This paper examines gang activity in Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey, drawing on New Jersey State Police gang surveys from 2004, 2007, and 2010, as well as local news reports and law enforcement perspectives. The paper documents rising gang membership statewide — from over 10,000 members in 2001 to nearly 17,000 by 2005 — and analyzes trends in gang-related crime, school presence, and recruitment. It highlights the dominant role of the Bloods in northern New Jersey, inconsistencies between survey data and arrest records, and the challenges posed by gang mobility across municipalities. Prevention and enforcement efforts are also briefly discussed.
The research began with an Internet search using the terms "Bergen County Passaic County," which returned no results related to gang issues. The search was then refined to "Bergen County Passaic County gang issues in local community," which returned an article titled "State Police Survey Shows Gang Activity in All N.J. Counties" (Fabiano, 2011). That article identified Bergen County as one of nine counties with higher-than-average gang presence. It also noted that some law enforcement officials questioned the survey's results, arguing that the figures were inconsistent with the number of gang-related arrests. A further concern raised in the article was the significant population of undocumented immigrants who remain isolated from police contact, potentially creating a fertile environment for gang activity.
The search terms "New Jersey gang statistics" returned the 2007 State Police survey, which compared data to the 2004 survey (Gangs in New Jersey: Municipal Law Enforcement Response to 2007 NJSP Gang Survey, 2007), as well as an article addressing gang violence in New Jersey (Holvey, 2005). The search term "New Jersey 2010 gang survey" 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 New Jersey's Online Gang Free Community site (New Jersey Announces Gang Suppression Initiative Through Stepped Up Enforcement and Awareness Efforts, 2001). Finally, the search term "gangs in Passaic schools" returned an article about a stabbing at Passaic High School (Patberg, 2011), in which the school superintendent expressed concern about gangs while maintaining that they did not yet represent a serious problem.
According to the 2007 NJSP Gang Survey (Gangs in New Jersey: Municipal Law Enforcement Response to 2007 NJSP Gang Survey, 2007), 43% of jurisdictions reported the presence of street gangs during the previous twelve months, compared to 33% in the 2004 survey. Broken down by region, the North Region reported 37% in 2007 versus 33% in 2004; the Central Region reported 40% versus 37%; and the South Region showed the sharpest rise, from 25% in 2004 to 55% in 2007. The major gangs reported statewide included the Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, MS-13, Pagan Motorcycle Club, and Neta. More than half of municipalities reporting Blood presence did so at a rate of 87%. The most common types of gang-related crime were assault and aggravated assault. Drug crimes constituted nearly half of all gang criminal activity, with retail sales of marijuana and cocaine making up the largest portion of narcotics offenses.
Gang presence in schools was reported by 51% of jurisdictions in 2007, compared to 54% in 2004. Almost two-thirds of those jurisdictions reported three or fewer gang incidents in a twelve-month period, though twenty-one of the largest municipalities reported 13 or more incidents during the same period. The most common form of gang activity in schools was the display of gang colors and signs. For Bergen County and Passaic County specifically, the Bloods were identified as the most active in recruiting new members and represented the greatest concern. A 2005 statistics report from the New Jersey State Police estimated 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 counties, with 45% of jurisdictions reporting gang activity compared to 43% in 2004. Bergen County reported 108 gangs, while Passaic County reported 52. There was a significant change in the specific gang names identified since 2004: 73% of gangs mentioned in 2004 were not mentioned in 2010, and 64 out of 244 identified gangs were new. It remained unclear whether established gangs were forming new subsets or whether the data reflected genuinely emerging gang activity.
Of all jurisdictions surveyed, 33% indicated an increase in gang activity, 47% indicated no change, and 13% indicated a decrease. Gang presence in schools was reported by 46% of jurisdictions. Among those reporting gang-related incidents, 70.7% identified specific activity: 38% involved display of colors and signs, and 32% involved rare weapons incidents. Criminal activity included 39% assaults, 27% aggravated assaults, 8% attempted homicides, and 4% homicides. Passaic County specifically reported that 21% of gang-related incidents involved homicide. Violent crime was most commonly attributed to the Bloods, who accounted for 58% of violent incidents. Gangs were also involved in theft crimes at a rate of 38%, including robbery (70%), burglary (42%), vehicle theft (33%), and shoplifting (31%). Narcotics crimes consisted of 44% marijuana sales, 37% cocaine sales, and 28% heroin sales.
"Officials question survey accuracy and immigrant isolation"
"Rising membership and gang movement across municipalities"
"School and community anti-gang initiatives in New Jersey"
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