Gang Statistics


Gang statistics

Gang violence has risen sharply, especially in large cities. Id. Youth gangs are becoming more violent and increasingly serve as a way for members to engage in illegal money-making activities, such as drug and firearms trafficking. Id. In 1994, gang members were suspects or victims in about forty percent of all homicides in Los Angeles County. C. Maxson, Street Gangs and Drug Sales in Two Suburban Cities, National Institute of Justice (September, 1995).
A recent survey of America's largest city police departments showed that ninety-five percent reported significant criminal activity by youth gangs or gang-like groups of young people. G. David Curry, et al., Gang Crime and Law Enforcement Recordkeeping, National Institute of Justice (August 1994). A recent survey of law enforcement officials in forty-five cities suggests the presence of almost 1,500 youth gangs with more than 120,000 members. Irving A. Spergel, et al., Youth Gangs: Problem and Response - Stage 1 Assessment (May 1990) (Data collection reports conducted by the University of Chicago's National Youth Gang Suppression and Intervention Program in cooperation with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, United States Department of Justice). Gang youth committed over eleven percent of all crimes. Id. The rate of violent offenses for gang members was three times higher than non-gang delinquents. Id. The average age of the arrested gang offender is seventeen or eighteen years. Id. The age range of gang members appears to have expanded in recent decades with members remaining in gangs longer and becoming increasingly involved in serious gang-oriented pursuits. Id. The gang problem was not viewed as exclusively juvenile since adults were involved in almost one-half of the youth gang-related incidents. Id.
Most participants in gang crimes tend to be young, male, and either black or Hispanic. C. Maxson, Ph.D., supra. Gang cocaine sales involve more young, black males in transactions that more often include crack rather than powder form. Id. The increased likelihood of black and young gang offenders has also characterized the sales of other drugs by gang members. Id. Hispanics have been more involved in sales of drugs other than cocaine. Id.
"Gangs" consist of different types of members including core and leaders, associates or regulars, peripheral or fringe, and "wannabees" or recruits. The core can be regarded as the inner clique which determines the basic nature and level of gang activity. They are generally more involved in delinquent or criminal activities than fringe members. Id.Gang attributes include violent behavior, group organization, leadership, territory, recurrent interaction and use of symbolism. Gang membership appears to prolong the extent and seriousness of criminal careers. Id. Many experts suggest a close relationship between youth gang members and organized adult crime. Id. The disturbing increase of young people committing federal crimes of violence, especially gang-related crimes, necessarily means juveniles must be considered for prosecution.
http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm00103.htm


1.  HOW MANY GANGS AND GANG MEMBERS IN THE U.S.?
  • 24,500 gangs in the U.S (article 4 at bottom of page). 
  • 750,000 gang members in 2000 and 2007 (see articles 4 & 6)
  • One Million gang members in 2009 (see articles1 & 2-bottom of page) 
2. HOW OLD ARE GANG MEMBERS?
  • 40% are juveniles (under 18) and 60% are adults, or about 400,000 teenage gang members and 600,000 adult gang members. 
3. HOW MANY MALES AND FEMALES ARE IN GANGS?
  • Between 90% to 94% of gang members are male. Between 6% to 10% are female.
  • There are approximately 360,000 teenage boys and 32,000 teenage girls in gangs
  • There are approximately 560,000 adult males and 48,000 adult females in gangs

4. HOW MANY JUVENILE GANG MEMBERS ARE IN PRISON?

  • 15% of juveniles in prison are female and 85% are male

  • 90,000 boys are in some kind of detention facility, work camp, residential placement or correctional facility. 9 out of 10 boys in detention have some level of gang affiliation
  • 14,000 girls (under 19 yrs.) are in some kind placement: detention, residential placement or correctional facility. It isn't clear how many have gang affiliation.. 
  • The following links will give a state by state number of juveniles currently under correctional placement: OJJDP Female Custody Data and juvenile offenders: 2006 report (more current report to be added soon) 
  • 5. HOW MANY CITIES HAVE GANG ACTIVITY?

    • Every city in the U.S. with at least 250,000 people has gang activity. 

    • 86% of those with at least 100,000 people report gang activity (see article #3)
    6. WHAT ARE THE FACTORS THAT LEAD TO GANG INVOLVEMENT? 
    • Learning disabilities & emotional disorders: 60% - 78% of Incarcerated gang members - male and female - have emotional and learning disabilities.  (see article #7 below for this statistic)
    • School Failure and Truancy
    • No involvement in positive activities outside of school
    • Friends and peers who are delinquent
    • Early involvement in petty theft and behavioral disorders in grade school
    • Low Income

    7. HOW MANY GIRLS ARE INVOLVED IN GANGS?
    • Threre are approximately 32,000 teenage female gang members
    • There are approximately 48,000 adult female gang members
    • 60% of gangs do not allow female members. (Girls hang around, go to parties, but are not considered "members."
    • 40% of gangs allow female members, but only 1 out of 10 members is a girl 
    • There are very few all girl gangs. Only 2% of all gangs are female only. 
    • Female gang members commit fewer crimes and violence: Their incarcerations tend to be for drug use, larceny, petty theft, status offenses or domestic issues (e.g.,fights with parents and runaway).
    • In the U.S., there are approximately 14,000 girls in correctional placement versus 90,000 boys. The majority of the 14,000 girls have some gang affiliation, but how many is not clear. .
    • 70% of girls in jail report having been sexually abused or victimized as children
    • 65% of girls in jail have a psychological issue such as clinical depression or generalized anxiety vs 30% for boys (although this number is increasing).
    • 26% of girls in jail have been in special education. Although there are far fewer girls than boys in special education, girls who do have learning problems are atvery high risk for gang association.

    8. WHAT ARE THE RISK FACTORS FOR GIRLS WHO JOIN GANGS?
    • School failure and learning disabilities: One out of three girls in gangs have been in special education
    • Lack of involvement in positive activities in or out of school
    • Sexual abuse and victimization
    • Family dysfunction
    • Low Income
    • Early drug use and sexual activity
    • Emotional disorders
    • Exposure to violence

    9. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT GANG INVOLVEMENT ON iNDIAN RESERVATIONS?
    • 23% of reservations in a goverment study reported up to 40 active gangs. 
    • 80% of gang members in this study were male, and 3 out of 4 were under 18 yrs.Reservation Gang members are mostly teenagers, not adults. The opposite of city gangs
    • 20% of gang members on Native reservations are girls versus 6%-11% off the reservation.10% of gangs reported that half their members were female. The Point: Girls who live on reservations join gangs at a higher rate than off-reservation
    • 78% of gang members on reservations were Native American, BUT 22% were non-Indian youths living on or near the reservation (Black, Hispanic, Caucasian).
    • A gang survey on the Navajo reservation found that gang members did not know their native language, were alienated from the culture; had no positive activities; had severe difficulty in school, early drug/alcohol use; and came from more dysfunctional homes with greater poverty than non-gang members.
    • If you look at the numbers, more youth join gangs on many reservations than do in cities. The reasons for this are obvious: On these reservations there is little employment for teens, lack of activities for youth, and extremely high poverty. Look at articles 10, 11 and 12 below for more info

    10. How much crime is committed by gangs and gang members?

    11. Statistics for number and percent of gang members by race/ethnicity:
    • Black/African-American Gang members: 31% or about 310,000
    • Hispanic Gang members: 47% or about 470,000
    • white/caucasian gang members: 13% or about 130,000 by police survey
    • white/caucasian gang members: 40% by self-reported youth survey (see article #6 below - they use a survey of youth rather than police records)
    • Asian gang members: 7% or about 70,000
    • Indian/Native American gang members: Not many by number, but an increasing problem on reservations




Youth Gang Survey Statistics - 1997[ref 7]

  • Juristictions Reporting Youth Gangs by Area Type
    • 72% -- Large City
    • 33% -- Small City
    • 56% -- Suburban Cnty
    • 24% -- Rural Cnty
    • 51% -- Overall
  • Juristictions Reporting Youth Gangs by Region
    • 74% -- West
    • 52% -- Midwest
    • 49% -- South
    • 31% -- Northeast
    • 51% -- Overall
  • Reported Gangs and Members
    • Gangs -- 18,267
    • Gang Members -- 655,385
  • Estimates to Include Areas not Responding to Survey
    • Gangs -- 30,533
    • Gang Members -- 815,896

Incarceration Statistics[ref 2]

  • Jail Population
    • 1990 -- 1,148,702
    • 1991 -- 1,219,014 -- + 6.1%
    • 1992 -- 1,295,150 -- + 6.2%
    • 1993 -- 1,369,185 -- + 5.7%
    • 1994 -- 1,476,621 -- + 7.8%
    • 1995 -- 1,585,589 -- + 7.4%
    • 1996 -- 1,646,020 -- + 3.8%
    • 1997 -- 1,744,001 -- + 6.0%
    • 1998 -- 1,825,400 -- + 4.7%
  • Incarceration Rate per 100,000
    • 1990 -- 297
    • 1991 -- 313 -- + 5.4%
    • 1992 -- 332 -- + 6.1%
    • 1993 -- 359 -- + 8.1%
    • 1994 -- 389 -- + 8.4%
    • 1995 -- 411 -- + 5.7%
    • 1996 -- 427 -- + 3.9%
    • 1997 -- 444 -- + 4.0%
    • 1998 -- 461 -- + 3.8%
    • 1999 -- 476 -- + 3.3%
    • 2000 -- 478 -- + 0.4%
    • 2001 -- 470 -- - 1.7%
    • 2002 -- 476 -- + 1.3%
    • 2003 -- 482 -- + 1.3%
    • 2004 -- 486 -- + 0.8%
    • 2005 -- 491 -- + 1.0%
  • At midyear 2005, one in every 136 residents was incarcerated.
  • About 3.2% of the U.S. adult population, or 1 in every 32 adults,
    was incarcerated or on probation or parole at year end 2005.
  • Percent of Sentenced State Inmates by Type of Offense - 1997
    • 09% - Rape/Sexual Assault
    • 10% - Public Order
    • 11% - Assult/Other Violent
    • 13% - Murder/Manslaughter
    • 14% - Robbery
    • 21% - Drug
    • 22% - Property

Adult Crime Statistics[ref 3]

  • All Crime Arrests
    • 1993-1994 -- -2.7%
    • 1994-1995 -- -1.2% -- cum - 3.8%
    • 1995-1996 -- -3.6% -- cum - 7.4%
    • 1996-1997 -- -3.2% -- cum -10.6%
  • Violent Crime Arrests
    • 1993-1994 -- -4.5%
    • 1994-1995 -- -4.1% -- cum - 8.5%
    • 1995-1996 -- -7.0% -- cum -15.5%
    • 1996-1997 -- -4.0% -- cum -19.6%
  • Murder Arrests
    • 1993-1994 -- -5.8%
    • 1994-1995 -- -8.2% -- cum -14.0
    • 1995-1996 -- -9.9% -- cum -23.9
    • 1996-1997 -- -9.1% -- cum -32.1

Juvenile Crime Statistics[ref 5]

  • All Crime Arrests (includes curfew)
    • 1993-1994 -- +10.7%
    • 1994-1995 -- + 0.9% -- cum +11.6%
    • 1995-1996 -- + 0.8% -- cum +12.4%
    • 1996-1997 -- - 2.1% -- cum +10.3%
  • Violent Crime Arrests
    • 1993-1994 -- +19.4%
    • 1994-1995 -- - 5.4% -- cum +14.0%
    • 1995-1996 -- -14.8% -- cum - 0.8%
    • 1996-1997 -- - 5.0% -- cum - 5.8%
  • Murder Arrests
    • 1993-1994 -- - 4.6%
    • 1994-1995 -- -11.1% -- cum -15.6%
    • 1995-1996 -- -18.6% -- cum -34.2%
    • 1996-1997 -- -16.1% -- cum -50.4%

Mentoring-Effects on Behavior [ref 4]

  • Initiating Drug Use -- down 45.8%
  • Initiating Alcohol Use -- down 27.4%
  • Number of Times Hit Someone -- down 31.7%
  • Grades -- up 3%
  • Scholastic Competence -- up 4.3%
  • Skipped Class -- down 36.7%
  • Skipped Day of School -- down 52.2%

REFERENCES:
1- Violence Prevention Coalition of Orange County
2- Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin - http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/incrttab.htm
3- FBI Uniform Crime Reports 1997 (Internet Site). Calculated from Index of Crime Table 1 by taking the percent change in the rate per 100,000.
4- OJJDP -- Juvenile Justice Bulletin 4/97
(An Evaluation of 8 Big Brother/Big Sister Sites)
(All items statistically significant at at least a 90% level of confidence)
5- FBI Uniform Crime Reports 1997 (Internet Site). Calculated from Tables 34 & 36 for each year by taking the percent change in the rate per 100,000.
6- Irvine Health Foundation - Third Annual Report on the Condition of Children in Orange County
7- 1997 National Youth Gang Survey - OJJDP (US Dept of Justice)
8-
9- National Institute of Justice - 1992
10- California Wellness Foundation
11- New England Journal of Medicine - 1986
12- Irvine Health Foundation - Second Annual Report on the Status of Children in Orange County
13- Woodside - 1988
14- Lung & Daro, 1996
15- Pediatrics in Review, July - 1996
            http://gangsandkids.com/gstats.html
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