Gang Violence

The problems posed by gangs in many communities have received increasing attention in the United States and, more recently, in some European nations as well. What is called delinquent behavior when the gang member is a minor and criminal behavior when the gang member is an adult has been the subject of more scholarly and public attention during the past few decades. According to the most recent National Youth Gang Center (NYGC) survey of law enforcement agencies, 21,500 gangs with 731,500 members have been officially reported in the United States. Since the NYGC surveys began in 1996, every city whose population exceeded 250,000 has reported the presence of gangs. A number of cross-sectional and longitudinal [Page 289]studies have demonstrated that membership in a gang is associated with a significant enhancement effect- that is, belonging to a gang enhances the chances that an individual will commit delinquent or criminal offenses, including serious, violent offenses, and that the individual will engage in more delinquent or criminal behavior while in the gang than either before joining the gang or after leaving the gang.

In analyzing gang-related violent crime, it is important to define that term. Two major definitions are employed by law enforcement agencies in classifying crimes that they believe may be gang related. The first, utilized by more than half of all law enforcement agencies, defines gang-related crime as crime that involves a gang member as a perpetrator or as a victim. The second, utilized by about one third of all law enforcement agencies, is a more restrictive definition that requires that the crime be determined to be gang motivated (committed for the purpose of furthering the gang's interests and activities). If such motivation can be proved, the convicted offender may be subject to “sentence enhancements” (additional time to be served), since many states have integrated these “add-on” sentences in their sentencing statutes with the intention of deterring gang-motivated criminal behavior. Using the more restrictive “gang-motivated” definition significantly reduces the number of crimes that are classified as gang related.

One important, although not sufficient, indicator of gang violence is gang-related homicides. Although homicide data are generally accurately reported, determining whether they are gang related depends on many factors. It is thought that the number of gang-related homicides is likely to be underestimated. Nonetheless, in a recent year, more than 1,300 homicides committed in 132 U.S. cities with populations of at least 100,000 were classified as gang related, in that they involved a gang member. The two cities with the most chronic gang problems, Los Angeles and Chicago, accounted for more than half of those homicides. Also, about one in every five homicides committed in those cities involved a gang member, and they were most likely to occur in areas with greater populations, chronic gang presence, and a larger number of gang members. Major factors that contribute to these gang-related homicides and other gang-related violent crime include the increasing access to and use of highly lethal weapons by gang members, along with the retaliation and status concerns of gang members.

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