their schools.

Urban and rural areas were compared using the composite measure of gang presence. One-quarter (25 percent) of students attending schools in rural areas reported gangs in their schools, compared with 43 percent of students in all urban areas. In another population comparison, 51 percent of students in schools within central cities of metropolitan statistical areas (MSA's) reported gangs, in contrast with 36 percent of students in suburban areas of MSA's and 27 percent of students outside MSA's. These population patterns are consistent with the findings of the National Youth Gang Survey (National Youth Gang Center, 1999a and b).

Household Income

Gang presence varied significantly with household income. At the lowest income level (less than $7,500), the largest percentage (47 percent) of students reported gangs in their schools (see table 6). As expected, as income level increased, reported gang presence decreased. However, reports of gang presence were fairly evenly distributed across households with income levels of $12,500 to more than $50,000. This finding is not surprising, given the pervasive presence of gangs in schools.

Drug Availability

Students were asked whether "it is easy, hard, or impossible to get" drugs (including alcohol, marijuana, crack, other forms of cocaine, uppers/downers, LSD, PCP, heroin, and other illegal drugs) at school.³ Table 7 shows the percentage of students who reported gangs in relation to the number of drugs they said were readily available at school. Where none of the drugs was easy to get, only 25 percent of surveyed students said gangs were present. This percentage increased from 42 percent when only one drug was readily available to 69 percent when seven drugs were readily available, and then dropped slightly when eight or nine drugs were readily available. Thus, gangs were significantly more prevalent when a large number of drugs were easy to get at school.

Security Steps

This study examined whether gang presence was related to general school security measures. Students were asked whether their school had:

• Security guards.
  
• Other school staff supervising the hallway.
  
• Metal detectors.
  
• Locked doors during the day.
  
• A requirement that visitors sign in.
  
• Locker checks.

Interpretation of these results is difficult. When more security measures are used in schools, gangs are significantly more prevalent. These data may indicate that more security measures are employed for protection in response to gang presence and other security risks. However, many of the security measures may not be implemented effectively (see Gottfredson and Gottfredson, 1999) and thus may not be particularly effective in curbing gang activity in schools.

Victimization Prevalence

A victimization prevalence measure was developed using student responses to the following three survey questions:

• During the past 6 months, did anyone take money or things directly from you by force, weapons, or threats at school?
  
• During the last 6 months, did anyone steal something from your desk, locker, or some other place at school (other than any incidents just mentioned)?
  
• Other than the incidents just mentioned, did anyone physically attack you at school during the last 6 months?

Public or Private School

Using the composite measure of gang presence revealed that the type of school made a significant difference with respect to gang presence. Almost 40 percent of students in public schools reported that gangs were present, compared with 16 percent in private schools. Students also were asked if they were "assigned" to the school they attended or if they "chose" that school. Surprisingly, students who chose the school they attended reported significantly more gang presence (47 percent compared with 39 percent).

Summary

These analyses indicate that, when a comprehensive measure of gang presence was used, all of the attributes of persons (except gender) and schools that were examined predicted gang prevalence in schools. Hispanic and black 15-year-olds from low-income households reported the highest prevalence of gangs in school. These students were most likely to attend public schools that were located within central cities of MSA's with populations between 100,000 and 1 million and characterized by high levels of student victimization, numerous security measures, and a large number of readily available drugs.

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Youth Gangs in Schools	Juvenile Justice Bulletin • August 2000