The FBI's 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment report states
that there are 1.4 million active gang members comprising more
than 33,000 gangs in the United States. Gang violence is a
serious issue significantly contributing to violent crime,
including homicides. Gang membership is rapidly increasing; the
2011 report indicates a 40% growth in gang membership since the
2009 report. The current gun control debate in the U.S. is long
on emotion and cosmetic approaches to reducing violence, but
short on meaningful solutions that address the underlying causes
of violence. Tacking the underlying causes may not be as
immediately gratifying in terms of producing swift results;
however, if we are serious about reducing crime, shouldn't we
consider the underlying factors? One of those underlying causes
is gang activity, which accounts for “an average of 48% of
violent crime in most jurisdictions,” and up to 90% in some
jurisdictions. Gang violence doesn't usually result in mass
shootings or killing sprees. However, mass