National Youth Gang Survey

2012 National Youth Gang Survey
National Gang Center
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and Bureau of Justice Assistance
U.S. Department of Justice

Your agency has been selected to furnish information for the 2012 National Youth Gang Survey. Your answers
statistically represent those of hundreds of other law enforcement agencies that will not be surveyed—so your
response is very important. Although this survey is voluntary, we urgently need your cooperation to make the
results comprehensive, accurate, and timely. We greatly appreciate your assistance.

Survey Instructions
♦ Please report data for the calendar year 2012 (January 1 through December 31).
♦ For the purpose of this survey, a youth gang is defined as “a group of youths or young adults in your
jurisdiction that you or other responsible persons in your agency or community are willing to identify or
classify as a gang.” DO NOT include motorcycle gangs, hate or ideology groups, prison gangs, or other
exclusively adult gangs.
•

Please base your responses on your records, your personal knowledge, and/or consultations with other
agency personnel who are familiar with youth gangs. When exact numeric answers are not available,
provide estimates. Leave items blank when responses are unknown.

♦

The terms “youth” and “juvenile” are not synonymous. The term “youth” is more general than the term
“juvenile,” which is a legal designation statutorily defined within each state. Throughout this survey, the term
“youth gang” is used to capture information about gangs that is not restricted to juvenile-aged members but
also may include young adults (see “youth gang” definition above).

♦ Police departments should report only for their cities/towns.
♦

Sheriffs’ departments should report only for their unincorporated service areas. Please exclude any
contracted jurisdictions.

NATIONAL
GANG ®
CENTER

Please respond by
XX/XX/XXXX

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Agency Information
(please print clearly)

Law Enforcement Agency Name
Name of Jurisdiction(s) Served (city, town, or county)
Mailing Address
City County
State ZIP Code
First Name

MI

Last Name

Title/Rank
Unit or Section
Length of Time at Current Position: Years

Months

Telephone (with area code)
Fax (with area code)
E-mail

2012 National Youth Gang Survey Questions
1.

During 2012, were any youth gangs (as defined in the Survey Instructions) active in
the city, town, or county served by your agency?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[ ] Do not know

If you answered “No” or “Do not know” to Question 1—this completes
the survey. Please return the form by mail or fax.
If you answered “Yes” to Question 1—please continue.
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2.

In approximately what year did gangs begin to pose a problem in your jurisdiction?
Year ____________

3.

[ ] Do not know

How many gangs (as defined in the Survey Instructions) were active in your
jurisdiction during 2012?
Number of active gangs ____________

4.

Some recent reports have noted the breaking off of local gangs into separate groups.
If this occurred in your jurisdiction in 2012, how many gangs reported in Question 3
were the result?
____________

5.

[ ] Do not know

[ ] Do not know

How many gang members (juveniles and young adults) were active in your jurisdiction
during 2012? An active gang member is defined as someone who was involved in gang
activity with other gang members during 2012.
Number of active gang members ____________

6.

[ ] Do not know

Many agencies use specific criteria to designate or identify individuals as gang
members. Six of these criteria are listed below. Please rate the following items by
frequency of use in your agency.

Not At All Very Little Sometimes Very Often
The individual has been designated a gang
member by another law enforcement or criminal
justice agency.

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

The individual is identified as a gang member by
a reliable informant.

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

The individual claims to be a gang member in a
custodial setting (e.g., booking, detention,
confinement).

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[]

The individual claims to be a gang member in a
noncustodial setting.

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[]

The individual displays symbols of gang
membership such as items of clothing, “colors,”
tattoos, and/or hand signs.

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[]

The individual is known to associate with and/or
has been arrested with known gang members.

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[]

7. What percentage of gang members in your jurisdiction reported in Question 5 are gang
member migrants (i.e., they had already joined a gang in another jurisdiction prior to
arriving in your jurisdiction)? Please check one.

[ ] 0%

[ ] 1–25%

[ ] 26–50%

[ ] 51–75%

[ ] 76–100%
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For the purposes of this survey, gang crime is defined as:
Member-based—A crime in which a gang member(s) is either the perpetrator or the victim,
regardless of the motive, or
Motive-based—A crime committed by a gang member(s) in which the underlying reason is to further
the interests and activities of the gang.
8. Please indicate the number of member-based homicides involving gang members that
occurred in your jurisdiction during 2012.

Number of gang member-based homicides ____________

[ ] Do not know

9. Of the number reported in Question 8, please indicate the number of motive-based
homicides involving gang members that occurred in your jurisdiction during 2012.
(Note: This number should not be greater than that reported in Question 8.)

Number of gang motive-based homicides ____________

[ ] Do not know

10. Compared with 2011, please select a response for gang-related crime in your

jurisdiction in 2012 (please check a response for each item):

Example: Compared with 2011, gang-related robbery decreased in 2012.

Gang-Related Offenses

Homicide

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

Robbery

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

Aggravated assault

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

Burglary/breaking and entering

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

Motor vehicle theft

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

Larceny/theft

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

Drug sales

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

Shots fired

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

Gang graffiti

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

Decreased

Stayed About the Same Increased

No Incidences

11. Based on what you know from arrest records of gang members in your jurisdiction, do
offenders who join gangs commit a higher than average number of offenses prior to
joining a gang?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

[ ] Do not know

12. Based on what you know from arrest records of gang members in your jurisdiction,
do offenders who join gangs increase their level of offending while members of a
gang?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

[ ] Do not know
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13. Below are some commonly discussed factors influencing gang-related violence.

Please indicate the factor(s) that significantly influenced gang-related violence in your
jurisdiction in 2012 (check all that apply):

[ ] Drug-related factors

[ ] Emergence of new gangs

[ ] Gang members migrating from other U.S. jurisdictions

[ ] Gang members migrating from outside the United States

[ ] Gang members returning from confinement

[ ] Intragang (within-gang) conflict

[ ] Intergang (between-gang) conflict

[ ] Other (please identify) __________________________________________

[ ] No gang-related violence in my jurisdiction

14. In 2012, did your jurisdiction experience the return of gang members from

confinement?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

[ ] Do not know

15. If you answered “Yes” to Question 14, please estimate to what degree the following

gang activities in your jurisdiction were affected by gang members returning from
confinement in 2012 (please check a response for each item):

In 2012, gang members returning from confinement:

Not At All

Very Little

Somewhat Very Much

Influenced local gang dress and demeanor

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

Increased local gang access to weapons

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

Increased drug trafficking by local gangs

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

Increased property crime by local gangs

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

Increased violent crime by local gangs

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

Increased intragang conflict

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

Increased intergang conflict

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

[ ]

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Page 5 of 7

16.

Many jurisdictions have adopted particular measures aimed at reducing gang problems.
Eleven such measures are listed below. Please indicate which of these is used in
your jurisdiction and, if present, whether it has reduced gang problems. (Please check
a response for each item.)

Law Enforcement Strategies Is this currently being If “Yes,” has it reduced gang
to Reduce Gang Problem used in your jurisdiction? problems in your jurisdiction?

Civil gang injunction

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Other civil gang ordinance(s)

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Curfew ordinance

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Targeted firearms intervention

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Gang call-ins

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Targeted patrols

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Dedicated gang unit/officer

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Coordinated probation searches

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Participation in a multiagency
gang task force

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Collaborative Strategies to Is this currently being If “Yes,” has it reduced gang
Reduce Gang Problem used in your jurisdiction? problems in your jurisdiction?

Participation in a multiagency
reentry initiative
[ ] Yes

Participation in a multiagency
community-based, anti-gang
strategy
[ ] Yes [ ] No

[ ] No

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

17. Compared with 2011, was your gang problem in 2012 (please check one):

[ ] Getting worse

[ ] Getting better

[ ] Staying about the same

[ ] Do not know

This completes the survey.
Thank you for your participation.
Please return the completed survey form by XX/XX/XXXX, via mail or fax to:

National Gang Center

Post Office Box 12729
Tallahassee, FL 32317-2729
Phone: (800) 446-0912 (toll-free)
Fax: (888) 323-7305 (toll-free)

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