NCJ Number
247326
Date Published
September 2012
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This report presents the methodology and results of a survey of Arizona law enforcement officers regarding gangs and gang activity in their jurisdictions.
Abstract
Gangs were reported to be active in 46 of the 63 jurisdiction (73 percent) that responded to the 2011 survey. The 35 agencies that estimated the number of gang members in their jurisdictions reported 31,511 active gang members. Less than half of the agencies (48.8 percent) reported that gangs were expanding the scope of their activities. Over half of the respondents indicated that gang activity had increased in the prior 12 months and during the last 5 years. Assault/aggravated assault was reported as the primary gang-related crime, followed by burglary and drug offenses. Regarding gang intervention strategies, the respondents identified focused law enforcement, the targeting of specific gang members and the use of Gang Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement as the most effective strategies in countering gangs and their activities. A much lower percentage of respondents favored school programs, special gang prosecution units, and community-based gang programs. 9 tables and 2 figures