Does the Navajo Nation have gang problems?
Yes. They are severe and growing in intensity. A “gang, ” according to the Navajo Nation Police, is “an ongoing formal or informal association of persons whose members or associates individually or collectively engage in the commission, attempted commission, facilitation or solicitation of any felony act or who has at least one individual who is a criminal street gang member.” It is difficult to assign numbers to the problem or to attribute cases filed in court with gangs. Criminal activity is classified by statutory offenses and not by those who commit them or whether they are committed by groups of people. In Navajo Nation Fiscal Year 1993 (April 1, 1992 through March 31, 1993), there were an estimated 621 gang-related cases in the Navajo Nation Family Courts. That is 58% of the total number of delinquency cases filed. The numbers are increasing. Court statistics for the period between October 1, 1996 and June 30, 1997 show that for the first time, assaults are the number one categor
