Introduction
The proliferation of youth gangs since 1980 has fueled the public's fear and magnified possible misconceptions about youth gangs. To address the mounting concern about youth gangs, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP's) Youth Gang Series delves into many of the key issues related to youth gangs. The series considers issues such as gang migration, gang growth, female involvement with gangs, homicide, drugs and violence, and the needs of communities and youth who live in the presence of youth gangs.Youth gangs are linked with serious crime problems in elementary and secondary schools in the United States. A report issued by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice (Chandler et al., 1998) found that the percentage of students reporting the presence of gangs at school nearly doubled between 1989 and 1995. This report also found a strong correlation between the presence of gangs and both guns and drugs in school. Higher percentages of students reported knowing a student who brought a gun to school when gangs were present at the school (25 percent) than when gangs were not present (8 percent). In addition, gang presence increased the likelihood of seeing a student with a gun at school: 12 percent of the students surveyed reported having seen a student with a gun in school when gangs were present, compared with 3 percent when gangs were not present. Students who reported that drugs (marijuana, cocaine, crack, or uppers/downers) were readily available at school were much more likely to report gangs at their school (35 percent) than those who said that no drugs were available (14 percent). The presence of gangs more than doubled the likelihood of violent victimization at school (nearly 8 percent, compared with 3 percent).
The report by Chandler and colleagues (1998) analyzed the findings of the 1989 and 1995 School Crime Supplements (SCS's) to the National Crime Victim Survey (NCVS). The supplements were distributed in January through June of their respective years to nationally representative samples of approximately 10,000 students. These students were in the NCVS sample; thus, the SCS was an enhancement to the NCVS. Eligible respondents to the supplements were between the ages of 12 and 19 and had attended school at some point during the 6 months preceding the interview. Respondents were asked about their victimization experience during the last 6 months and whether the crime occurred at school during the 6 months prior to the interview. "At school" was defined as in the school building, on school grounds, or on a school bus. The response rate was 78 percent.
This Bulletin presents results of additional analyses of gang-related SCS data. Three main topics are examined:
- Characteristics of gangs in schools.
- Reasons for greater gang prevalence in some schools.
- Impact of gangs on victimization at school.
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