PREVENTING YOUTH GANG
PROLIFERATION IN SUFFOLK COUNTY

What exactly are gangs, and should we really be concerned? Even if the number of youth
gangs is growing, is gang violence increasing? Wouldn’t gang members have committed
crimes anyway, even if they didn’t belong to a gang? Does being in a gang have a greater
impact on youth crime over and above the effect of having delinquent peers? What are gang
dynamics? How much of a youth gang problem do we really have in Suffolk County? And if
this is a serious or emerging problem, what can we do to prevent a more serious gang
problem from developing?