NCJ Number
228132
Date Published
April 2008
Length
70 pages
Annotation
As requested by the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, the U.S. Attorney General (Michael B. Mukasey) reports on the growth of violent street gangs in suburban areas of the Nation, with attention to types of gangs, the regions where they operate, and the associations of these gangs with drug trafficking organizations.
Abstract
The report concludes that gangs threaten American society as a whole, from city streets to suburban neighborhoods, bringing a culture of violence and drugs while creating an atmosphere of fear and endangering children's safety and positive development. In countering these gangs, Federal, State, and local governments as well as community leaders must cooperate in devising and implementing effective measures of prevention and intervention. In addressing gang-related violence, the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has used a number of prevention, intervention, and suppression strategies that involve collaboration with law enforcement officials, community groups, and policymakers at the local, regional, national, and international levels. The DOJ's comprehensive plan to combat gangs across America is two-pronged. First, it prioritizes prevention programs that provide youth, as well as offenders returning to the community from incarceration, with opportunities to resist gang involvement. Second, the strategies ensure robust enforcement policies when gang-related violence occurs. The National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) provided gang-related information for this report, based on its 2007 National Drug Threat Survey, along with Field Program Specialist Intelligence Reports; Federal, State, and local police reporting; intelligence community reporting; open-source reporting; and personal interviews with law enforcement officials. This report includes a listing of the DOJ's antigang programs and resources. Appendixes include maps of gang locations and activities in specific States and suburban areas; national-level street, prison, and outlaw motorcycle gang profiles; and suspected connections between gangs and drug-trafficking organizations.