Date: November 20, 2020 by: Elvin Omeragic
It is no surprise that gang members are prone to committing crimes and engaging in illegal activities. Many of these gang affiliated individuals are considered criminals due to their antisocial behaviors and repeated criminal offenders.
However, statistics have shown that being part of a gang makes a person more prone to committing violent and severe criminal offenses. Annual averages have shown gang members commit 373,000 violent victimizations, such as rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault.
Over the last five years, there has been a consistent percentage of Americans from the ages of 12 and older who have been victims of violent crimes.
Source: www.bjs.gov
There are many factors that influence gang violence, including gang member migration, intragang conflict, emergence of new gangs, return from confinement, intergang conflict, and drug-related factors.
Statistics and data that have been collected throughout the years also highlight specific criminal offenses as “gang related”, which are aggravated assault, firearms use, drug sales, robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft, and larceny.
Source: National Gang Center
Among gang members, 48.9% of crimes committed were violent crimes, 42% property crimes, and 39% drug sales. Agencies have collected data each year and reported intergang conflicts and drug-related factors as a direct impact on local levels of gang violence. There are many factors involved in the violence of gang members and gang-affiliated criminals.
These factors include gang member migration from outside of the United States, gang member migration from within the United States, intragang conflict, emergence of new gangs, returning from confinement, intergang conflict, and drug-related factors. Among the various criminal offenses by gang-affiliated members, aggravated assault and firearms use are the top offenses.
Source: National Gang Center
Gang violence has increased significantly over the years, and youth gangs are becoming more violent. 95% of America’s largest city police departments reported significant criminal activity by youth gangs or gang-like groups. These gang members include various types of members, such as leaders, associates, regulars, recruits, and wannabees.
In New York alone, the city has faced rising gang gun violence. Over this past fourth of July weekend, 53 people were shot and four fatally shot. By just the summer of 2020, New York had 634 shootings, a statistic that doubled from the year prior according to New York Times.
There has been a 166% increase in shootings and violent crimes in New York. New York has seen a 50% increase in gang violence in 2020. Gang related violence has surged by 52% this year. The NYPD has reported rises in the murder rate due to city-wide gang violence increases. Source: New York Times
It is a statistical fact that gang members engage in more serious criminal behavior. Over 33,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs are criminally active in the United States today. These gangs turn to violence to control neighborhoods and their territory, and use violence to boost their illegal money-making activities, such as robbery, drug trafficking, gun trafficking, prostitution, and fraud.
Compared to non-gang involved peers, gang members engage in a higher level of serious and violent crimes. Research studies have proven that gangs are intertwined with gun violence and drug crimes, and that there is a clear connection between gangs, guns, drugs, and violence.
Source: US Department of Justice
In a study, research showed that being part of a gang have an impact on affecting violent behaviors, but not on property crimes or drug use behavior, which illustrates a correlation between being in a gang and engaging in more violent activities and crimes.
Predicted rates of nonviolent and violent delinquency based on gang membership status shows that gang members are far higher to engage in violence than non-gang members.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3151646/
Shootings in New York have surged in 2020, and violent crimes squads in the region has attributed this surge to gang violence that is occurring throughout the state. Lt. Ryan Gillis of the 73rd Precinct in Brooklyn has been battling the violence between two gangs for the last ten years.
Gillis stated that “the violence between these gangs and its impact is widespread throughout Brooklyn, spreading into Bedford-Stuyvesant, into Brooklyn South, into Crown Heights”. Source: CBS Local News
The reason for the increase in gang violence in New York can be due to the shooting of prominent gang members, which creates retaliatory efforts by gang followers.
When comparing the behaviors of gang members decades ago compared to today, Gillis stated “Back in the day, gang members used to mark their territory using graffiti. It doesn’t occur as much now. What we see if they’re using social media as their graffiti.” CBS Local News.
Data Journalism 395 