Highlights of the 2005 National Youth Gang Survey

• NCJ Number: 223349
• Author(s): Arlen Egley, Jr.; Christina E. O'Donnell
• Date Published: July 2008
• Length: 2 pages
• Publication Series: OJJDP Youth Gang Series
• Agencies: OJJDP
• Publication Type: Factsheet

Annotation

This fact sheet delivers the results of the 2005 National Youth Gang Survey (NYGS).

Abstract

Results show that the percentage of agencies in larger cities reporting gang problems is significantly higher than all other area types, and is followed, in order, by suburban counties, smaller cities, and rural counties. Second, the 10-year trend in prevalence rates of gang problems is remarkably similar across all area types, albeit at different levels. Briefly stated, the percentage of law enforcement agencies reporting gang problems across all areas was highest in the mid-1990s, continued to decline until reaching a low in 2001, and has since begun to trend back upward with 2005 figures most closely resembling 1999 rates. Taken as a whole, the results of the 2005 NYGS continue to emphasize the expansiveness and seriousness of the gang problem across the United States. Findings suggest a resurgence of gang activity on a national level and, given the documented association between gangs and violence, call attention to careful and measured efforts to respond to the Nation's gang problem. Data were collected from 1,798 law enforcement agencies across the United States; 70 percent of those who received the 2005 survey responded. 1 table and 1 figure