More gangsters, fewer crimes

Prof. Griffith speaks about challenges of identifying gang members

—By Bridget O’Sullivan

Summer research assistants and USC Law faculty attended the first of three summer Research Assistant Luncheons June 17.

At the event, held at the USC University Club, Professor Tom Griffith discussed several topics from his research on the manner in which gangs and gang members are counted and classified.

The number of individuals in gangs has risen significantly over the past several decades, according to statistics from state and local law enforcement. Interestingly, Griffith pointed out, rates of crime such as homicide have declined substantially since the early 1990s, while during the same period, levels of incarceration rose to all-time highs.

Prof. Tom Griffith spoke about identifying  gang members at the June Research  Assistants Luncheon.

With fewer homicides committed and more individuals in jail, it would seem likely that there would also be significantly fewer reported gang members, Griffith said. But this is not the case. Griffith’s research turns to the possibility that perhaps the way gang members are counted has caused the numbers to rise.

“There’s an inherent problem in that the term ‘gang’ can mean so many things,” Griffith said. The difficulty of defining exactly what constitutes a gang could be affecting the data related to gang membership.

Some information-gathering methods might suggest a stronger correlation than actually exists between certain behaviors and participation in gang activity, Griffith said. For example, the National Youth Gang Survey, a questionnaire used by law enforcement to collect data on gangs, places emphasis on whether individuals commit crimes as a group when evaluating whether they might have ties to a gang.

“Youths commit crimes together,” Griffith said. Young people are less likely than older adults to commit crimes alone, so a group committing crimes together could be indicative of gang activity, but it could also simply be a characteristic of the age of the criminals.

Another challenge related to collecting data on gangs comes from the fact that the information itself changes so rapidly. The average gang membership lasts less than one year, making it difficult for law enforcement to keep databases current, Griffith said.

The databases have raised some concerns because although the information they contain may not necessarily be accurate, appearing on a so-called gang list could have lasting consequences. For example, having been identified as a gang member could cause an individual’s photo to appear in a police line-up or affect the way he or she is treated at a routine traffic stop, Griffith said.

The second and third Research Assistants Luncheons will be held on July 29 and August 12 and will feature talks by Professor Kareem Crayton and Professor Rebecca Brown, respectively.