Recent patterns in gang prevalence: A two state comparison

Recent data from the National Youth Gang Survey indicate that an increasing number of jurisdictions report the presence of gangs. Historically, increasing presence of gangs has been understood as gang expansion from an urban center into surrounding cities and towns. It has been postulated that gang migrants - existing gang members who move to new territories free of gang issues - have been responsible for this expansion. The present data draw on surveys from law enforcement agencies in two States, Illinois and South Carolina. The data support the NYGS finding that gang presence is again expanding, and suggest that gang presence is expanding into smaller cities, not only close to, but also far from an urban center. Moreover, the data suggest that the notion of gang migration is insufficient to explain the patterns of gang presence. The findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical and policy implications.