NCJ Number
196165
Date Published
June 2002
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Findings of the 2001 survey of youth gangs in Indian country, conducted by the National Youth Gang Center, pertain to gang presence, size, and activity.
Abstract
A total of 577 federally recognized tribal communities were included in the survey, and 300 of the communities responded. Information was solicited from tribal leaders and law enforcement agencies that serve tribal communities. The survey findings are based solely on completed surveys and are not necessarily representative of all Indian communities. Twenty-three percent of responding tribal communities reported experiencing a youth gang problem in 2000. The estimated number of youth gangs reported ranged from 1 to 40 gangs per community. The estimated number of gang members per community ranged from 4 to 750. On average, 80 percent of gang members were reported to be male. Some 78 percent of gang members in Indian country were reported to be American Indian, Alaska Native, or Aleut, followed by Hispanic/Latino (12 percent), Caucasian (7 percent), African-American (2 percent), and Asian (2 percent). Approximately one-quarter of the gang members were younger than 15, and almost half were between 15 and 17 years old. The offense that gang members most often committed was graffiti (47 percent), followed by vandalism (40 percent), drug sales (22 percent), and aggravated assault (15 percent). Seventy-eight percent of respondents reported no gang-related homicides, 14 percent reported one, and 8 percent reported two or more gang-related homicides in 2000. Recognizing that the majority of gang members in Indian country are young and many are female, this report advises that gang prevention efforts should target all youth during late childhood and early adolescence. Further, policies designed to improve overall community conditions should also have a positive impact on a community's gang problem. 6 figures and 5 notes