1ºPat Sigman Gangs have proliferated rapidly since 1980, when there were about 2,000 gangs with 100,000 members in 286 cities.22 By 1996, there were 31,000 gangs with 846,000 members in 4,800 cities and towns.

Gangs are more likely to recruit adolescents who own firearms, and gang members (who are twice as likely to own guns for protection than nongang members) are more likely to carry guns outside their homes. The risk of being killed is 60 times greater among young gang members than in the general population and in some cities, far higher. For example, the St. Louis youth gang homicide rate is 1,000 times higher than the U.S. homicide rate.

Although not all gangs are drug organizations, gang membership appears to increase individual participation in drug use and trafficking, gun carrying, violence, and prolonged involvement in drug sales. Furthermore, gang activity is no longer a problem that is unique to urban communities. From 1989 to 1995, the percentage of students who reported that street gangs were present at school increased by 186 percent in suburban schools and 250 percent in rural schools. Gangs reportedly operate in 41 percent of urban schools, percent of suburban schools, and 20 percent of rural schools.
*Long-term solutions to address the problem of gun violence must include a comprehensive approach to reducing the number of youth involved in gangs.*

https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/sit...nce/sect01.html

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