Impact of Gang Migration: Effective Responses by Law Enforcement Agencies in the United States, 1992 (ICPSR 2570)

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Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose

While gang migration had been mentioned with increasing frequency in state legislative task force investigations, conferences, and law enforcement accounts at the local, state, and federal levels, the evidence cited rarely reflected a systematic assessment of the prevalence, nature, and consequences of gang migration. It became critical to determine how the migration of gang members from traditional urban centers affected the emergence of street gangs in mid-sized and smaller cities throughout the nation. A migratory population of gang members may require different prevention and intervention strategies than an indigenous population of gang members. Different collaborative efforts among law enforcement agencies may be necessary. Finally, if various motivations for migration are observed in different settings, different responses by law enforcement agencies may be appropriate. This study was the first attempt to investigate gang migration systematically and on a national level. The primary objectives were (1) to identify the scope of gang migration nationally, (2) to describe the nature of gang migration, (3) to assess the impact of migration on destination cities, and (4) to describe the current law enforcement responses to the migration of gangs and identify those that appeared to be most effective for various types of migration.

Study Design View help for Study Design

To investigate gang migration systematically and on a national level, two phases of data collection were used. The major objective of the initial phase was to identify cities that had experienced gang migration (Part 1). This was accomplished by distributing a brief mail questionnaire in 1992 to law enforcement agencies in cities identified as potential gang or gang migration sites. The researchers obtained membership lists of gang investigator associations and solicited candidate municipalities from law enforcement contacts across the country. The primary agency responsible for policing each city was identified from the 1991 National Directory of Law Enforcement Administrators. If the municipality contracted police services to an agency other than the local police department, this agency was contacted by telephone to identify the appropriate respondent. Telephone follow-up procedures were instituted for cities that had not responded to the survey one month subsequent to the second mailing. Once the cities that experienced gang migration were identified, the second major phase of the data collection was to conduct in-depth telephone interviews with law enforcement officers in those cities in order to develop descriptions of the nature of migration and police responses to it. The interviews were conducted anywhere from six months to one year following completion of the migration survey.

Sample View help for Sample

Part 1: All 190 United States cities with a population over 100,000 were included in the survey, as well as a convenience sample of smaller cities and towns known to have experienced gang migration or to have local gangs. The primary agency in each city was selected using the 1991 National Directory of Law Enforcement Administrators. Part 2: Random sample of cities that cited at least ten gang migrants in the Part 1 mail survey.

Universe View help for Universe

Law enforcement agencies nationwide.

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Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables

For Part 1, information was collected on the year migration started, number of migrants in the past year, factors that deter gang migration, number of gang members, names of gangs, ethnic distribution of gang members and their drug market involvement, number of gang homicides, number of 1991 gang "drive-bys", and if gangs or narcotics were specified in the respondent's assignment. For Part 2, information was collected on demographics of gang members, the ethnic percentage of drug gang members and their involvement in distributing specific drugs, and the influence of gang migrants on local gang and crime situations in terms of types and methods of crime, drug distribution activities, technology/equipment used, and targets of crime. Information on patterns of gang migration, including motivations to migrate, drug gang migration, and volume of migration, was also collected. Local responses to gang migration covered information sources, department policies relative to migration, gang specialization in department, approaches taken by the department, and information exchanges and coordination among local, state, and federal agencies.

Response Rates View help for Response Rates

For Part 1, over 90 percent. For Part 2, unknown.

Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales

Several Likert-type scales were used.

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Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date

1999-11-19

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