Gangs in America

• Over 2,000 law enforcement agencies reported that 23,388 youth gangs and 664,906 youth gang members were active in their jurisdictions in 1995. (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1997)
• There are approximately 100,000 gang members in the United States. (Mydans, 1992)
• Homicide arrest rates for 17-year-olds jumped 121 percent between 1985 and 1991 -- from 34.4 per 1000,000 to 76 per 100,000. Arrest rates among those age 15 and 16 grew even faster. (Teen Killers, 1992)
• The amount of crime one gang can produce is staggering. Seven percent of youth, mostly gang members, are responsible for 70 percent of juvenile crimes. (National School Safety Center, 1988).

Overview

The most notorious gangs are those in the impoverished sections of major cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. However, gang activity is certainly not limited to inner cities. Gangs can also be found in suburbs and rural communities and in communities of great socio-economic diversity. While it is true that most gangs form according to cultural ancestry and geographic boundaries, it is important to realize that a particular gang's behavior is not representative of its ethnic community.

In addition to black gangs (such as the well-known Crips and Bloods in Los Angeles), there are Hispanic gangs, white gangs (including, "stoner gangs," satanic cults, and others), immigrant gangs, and Asian gangs (NSSC, 1998). Recently, as a result of continued immigration and the desire to increase profits from drugs, many new gangs have formed with a hybrid of ethnicities (Stewart, 1989). In addition, some gangs are based solely on a shared hatred of a specific type of person.

What Effect Do Gangs Have?

Gangs tear apart our communities and disrupt our schools. Although most gang violence occurs between rival gangs of the same ethnic background, gang activity affects nearly everyone in the community in some personal way. In America's schools, gangs often create an environment of intimidation and fear that can make it all but impossible for students to learn. Gangs today are involved in a wide variety of crimes; their influence on the flow of crack and other drugs into our schools and communities has resulted in additional social problems.

Unfortunately, easy access to firearms has made the threat from gangs even greater. In the past, most disputes between gang members were solved with their fists; now they are often solved with handguns and semiautomatic weapons (Bing, 1989). Today there are over 200 million guns in the United States -- twice as many as in 1970 -- and many of those are in the hands of our 100,000 gang members (Jurgenson, 1992). In New York and other urban areas, the problem has become so great that high schools have been forced to spend vital educational resources on the installation of metal detectors in schools city-wide. Every two years in America, as many people are killed by handguns alone as were killed during the Vietnam War (Jurgenson, 1992).

The problems produced by placing such a tremendous amount of fire-power in the hands of our youth are exacerbated by a terrifying fact: most juveniles don't have very good aim. In 1989, Los Angeles District Attorney Ira Reiner reported that half of all drive-by shooting fatalities (a practice common to gangs) in his city were "innocent bystanders" (Harper, 1989, pp. 12-15). Recently, one gang member explained the problem: "Keep in mind we don't have no target ranges were we get prolific with these guns" (Bing, 1989). In communities ravaged by gang violence, it is the stray bullet people fear the most. As a tragic example, several children have been killed in Chicago's Cabrini-Green housing complex in recent years as a result of bullets from gang cross-fire.

In recent years, the problem of gang violence has also increased due to the mobility of gangs. Large, well-established gangs frequently relocate from one city to another so that they can become the dominant gang in another area. Thus, more and more people in more and more communities become affected (NSSC, 1998).

Why Do Gangs Exist -- Why Do Kids Want to Join Them?

There have been many explanations for why the gang population has exploded in the United States, including:

• Increased drug trafficking;
• The ease of access to drugs/guns;
• Poverty;
• Racial divisions;
• Lack of parental supervision;
• Lack of employment opportunities;
• Lack of recreational opportunities;
• Breakdown in family structure;
• Excessive sex and violence in television shows and moves; and
• The breakdown of the structure of the community and of the church (Harper 1989, p. 31).

All may have contributed in some way, but no single reason is solely responsible.

Although the risks and sacrifices are great, the truth is gangs provide many benefits to their members. Some of these include:

• Companionship;
• Protection;
• A sense of belonging;
• Fast money;
• Training;
• Relief of frustration;
• Power; and
• Self-esteem (NSSC, 1988).

When the benefits of gang life out-weigh the risks, gang populations will grow.

What Can Be Done to Stop the Gangs?

In January of 1992, the U.S. Attorney General announced the reassignment of 300 FBI agents to investigate street gangs (Union, 1992). Increased law enforcement is helpful, but not the whole solution. Most experts agree that a multi-disciplinary, community-wide approach must be taken to stop the growth of gangs. However, there is no simple solution. Gang behavior cannot be changed through fear and intimidation. These will only compound the problem because fear and intimidation are the same techniques used by gang members (NSSC, 1988). Some suggested approaches to reducing gang activity include the following:

Schools

• Forbid wearing of gang paraphernalia;
• Provide support for victims of gang violence and intimidation;
• Assimilate gang-oriented students into the mainstream -- academically, extra-curricularly, and socially;
• Help parents get involved with their children through parent training and counseling;
• Remove graffiti immediately. This discourages graffiti and keeps its message, often a threat to another gang, from getting through;
• Provide sports, drama, and recreational activities as alternatives to gang activity; and
• Add gang and drug prevention into school curricula.

State and Community Agencies

• Set up confidential hotlines so that witnesses need not fear retaliation;
• Share information about gang activities among key agencies and institutions: law enforcement, educators, and other interested parties; and
• Arrange an agreement with the media not to publish the names of gangs involved in a criminal incident -- gangs like to take credit for what they've done (NSSC, 1998).

Law Enforcement

• Set up programs similar to the Los Angeles Police Department's Jeopardy Program where officers phone or make domestic visits to parents whose kids are flirting with gang membership;
• Keep hard-core members off the streets with swift arrests;
• Share information and work with all agencies (probation, sheriff, paroling authorities, corrections, community groups, and schools);
• Conduct sweeps to remove violent gang members from the streets; and
• Train officers in areas newly affected by gangs to read graffiti and track gangs.

Prosecution

• Provide witness protection programs;
• Set up information networks; and
• Initiate vertical prosecution;

Corrections

• Don't allow any display of gang colors or insignias in penal institutions;
• Require gang members to participate in "Impact of Crime on Victims" educational programs to help them understand the effects of their criminal activity on their victims, victims' families, communities, and themselves;
• Create programs to stop gang leaders from sending orders to gang members on the outside; and
• Remove the opportunity and necessity for unaffiliated youthful offenders to join a gang while incarcerated.

Probation/Parole

• Enhance supervision, counseling, and surveillance of gang members or youth predisposed to joining a gang (Stephens, 1989).

Harvey Halliburted, probation officer and head of a remarkably successful gang prevention program in Columbia, Ohio, made the following suggestions to turn around the lives of our troubled youth:

• Provide job training and jobs for ex-gang members and offenders;
• Provide alternatives to gangs and ways for youth to gain status;
• Identify the leadership in the community;
• Focus on relationships with youth, not just changing behavior;
• When dealing with youth that sell drugs, don't make the drugs the focus of your intervention; instead focus on why they are selling (self esteem, money or power, etc.).
• Utilize positive parents and parents of gang members whenever possible; and
• Identify all youth on probation and parole in your population in an effort to neutralize their leadership as gang members.

References

Bing, Leon. "When You're a Crip (or a Blood)." School Safety (1989), Fall, p. 4-11.

"FBI Forsakes Spies to Focus on Gangs." Sacramento Union, January 10, 1992, p. A1.

Harper, Suzanne. "AFT Safety Survey Validates Problems." School Safety (1989), Fall, P. 31.

Harper, Suzanne. "LA's Gangbusters -- Lessons Learned." School Safety (1989), Fall, p. 12-15.

Jurgenson, Karen. "Let's Cut the Firepower on the USA's City Streets." USA Today, May 5, 1992, pp. 12A.

Mydans, Seth. "Gangs Abiding by Cease Fire in Los Angeles." New York Times, July 19, 1992, p. 1A.

National School Safety Center (NSSC). Gangs in Schools: Breaking UP is Hard to Do. Malibu: Pepperdine University Press, 1988.

Stephens, Ronald D. "Gangs, Guns & Drugs." School Safety (1989), Fall, p.16-17.

Stewart, Sally Anne. "Drugs, Violence, Rituals, Slaves." USA Today, December 7, 1989, p. 6A.

"Teen Killers," USA Today, October 15, 1992, col.3A.

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Copyright © 1993 by the National Center for Victims of Crime.   This information may be freely distributed, provided that it is distributed free of charge, in its entirety and includes this copyright notice.