Statewide Statistics for 2011

Although overall the volume of violent crime is declining in our state, criminal gang violence continues to be a growing problem. For this reporting period, law enforcement has identified and documented 1,637 criminal gangs, a 16.7% increase from 2010. Eighty-five percent (85%) of the law enforcement survey respondents reported that criminal gang activity has either increased or stayed the same in their respective county over the past year. A third of all documented criminal gangs are known to be actively recruiting new members.

Data released from the Departments of Corrections and Juvenile Justice demonstrates that a steadily increasing number of incarcerated inmates and actively placed juveniles are identified as gang-affiliated. These assessments signify the imperative that gang control efforts continue to focus on breaking the cycle of criminal gang recruitment and gang-related crime through efforts in prevention/intervention, suppression/enforcement, and rehabilitation/reentry.