Most of the people who leave gang life actually become ex-gang members, cutting all ties to their former street gangs. Others join the military but keep their gang ties active. Others may become gang parents; they see nothing wrong with the gang life and pass it along to their offspring. Several factors make analysis of the impact of age difficult to study. First, there is no nationally acceptable definition of a gang member. Often, the definition changes from jurisdiction to jurisdiction within a county or State. Some jurisdictions do not track gang members or street gangs, making it difficult to calculate the impact of gang-related crime. Research has noted a very young group of gang members who often will not follow the directions of the older, seasoned gang members. The article suggests the need for further research on whether the street gang population has been separated by age, polarized into a very young group and a middle aged group of gangsters. Figure