Is a new wave of gang activity developing in the United States?
Youth gang activity tends to follow a cyclical pattern with upswings followed by downturns (Klein, 1995a), and these occur at multiple levels—within regions, cities, and neighborhoods (Egley et al., 2004). To illustrate, the largest cities reported persistent gang problems from 1996 to 2002 in the NYGS; in contrast, smaller cities and suburban and rural counties tended to report variable gang problems during this period (Egley et al., 2004; see also, Egley, 2002). Some cities may experience a large and sudden flare-up in gang violence in a given year. Such upswings are typically local in nature and not indicative of a nationwide trend (Tita and Abrahamse, 2004). Further complicating matters, local officials may be reluctant to acknowledge their gang problem until it publicly surfaces in a tragic event, or they may declare they have successfully dealt with it, only to see it surface again.
