NCJ Number
164728
Date Published
August 1997
Length
53 pages
Annotation
Surveys were mailed to 4,120 local police and sheriff departments across the United States to determine whether youth gangs in their jurisdictions were active in 1995, whether youth gangs had been active prior to 1995, the number of youth gangs and youth gang members in 1995, the involvement of youth gang members in homicides, responses in place to deal with youth gangs, and whether jurisdictions felt they could assess the current youth gang situation.
Abstract
Of the 4,120 agencies surveyed, 3,440 or 83 percent responded. More than 2,000 agencies reported or estimated a total of 23,388 youth gangs and 664,906 active youth gang members in their jurisdictions during 1995. Of agencies reporting gang problems, 90 percent felt the gang problem would stay the same or become worse. More than 50 percent of agencies reporting youth gang problems specially allocated personnel in response, and 63 percent of police departments and 48 percent of sheriff departments reporting youth gang problems created an organizational entity such as a gang unit. Researchers concluded that no jurisdiction was free of gangs and that youth gangs were emerging in new localities, especially smaller and rural communities. Data on youth gang member involvement in homicides are still being analyzed. Appendixes contain additional information on Uniform Crime Reporting regions and divisions and city and county law enforcement agencies reporting gangs, along with the youth gang survey form. 9 tables and 22 figures