Gangs have typically been associated with criminal acts since the first reports of their activities were made (Thrasher, 1927; see also Sante, 1991). Observers of gangs generally agree that, while not all gang members participate in criminal acts, involvement in such activity distinguishes gangs from other groups (Curry and Decker, 1998). The 1997 survey asked respondents to report the number of member-based and motive-based homicides involving gang members (see items 9 and 10 in Appendix A). In addition, respondents were asked to estimate the degree of gang member involvement in other criminal offenses (i.e., aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft, and larceny/theft).

Homicides

An estimated 3,340 member-based gang homicides were committed in the United States in 1997, of which 1,880 (56 percent) were motive based (see table 13). Large cities accounted for almost two-thirds (64 percent) of the total estimated number of member-based homicides and nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of the motive-based homicides. Considering that the national homicide total was 18,210 in 1997 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1998), youth gangs were involved in 18 percent of homicides nationwide.

Most respondents indicated that they did not have any member- or motive-based gang homicides in their jurisdictions in 1997, and only 3 percent reported having more than 10 member-based gang homicides (see table 14). No small cities or rural counties reported having more than 10 member- or motive-based gang homicides in their jurisdiction. Not surprisingly, large cities accounted for the highest percentage of jurisdictions with more than 10 gang homicides. Differences in the number of homicides in each area type were found to be statistically significant for both member- and motive-based homicides.

Table 15 reveals that the number of youth gang homicides reported by survey respondents varied directly with population. Generally, the percentage of respondents that reported more than 10 youth gang homicides decreased as population decreased. In the highest population range (250,000 or more), 81 percent of the respondents reported at least one member-based homicide. In contrast, only 21 percent of respondents in the lowest population range (1-9,999) reported at least one member-based homicide. The variation in the percentage of respondents reporting homicides by population size was found to be statistically significant for both member- and motive-based homicides.

It is difficult to recognize any trends in youth gang homicides.

As a result of differences in questions regarding homicide in the 1996 and 1997 surveys, reliable comparisons of the years could not be made. Therefore, it is difficult to recognize any trends in youth gang homicides. The current national trend for homicides among juveniles and young adults has been declining steadily since 1993. However, the rates of youth homicide remain considerably higher than those of the mid-1980's (Fox and Zawitz, 1999; Snyder, 1998).

In an effort to detect trends in youth gang homicides, the homicide questions used for the 1997 National Youth Gang Survey were also used for the 1998 National Youth Gang Survey, which was distributed to respondents in March 1999. Data from the 1998 survey will allow both comparative and trend analyses of 1997 and 1998.