NCJ Number
160870
Journal
Journal of Gang Research Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: (Winter 1996) Pages: 1-15
Date Published
1996
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Data from Illinois, Georgia, and Wisconsin studies are used to examine the hypothesis that gang migration is partly due to the movement of families with children at risk for gang membership to new neighborhoods.
Abstract
In 1994 a questionnaire was mailed to approximately 650 municipal law enforcement agencies in Illinois. Some 198 police chiefs responded by providing usable data. In an effort to replicate the findings in Illinois, two additional law enforcement studies were conducted in 1995. The Georgia study involved a saturation sampling of all 500 known State, county, municipal, and college law enforcement agencies in the State. The Georgia data were collected in the summer of 1995, with a 20- percent response rate (n=113) for the State as a whole. The Wisconsin study involved a saturation mail survey of all 500 State, municipal, county, and campus police departments. The Georgia and Wisconsin projects allowed the researcher to replicate and refine the 1994 findings from Illinois. The analysis reported here deals with the question in the survey that asked, "Have you seen cases where a parent relocates to your area (knowing their child was involved with a gang and perhaps thinking they can simply "move away" from the problem), and basically 'transplants' the gang problem to your area?" The findings show that families with children at-risk for gang involvement, or already involved in gang activities, move to new areas to escape gang influence. In so doing, however, many families bring gang influences through their children to the new geographic areas. 2 tables and 10 references