National Drug Intelligence Center
Attorney General's Report to Congress on the Growth of Violent Street Gangs in Suburban Areas
April 2008

Estimated Gang Membership

More than 20,000 gangs consisting of approximately 1 million members exist in the United States; gangs are present in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories. The 2007 NDTS and current law enforcement reporting reveal that more than 20,000 gangs are active throughout the United States. Moreover, 2007 NDTS and law enforcement data indicate that at least 780,000 members of street and prison gangs currently reside within communities across the country and at least another 123,000 documented members are incarcerated in state correctional facilities⁴ (see Appendix A, Scope and Methodology). The 2007 NDTS data further reveal that at least 30,000 OMG members operate in communities throughout the country (See Appendix E, Maps 2, 3, and 5). Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) tracks Security Threat Groups, defined as groups, gangs, or inmate organizations that have been observed acting in concert to promote violence, escape, and drug or terrorist activity. As of March 2008, 20,811 individual inmates in BOP custody have been identified as being affiliated with a Security Threat Group.

To Top      To Contents

Suburban Gang Presence

Many suburban areas face gang-related problems similar to those occurring in urban areas. Suburban communities throughout the nation are encountering gang-related problems, once largely confined to large cities. Data from the 2007 NDTS indicates that of the 3,054 law enforcement agencies responding to the survey, 585 were from suburban areas reporting gang activity. Of these agencies, 506 estimated that between 1 and 500 gang members were active in their areas; the remaining 79 reported that 501 or more gang members were active in their jurisdictions. Additionally, 2007 NDTS and local law enforcement data reveal that in 21 of these 79 suburban communities, gangs pose a serious threat (see Appendix D). Many of these suburban gangs are strongly influenced by gangs based in urban areas. For instance:

• Chicago-based gangs maintain connections to and influence over gangs in outlying suburban communities (See Appendix E, Map 6). An estimated 70 to 75 gangs with more than 100,000 members reportedly operate within Chicago and have consistently been a concern for law enforcement. In recent years the Chicago Police Department (PD), with assistance from federal and state agencies, has focused its efforts on reducing gang-related crime, which is estimated to account for 70 percent of all crime in the city. The Chicago PD has focused on disrupting 21 gangs it considers to be the greatest threat to the city because of the gangs' large membership, highly organized structure, and violent propensities. The Chicago PD's efforts have resulted in the arrest of many gang leaders and a reduction in violent crime. However, these law enforcement actions have caused gang members to become increasingly mobile, moving freely back and forth between Chicago and suburban communities. Gang movement has resulted in the creation of new gangs or the establishment of new chapters or subsets of the original gangs in suburban communities.
   
• San Diego-based gangs maintain connections to gangs in outlying suburban communities (see Appendix E, Map 7). An estimated 25 to 30 gangs with a total membership of between 2,000 and 3,000 reportedly operate within San Diego and the outlying suburban communities in San Diego County. In recent years San Diego law enforcement officials, with assistance from federal and state agencies, have focused their efforts on reducing gang-related crime, which is estimated to account for 50 percent of all crime in San Diego County. Hispanic gangs dominate the distribution of drugs in suburban and urban communities in San Diego County. These gangs maintain long-standing associations with the Mexican Mafia (La Eme) prison gang and major Mexican DTOs, which have resulted in rising levels of gang sophistication and increasing levels of drug trafficking in San Diego County. In an effort to counter gang-related crime, local officials have established multi-agency gang task forces and have adopted the use of anti-gang injunctions.
   
  
• Charlotte-based gangs, particularly Hispanic gangs, have increased in number, sophistication, organization, and mobility (see Appendix E, Map 8). Gangs in the Charlotte area have become more criminally active and have expanded their connections with other organized crime entities, including major DTOs. Law enforcement officials in the Charlotte area report that approximately 167 gangs with an estimated total membership of between 1,200 and 2,500 members operate within Charlotte and its outlying communities; many gangs are nationally affiliated. For example, Sureņos gang members from California have dispatched members to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area to establish a presence and coordinate gang activities. Moreover, gang members residing in Charlotte often travel to surrounding suburban communities to engage in retail-level drug distribution.

End Note

4. The number of incarcerated prisoners affiliated with gangs is most likely underestimated, as most state correctional facilities document only gang members who pose a threat to institutional security. Further, some state correctional facilities do not collect and/or report on the gang affiliation of inmates.

To Top     To Contents     To Previous Page     To Next Page

To Department of Justice Home Page

End of page.