The study addressed a specific finding of a research project undertaken from 1992 through 1994. Data used in the study were derived from criminal histories (n=83) of identified gang leaders, as well as from personal interviews with those who agreed to participate (n=8). The face-to-face interviews were intended to obtain leaders' perceptions of gangs, their roles as leaders, and the organization of gangs. The analysis of the criminal histories showed that as of January 31, 1994, the 83 gang leaders had been arrested 834 times, for an average of 10 arrests per leader. Arrests were grouped into five mutually exclusive categories: violent, property, drug, miscellaneous, and weapon. Violent crimes accounted for the majority of the arrests (307), with a mean of 3.70 per leader. Property offenses constituted the second most frequent type of arrest (29 percent). Drug offenses, for which the gang leaders had been arrested 154 times, ranked third, and drug-related crimes ranked fourth (18 percent). The most alarming finding was the extremely low number of arrests for weapons offenses, given the priority that gang leaders gave to weapon carrying. From the interviews with the gang leaders, it was clear that there is an even closer connection between weapons and gangs than between gangs and drugs. 14 notes