The popular view of the media and many law enforcement agencies is that street gangs are ideally structured for drug trafficking, regularly engage in such trafficking using the gang structure and personnel, and frequently use violence to protect their drug trafficking enterprise. Research to date, however, including the authors' survey of police departments in the Nation's 100 largest cities, does not support these popular views. Research findings do not find a consistent or strong link between street gangs and crack sales. Gangs may or may not be involved in crack trafficking, and crack sales occur with and without gang organization and participation. Drug gangs have evolved around crack sales, but not in the majority of cities. All possible combinations have been documented. These findings suggest that enforcement and prevention efforts against street gangs and crack trafficking cannot be combined. Further, recommendations that national or regional gang enforcement task forces be established to counter gangs seems premature. Evidence to date shows that gangs and gang activity differ between and within cities. Local strategies tailored to local gang and crack-trafficking manifestations appear more appropriate. The authors propose additional related research topics. 44 references