NCJ Number
164065
Date Published
1996
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on patterns and trends in gang crime in Chicago, using two data sets.
Abstract
One data set contains information on all homicides committed in Chicago between 1965 and 1994; the other contains information on all street gang-related offenses that occurred in Chicago from 1987 through 1995. The research is based on the Chicago Police Department's 1992 definition for a street gang. This definition states that a street gang is "an association of individuals who exhibit the following characteristics in varying degrees: a gang name and recognizable symbols; a geographic territory; a regular meeting pattern; and an organized, continuous course of criminality. Findings show that lethal street gang violence increased dramatically in recent years, as has the risk of becoming either a victim or an offender. The risk of becoming either a victim or an offender in street gang-related homicide peaks between the ages of 15 and 19. The age of offenders in street gang-related homicide and nonlethal drug offenses is declining, but not in nonlethal violence. Street gangs tend to specialize in either violence or entrepreneurial activities. Most street gang violence involves inter-gang conflicts, but intragang violence is common. Gang-related firearm homicides have increased, particularly those committed with semiautomatic weapons. Street gang-related homicide is more likely to grow out of turf violence than drug markets, but drug markets indirectly influence violence by bringing rival gang members into proximity with one another. 12 figures, 5 maps, and 10 references