Understanding Police Gang Data at the Aggregate Level: An Examination of the Reliability of National Youth Gang Survey Data

• NCJ Number: 251659
• Journal: Justice Research and Policy Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: December 2012 Pages: 103-128
• Author(s): Charles M. Katz; Andrew M. Fox; Chester L. Britt; Phillip Stevenson
• Date Published: November 2012
• Length: 26 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey; Report (Technical Assistance); Program/Project Evaluation; Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the reliability of key measures of gang behavior measured by the National Youth Gang Survey (NYGS).

Abstract

The NYGS is an annual survey of a nationally representative sample of police agencies. Administered by the National Gang Center, the NYGS provides data on the number of gangs, gang members, and gang homicides across jurisdictions. NYGS data were assessed for the period 2005-2009, with attention to missing data, test-retest reliability, internal consistency reliability, and inter-observer reliability. Overall, findings indicate that the NYGS data on gangs and gang members are generally reliable. results showed low levels of missing data for number of gangs and number of gang homicides in jurisdictions with fewer than 200,000 people; and measures of number of gang members and gang homicides in jurisdictions over 200,000 people had missing data from about 30 percent of participating jurisdictions. Data on gang homicides also had a high degree of reliability, but only for jurisdictions with populations over 200,000. Implications of the findings are discussed, and recommendations for future research are offered. 55 references (Publisher abstract modified)