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National Gang Intelligence Center |
Gangs are responsible for a significant portion of the crime in many urban communities and in an increasing number of suburban communities across the country; much of this crime is associated with their drug trafficking activities. According to local law enforcement information, gang members are responsible for as much as 80 percent of the crime in some locations.5 Violent disputes over control of drug territory and enforcement of drug debts frequently occur among street gangs in urban areas and, increasingly, in suburban communities where gangs have expanded their drug distribution operations. Gang members also engage in a host of other criminal activities such as auto theft, assault, alien smuggling, burglary, drive-by shootings, extortion, firearms offenses, home invasion robberies, homicide, identity theft, insurance fraud, mortgage fraud, operating prostitution rings, and weapons trafficking.
Drug distribution by gang members poses a growing concern in suburban and rural communities; gang members are the primary retail-level drug distributors and are increasing their wholesale-level drug distribution in most urban and suburban communities. According to the NDTS 2008, 58 percent of law enforcement agencies in the United States report that gangs are involved in drug distribution, compared with 45 percent in 2004; much of this increase occurred in suburban and rural areas. NDTS data further indicate that the primary drug distributed by gangs is marijuana, followed by powder cocaine, crack cocaine, MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy), methamphetamine, diverted pharmaceuticals, and heroin. (See Figure 4.) Open source reporting indicates that gang-related violent crime is increasing in some urban areas. For example, in San Diego, California, fatal gang-related homicides increased 56 percent from 18 in 2006 to 28 in 2007. In addition, Salinas, California, gang-related homicides increased 125 percent from 4 in 2006 to 9 in 2007.
Figure 4. Percentage of Law Enforcement Agencies Reporting Gang Involvement in Drug Distribution, by Drug Type, 2004-2008
Source: National Drug Threat Survey 2004-2008.
Law enforcement agencies report that gang members are increasingly using firearms in conjunction with their criminal activities. Moreover, during the latest 5-year reporting period ending in 2007, 94.3 percent of gang-related homicides reportedly involved the use of a firearm. Gang members typically buy, sell, and trade firearms among their associates. Gang members often obtain these firearms through thefts and straw purchases. These firearms are for personal use or for use by fellow gang members in committing homicides and armed robberies. For example, members and associates of Los Angeles-based Black P Stone Bloods and Rolling 20s Crips were arrested in July 2008 for illegally selling more than 119 firearms, according to law enforcement reporting. In addition, members of California-based Mara Salvatrucha obtain weapons for their personal use and sell weapons and ammunition to members of other gangs in California for profit, according to FBI information.
Gangs earn the profits essential to maintaining their criminal operations and the lifestyles of their members primarily through drug distribution. Most gang members are retail-level dealers who use drug proceeds to make typical consumer purchases, pay their living costs, or purchase luxury goods such as vehicles and jewelry.
According to openly published law enforcement reporting, gang members typically launder profits from criminal activities through front companies and real estate investments. Gang members use front companies such as clothing stores, hair salons, and music recording and production companies to commingle illicit proceeds earned from drug sales with licit income from these businesses. Some gang members also use mortgage fraud schemes or purchase real estate as investments or as a means to commingle illicit funds with rental payments. For example, members of Chicago-based Latin Kings, Black Disciples, Vice Lords, and Gangster Disciples use mortgage fraud schemes that employ straw purchasers and unscrupulous mortgage brokers and appraisers to purchase properties at a minimal cost and sell them at a higher value to a third party. The gang members receive the profits from the sales, seemingly legitimizing the income, while their associates typically default on the loans, often defrauding banks or mortgage companies.
Gang members often use cell phones and the Internet to communicate and promote their illicit activities. Street gangs typically use the voice and text messaging capabilities of cell phones to conduct drug transactions and prearrange meetings with customers. Members of street gangs use multiple cell phones that they frequently discard while conducting their drug trafficking operations. For example, the leader of an African American street gang operating on the north side of Milwaukee used more than 20 cell phones to coordinate drug-related activities of the gang; most were prepaid phones that the leader routinely discarded and replaced. Internet-based methods such as social networking sites, encrypted e-mail, Internet telephony, and instant messaging are commonly used by gang members to communicate with one another and with drug customers. Gang members use social networking Internet sites such as MySpace, YouTube, and Facebook as well as personal web pages to communicate and boast about their gang membership and related activities.
- According to open source and local law enforcement reporting, members of Crips gangs in Hampton, Virginia, use the Internet to intimidate rival gang members and maintain web sites to recruit new members. On October 23, 2007, a 15-year-old Crips gang member was arrested for shooting a rival gang member in the leg. Additionally, he was charged with the recruitment of persons for a criminal street gang through the use of the gang's social networking site.
- Gangs in Oceanside, California, are recruiting new members and claiming new turf on the Internet. Gang members flash gang signs and wear gang colors in videos and photos displayed on Internet sites. Sometimes, rivals "spar" on Internet message boards. Oceanside Police Department officers who investigate the city's resident Crips and Bloods easily find well-produced, self-promoting songs and videos featuring local gang members on Internet web sites.
5. Stated percentage is based solely on self-reporting by local law enforcement. The figures given are not meant to represent a National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) analysis.
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