Local Gangs Part I Research Process

Using the Internet Explorer search engine, "Bergen County Passaic County" was typed in. It returned no results for any gang issues. The search terms, "Bergen county Passaic County gang issues in local community" was entered. It returned the results on an article, "State police survey shows gang activity in all N.J. counties" (Fabiano, 2011). The article named Bergen County as one in nine counties with higher than average gang presence. The article also talked about law enforcement officials questioning the results of the survey based on the results not adding up to the number of arrests that were gang related. And, another problem of a significant population of illegal immigrants staying isolated from police and being a breeding ground for gangs.

The search terms, "New Jersey gang statistics" was entered. It returned the 2007 State police survey that compared data to the 2004 survey (Gangs in New Jersey: Municipal Law Enforcement Response to 2007 NJSP Gang Survey, 2007). The results also returned an article that addressed gang violence in New Jersey (Holvey, 2005). The search term "New Jersey 2010 gang survey" was entered and returned the 2010 NJ Gang Survey (Gangs in New Jersey: Municipal Law Enforcement Response to the 2010 NJSP Gang Survey, 2010). The search term, "New Jersey gang programs" returned an article from the New Jersey's Online Gang Free Community site (New Jersey Announces Gang Suppression Initiative Through Stepped Up Enforcement and Awareness Efforts, 2001).

The search term, "gangs in Passaic schools" returned an article on a stabbing at the high school (Patberg, 2011). The article talks about the superintendent stating concern relating to gangs, but it was not a problem.

Part II Findings Analysis

According to the 2007 NJSP Gang Survey (Gangs in New...

The North Region had 37% in 2007 compared to 33% in 2004. The Central Region had 40% in 2007 compared to 37% in 2004. The South Region had 55% compared to 25% in 2004. The major gangs that were reported were the Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, MS-13, Pagan Motorcycle Club, and Neta. More than half the municipalities reported Blood presence at 87%. The most common types of gang related crime were assault and aggravated assault. Drug crimes constituted almost half of all gang criminal activity with retail sales of marijuana and cocaine making up the largest portion of the narcotic crimes.
Gangs in schools were 51% in 2007 compared to 54% in 2004. Almost two thirds reported three or less gang incidents in a twelve month period. Twenty one of the largest municipalities reported 13 or more incidents for a twelve month period. The most common gang activity in schools was the display of gang colors and signs. For Bergen County and Passaic County the Bloods were the most active in recruiting new members and were the biggest problem. A 2005 statistics report from the New Jersey State Police reported nearly 17,000 gang members statewide (Holvey, 2005).

In the 2010 NJSP Gang Survey (Gangs in New Jersey: Municipal Law Enforcement Response to the 2010 NJSP Gang Survey, 2010), gang presence was reported in all 21 counting at 45% compared to 43% in 2004. Bergen County reported 108 gangs and Passaic reported 52 gangs. There was a tremendous change in the presence of specific gang names since 2004 where 73% mentioned in 2004 were not mentioned in 2010. There were 64 out of 244 gangs identified that were new. It was unknown if old gangs were making new ones or an indication of emerging gang presence. Of all the jurisdictions, 33% indicated an increase in gang activity, 47% indicated no change, and 13% indicated a decrease in gang activity. Of all the jurisdictions, 46% reported gang presence in schools. In all 70.7% reported gang related incidents with 38% as display of colors…