G.3: Gang-Related Violence
Work closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to reduce the incidence of gang-related violence by eliminating
or incapacitating the nations’ most violent gangs.
Other Information:
Violent gangs pose one of the most significant violent crime problems in our nation’s history. In major cities such as Chicago,
Los Angeles, and New York, violent street gangs terrorize whole neighborhoods and control life in entire public housing complexes.
Driven by a desire to protect drug sale locations and gang turf, these violent criminal enterprises are a large contributor
to the high murder rates in our nation’s metropolitan areas. Within the first six months of 2003, murder rates in the northeast
United States continued to rise. New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and Baltimore all had significantly more murders in the first
half of 2003 as compared to the same period in 2002. In the summer of 2003, officials in Washington, D.C. declared a crime
emergency during a spike in violent activity, much of which was gang-related. Conversely, in Los Angeles, where aggressive
gang policing and investigations were a top priority, murders were reduced from 323 to 258 over the same time period. Due
to its experience in conducting investigations of criminal enterprises, the FBI can provide expertise and resources to assist
local, tribal, and state law enforcement agencies in the disruption and dismantlement of significant violent gangs. The FBI
projects that the threat of gang-related violence will increase over the next five years and will require an increase in the
number of Safe Street Task Forces to reduce this threat. Priority Actions: Expand the gang intelligence base to identify and
prioritize the gangs responsible for a disproportionate amount of violent criminal activity. Develop integrated violent gang
strategies with other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to maximize the impact on violent gangs. Establish
a coordinated national strategy with federal law enforcement partners to ensure the most efficient deployment of various task
forces. Utilizing Safe Street Task Forces and other inter-agency cooperation, develop investigations on these criminal enterprises,
and use the enterprise theory of investigation to dismantle major violent gangs.
Indicator(s):
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