The recent proliferation of youth gangs throughout the United States and the growth of youth gang violence have heightened the awareness of the youth gang problem among public policymakers, law enforcement agencies, and social scientists. To measure the extent of this problem, the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, conducts an annual survey of law enforcement agencies. The 1997 National Youth Gang Survey, administered by the National Youth Gang Center, is the third such annual survey and offers a wealth of information about youth gangs. Nearly 5,000 law enforcement agencies were surveyed, making it the largest and most comprehensive national gang survey to date. In addition, the 1997 survey used the same sample as the 1996 survey, permitting both comparative and trend analysis.

The 1997 survey included questions regarding the number of youth gangs and gang members, the degree of involvement of youth gangs in drug sales and distribution, youth gang migration, the level of crime in which youth gang members were involved, law enforcement responses to youth gangs, and the state of the youth gang problem in the respondent's jurisdiction. A youth gang was defined as "a group of youths or young adults in (the respondent's) jurisdiction that (the respondent) or other responsible persons in (the respondent's) agency or community are willing to identify or classify as a 'gang.'"

The 1997 National Youth Gang Survey was sent to two groups: a statistically representative sample of 3,018 law enforcement agencies and a comparative sample of 1,951 law enforcement agencies that were surveyed in the 1995 National Youth Gang Survey but not selected for the representative sample. The response rate was 92 percent for the representative sample and 81 percent for the comparative sample. Information and analyses included in this Summary are limited to the survey responses for the statistically representative sample, because the data are more comprehensive and allow for a more complete nationwide perspective.

The statistically representative sample was composed of jurisdictions in four area types: all large cities with populations greater than 25,000; a random sample of small cities with populations between 2,500 and 25,000; all suburban counties; and a random sample of rural counties. Surveys were sent to the appropriate local law enforcement agency within each jurisdiction in the representative sample.

Based on the results of the survey, the percentage of jurisdictions with active youth gangs decreased slightly from 53 percent in 1996 to 51 percent in 1997. The greatest decrease appeared in large cities, especially those with populations ranging from 25,000 to 49,999. Despite these decreases, the Nation's largest cities continued to experience gang activity. In both 1996 and 1997, 100 percent of respondents in cities with populations of 250,000 or more reported active youth gangs in their jurisdictions.

The estimated number of jurisdictions with active youth gangs in 1997 was 4,712, down slightly from 4,824 in 1996. The number of youth gangs and gang members also decreased: An estimated 30,500 youth gangs and 816,000 gang members were active in 1997, compared with 31,000 youth gangs and 846,000 gang members in 1996. Although the prevalence of youth gangs and gang members declined overall from 1996 to 1997, the number of gang members rose in small cities and rural counties.

Despite the decreases in the number of gangs and gang members, 45 percent of respondents indicated that the gang problem in their jurisdictions in 1997 was staying about the same, while 35 percent indicated it was getting worse and 20 percent said that it was getting better. In contrast, 49 percent of respondents to the 1995 National Youth Gang Survey believed that their problem was getting worse, 41 percent that it was staying about the same, and 10 percent that it was getting better.

Youth gang members were estimated to be involved in 3,340 homicides in 1997, almost two-thirds of which took place in large cities. Youth gang involvement in other types of criminal activity remained high in 1997. Respondents reported a high degree of gang member involvement, most often for aggravated assault and larceny/theft (28 percent), followed by motor vehicle theft (27 percent), burglary (26 percent), and robbery (13 percent). However, for all of the above crimes, the estimated degree of involvement in criminal activity by youth gang members was less in 1997 than in 1996. These apparent decreases are consistent with the national downturn in both adult and juvenile violent crime arrests from 1994 to 1997, as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Youth gang involvement in drug sales and distribution has become a growing public concern in recent years. Results of the survey indicated that in 1997, youth gangs played a key role in the sale and distribution of drugs. Respondents estimated that 42 percent of the youth gangs in the country were involved in the street sale of drugs and 33 percent were involved in drug distribution for the purpose of generating profits for the gang. The street sale of drugs by youth gangs in 1997 was especially high in large cities and suburban counties. Nationwide, youth gangs were involved in an estimated 33 percent of crack cocaine sales, 32 percent of marijuana sales, 16 percent of powder cocaine sales, 12 percent of methamphetamine sales, and 9 percent of heroin sales. These data may indicate increased youth gang involvement in drug activities since the 1996 survey.

In contrast to the slight decrease in gang activity, reported gang migration increased from 1996 to 1997. Eighty-nine percent of respondents indicated that they experienced some gang migration into their jurisdictions during 1997, up from 84 percent in 1996. In addition, an estimated 23 percent of youth gang members in the United States were migrants in 1997, compared with 21 percent in 1996. The vast majority (70 percent) of respondents who experienced some gang migration cited social factors (e.g., to move with families, to find legitimate job opportunities, to join relatives, or to join friends) as reasons why youth gang members migrated to their jurisdictions.

In response to the proliferation of gangs throughout the country, most law enforcement agencies (66 percent) have established specialized response units. More specifically, 35 percent reported having a youth/street gang unit or officer(s), 18 percent reported having a gang prevention unit or officer(s), and 29 percent reported having a unit that combined both types of units.