(There are about 28,000 gangs, with 800,000 members, ruining towns, cities, and communities across the United States. Gangs cause criminal activity in all 50 states. Although most gang activity is in major cities, gangs also are being made in rural and suburban areas of the country as gang members flee increasing law enforcement pressure in urban areas or seek more drug markets. This trouble in non-urban areas increasingly is accompanied by violence and is threatening society in general.
According to a recent bulletin released by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 23 percent of students aged 12 through 18 reported that street gangs had been present at their school during the previous 6 months. Almost half of students in public schools reported a gang in there school building, with 21 percent of students in suburban schools and 15 percent in rural schools reported the presence of gangs.
Large street gangs readily employ violence to control and expand drug distribution activities, targeting rival gangs and dealers who neglect or refuse to pay extortion fees. Members also use violence to ensure that members adhere to the gang’s code of conduct or to prevent a member from leaving.
Authorities throughout the country report that gangs are responsible for most of the serious violent crime in the major cities of the United States. Gangs engage in an array of criminal activities including assault, burglary, drive-by shooting, extortion, homicide, identification fraud, money laundering, prostitution operations, robbery, sale of stolen property, and weapons trafficking.
Located throughout the country, street gangs vary in size, composition, and structure. Large, nationally affiliated street gangs pose the greatest threat because they smuggle, produce, transport, and distribute large quantities of illicit drugs throughout the country and are extremely violent.) https://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/background-gang-violence
According to a recent bulletin released by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 23 percent of students aged 12 through 18 reported that street gangs had been present at their school during the previous 6 months. Almost half of students in public schools reported a gang in there school building, with 21 percent of students in suburban schools and 15 percent in rural schools reported the presence of gangs.
Large street gangs readily employ violence to control and expand drug distribution activities, targeting rival gangs and dealers who neglect or refuse to pay extortion fees. Members also use violence to ensure that members adhere to the gang’s code of conduct or to prevent a member from leaving.
Authorities throughout the country report that gangs are responsible for most of the serious violent crime in the major cities of the United States. Gangs engage in an array of criminal activities including assault, burglary, drive-by shooting, extortion, homicide, identification fraud, money laundering, prostitution operations, robbery, sale of stolen property, and weapons trafficking.
Located throughout the country, street gangs vary in size, composition, and structure. Large, nationally affiliated street gangs pose the greatest threat because they smuggle, produce, transport, and distribute large quantities of illicit drugs throughout the country and are extremely violent.) https://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/background-gang-violence