Statistics about gang members are estimates since no one actually goes through a neighborhood and manages to count every kid that claims some affiliation. Many gang members kept on police files are older adults who are no longer active. The numbers also don't separate gang youth who are mostly hurting themselves, and the small number who commit serious violence and crime. Keeping that in mind, Police and Probation keep a record of gang members they cite or arrest, and this is the number generally used for statistics. National school surveys provide a second source. The third estimate comes from interviews in the community. The statistics to avoid are those provided by television shows: those numbers tend to be exaggerated to make for better drama
I have tried to look at more than one source, and averaged the numbers in different surveys and studies. I have also compared the numbers to my own experience to see if they seem reasonable. But keep in mind, these statistics are rough estimates, not facts. They are useful in understanding the general scope of the gang problem.
Please read the articles I've provided in the box at the upper right if you want to see the sources for the information I've provided.
Gang Statistics: how many, where are they, who they are and crime data
1. How many teens and adults are involved in gangs? The numbers below have been averaged from several articles and you can cite my website if you are writing a paper. See articles 1, 2, 3 and 4 to read the actual sources I used for these statistics.
There are approximately 24,500 gangs in the U.S (see article 4). There were an estimated 750,000 gang members in 2000. The 2009 estimate is One Million gang members (see articles1 & 2) with 147,000 of them currently incarcerated.
Of the 1 million gang members, about 40% are juveniles (under 18) and 60% are adults, or about 400,000 teenage gang members and 600,000 adult gang members.
jBetween 90% to 94% of gang members are male. Between 6% to 10% are female.
There are approximately 360,000 teenage boys and 32,000 teenage girls in gangs
There are approximately 560,000 adult males and 48,000 adult females in gangs.
Every city in the U.S. with at least 250,000 people has gang activity. 86% of those with at least 100,000 people report gang activity (see article #3)
3. How many girls are in gangs, and how is their role different from male gang members?
There are between 60,000 and 80,000 female gang members in the U.S.
Approximately 32,000 female gang members are teenagers, and 48,000 are adults.
60% of gangs do not allow female members. (Girls hang around, go to parties, but are not "members."
40% allow female members, but only 1 out of 10 gang members is a girl
There are very few all girl gangs. Only 2% of all gangs are composed only of women.
Female gang members commit fewer crimes and little violence: Their incarcerations tend to be for drug use, larceny, petty theft and status offenses or domestic issues (e.g., fights with parents and runaway).
In the U.S., there are approximately 14,000 girls held in correctional & residential facilities versus 90,000 boys. The majority of the 14,000 girls have some gang affiliation, but how many is not clear. .
70% of girls in jail report having been sexually abused or victimized as children
65% of girls in jail have a psychological issue such as clinical depression or generalized anxiety (30% for boys).
26% of girls in jail have been in special education. Although there are far fewer girls with learning disabilities, those who do have learning problems are at high risk of gang association.
6. What is the percent of gang involvement in Indian Country and how are these gangs different from off-reservation gangs? There is very little research on this, but I have found the following:
23% of reservations in a goverment study reported up to 40 active gangs on tribal land.
80% of gang members in this study were male, and 3 out of 4 were under 18 years old.The Point: Reservation Gang members are mostly teenagers, not adults. The opposite of city gangs
20% of gang members on Native reservations are girls versus only 6%-11% off the reservation.10% of gangs reported that half their members were female. The Point: There are more girls in reservation gangs than in city gangs
78% of gang members on reservations were Native American, BUT 22% were non-Indian and primarily Hispanic, Black or Caucasian.
A gang survey on the Navajo reservation found that gang members did not know their native language, were alienated from the culture; had no positive activities; had severe difficulty in school, early drug/alcohol use; and came from more dysfunctional homes with greater poverty than non-gang members on Navajo land.
If you look at the numbers, more youth join gangs on many reservations than do in cities. The reasons for this are obvious: On these reservations there is little employment available, a lack of activities for youth, and extremely high poverty rates. Look at the list of articles at the top right, and click ARTICLES 10, 11 and 12 for more info
7. How much crime is committed by gangs and gang members?
Click on the links above under the heading "Crime and Gang Data for U.S. and Cities" for national statistics on crimes committed by gang members.
2. What are the Leading Risk factors and reasons for male gang involvement? Note: 94% of all gang members are male: Read #9 (either article) for info on this topic
Low income
Learning disabilities and emotional disorders: 60% - 78% of Incarcerated gang members have emotional and learning disabilities. This is the percent found by states that test all delinquents for special needs (see article #7 for this statistic)
School Failure and Truancy
No involvement in positive activities outside of school
Friends and peers who are delinquent
Early involvement in petty theft and behavioral disorders in grade school
GANG STATISTICS - Last updated Nov. 3, 2009
All statistics come from these articles and websites. Click to open.
If there is info you can't find, send a question at the bottom of this page
5. What are the risk factors for girls in gangs?
School failure and learning disabilities: Close to one out of three girls in gangs have been in special education
Lack of involvement in positive activities in or out of school
Sexual abuse and victimization
Family dysfunction
Low Income
Early drug use and sexual activity
Emotional disorders
Exposure to violence
8. Gang statistics for specific cities (more to come on this question)
4. How many male and female gang members are in jail?
15% of juveniles in prison are female and 85% are male
14,000 girls (under 19 yrs.) are in some kind placement: detention facility, residential placement or correctional facility. It isn't clear how many have gang affiliation.
There are approximately 80,000 adult women in prison.
In the US: 90,000 boys (under 19 yrs) are in some kind of placement: detention facility, work camp, residential placement or correctional facility. 9 out of 10 boys in detention have some gang affiliation.
If you need a statistic not on this page, type your question below and hit submit. I will try to find the info. Type in your email if you want a personal response from me.
9. Statistics for number and percent of gang members by race/ethnicity:
Black/African-American Gang members: 31% or about 310,000
Hispanic Gang members: 47% or about 470,000
white/caucasian gang members: 13% or about 130,000
Asian gang members: 7% or about 70,000
Indian/Native American gang members: Please see question #6 on this page
UPDATES: I am continuously updating this page. You can send me a question or idea at the bottom of this page.
