Nature and Scope of Hispanic/Latino Gangs in North Carolina

• NCJ Number: 214546
• Author(s): Alison Rhyne; Douglas L. Yearwood
• Date Published: September 2005
• Length: 36 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2004-BJ-CX-K010
• Sponsoring Agency: Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
• Corporate Author: North Carolina Governor's Crime Cmssn
• Sale Source: North Carolina Governor's Crime Cmssn
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This monograph assesses the nature and extent of Hispanic/Latino gangs within North Carolina communities, with attention to recent criminal activities, geographic dispersion, relationships with national Hispanic/Latino criminal groups, and how local gangs differ from gangs with national affiliations.

Abstract

The study recommends the increased involvement of law enforcement agencies and human service agencies in services to Hispanic families and residents, increased education for Hispanic parents regarding gangs and how to prevent youth from joining gangs, improved law enforcement training in dealing with Hispanic/Latino gangs and their members, creation of a standardized automated gang tracking and intelligence system, and attention to preventing and suppressing nationally affiliated gangs in urban areas. Of 164 law enforcement agencies that responded to the study's survey, 29.4 percent reported Hispanic/Latino gangs within their jurisdiction. Of these agencies, almost half indicated these gangs posed a significant problem/threat to their communities. Slightly more than one-third of gang-related disputes that involved at least one Hispanic/Latino gang stemmed from retaliatory violence, followed by drug-related disputes (29.6 percent). "Turf-related" issues accounted for 24.5 percent of the gang conflicts. Respondents indicated that 79.9 percent of disputes that involved Hispanic/Latino gangs were with other Hispanic/Latino gangs. Survey responses showed that 73.7 percent of Hispanic/Latino gang members migrated into respondent jurisdictions from either another city in the State, another State, or another country. Mexico and El Salvador were the most common countries from which gang members migrated. Of the 118 Hispanic/Latino gangs identified by respondents, 91 were believed to have connections with similar gangs beyond jurisdictional or State boundaries. Surenos (Sur-13) was the gang most often mentioned (23 counties and at least 1,855 reported gang members). Urban gangs, especially those with national affiliations, apparently posed the most serious problems. 10 tables, 6 figures, and 12 references