Are gang homicides increasing?
Because numerous issues surround gang crime data, there is no simple response to this question (see Maxson et al., 2002, for further discussion). First, there is the issue of availability—or lack thereof—of gang crime data. Nearly half of law enforcement agencies report they do not regularly record any criminal offenses as “gang-related” (National Youth Gang Survey, 2009, see Regularly Record Any Criminal Offense as “Gang-Related”), and those that do most often do so only for violent offenses (Egley and Major, 2003). Second, agencies employ varying criteria for recording a crime as gang-related (Egley et al., 2006). Broadly speaking, some agencies record a crime as gang-related when it involves a gang member as either a perpetrator or victim; other agencies use a narrower approach and record a crime as gang-related only when the motive behind the crime furthers the interest and activities of the gang. Third, and consequently, the term “gang homicide” often subsumes lethal outcomes invo
