Yearwood and Rhyne : Hispanic / Latino Gangs 1 © Copyrighted by the National Gang Crime Research Center Hispanic / Latino Gangs : A Comparative Analysis of Nationally Affiliated and Local Gangs by

As part of a larger and more general law enforcement survey on Hispanic/Latino gangs in North Carolina survey respondents were asked to differentiate between those gangs having known or validated national affiliations and those gangs that are strictly local in nature; i.e. these gangs do not have documented ties to other gangs outside of the local county unit of government. This paper presents a comparative within group analysis of these nationally affiliated gangs as well as comparisons between the national and local Hispanic/Latino gangs. Comparisons are also delineated along an urban/rural dichotomy. A total of 118 Hispanic/Latino gangs were reported of which 91 were reputed to be nationally affiliated with, or have connections to, similar gangs outside of the respondents’ respective counties and beyond state boundaries. Twenty-three gangs were considered local with no known documented associations or connections to any other gangs either outside of the county or on the national level. Statistically significant differences were found to exist with the Sur-13 gangs being more visible in the community and both the Mexican Mafia and the MS-13 gangs being more mobile. Comparisons between the national and local gangs revealed that the national gangs were significantly larger, more organized and more criminally active than the local gangs. While not approaching statistical significance the local gangs were perceived to be slightly more turf-oriented, visible in the community and more involved in drug-related activities. Urban and rural comparisons suggest that urban Hispanic/Latino gangs are significantly larger in size, more criminally active and more violent than their rural counterparts. Introduction Inconsistencies exist in the academic literature surrounding the extent to which gangs are local entities, with no documented networks or connections to other gangs beyond their respective cities or counties, or possess strong links or ties to other national gangs (Valdez, 2000; Starbuck, Howell and Lindquist, 2001). Confounding this is mixed debate over the extent of gang migration as well as the notion of “super gangs” or nationally syndicated gangs who operate as essentially organized crime groups engaged in national, and often transnational, continuing criminal enterprises. 2 Journal of Gang Research Volume 14, Number 2 Winter, 2007 © Copyrighted by the National Gang Crime Research Center In the past several years, there has been an increase in the appearance of youth street gangs in small towns and rural counties (Howell & Egley, 2005). When addressing the problem of gang-related activity, it is important for local communities to distinguish between local and national gang affiliations (Maxson, 1998). The recent recognition in gang proliferation can be attributed to an increasing awareness in gang issues, redirection of law enforcement attention, in addition to training and education efforts (Maxson, 1998). Gang migration includes the actual movement of a member or members of a gang from a large city to less populated areas. When migrants settle in new locations, they may attempt to form a local gang around their national affiliated gang or they may assimilate into one of the already established local gangs, thus losing their prior affiliation (Maxson, 1998). However, Starbuck, Howell and Lindquist (2001) assert that the Hispanic gang members are more loyal and traditional in supporting their gang, even when they relocate to other parts of the country. The movement of a gang member is not always attributed to an attempt to improve illegal enterprises; many moves take place because of social reasons. The gang member may move their family as a means to improve their quality of life (Maxson, 1998). The migrating gang members bring with them an exciting new culture or aid in fostering competition between already established gangs, which could eventually lead to increased levels of crime and the seriousness of criminal activity (Maxson, Woods and Klein, 1995). According to Starbuck, Howell and Lindquist (2001), the local community gangs may bear the same names of gangs established in larger cities, but the membership of these newer gangs remains local and has little or no national affiliation. By using the same names and symbols of traditional gangs, the new gangs are attempting to establish a sense of legitimacy, but there is no real connection other than the identifying name (Valdez, 2000). These hybrid gangs are usually found in communities that had no gang culture prior to the 1980’s or 1990’s and the law enforcement professionals have not been able to differentiate between local adoptions and original national connections (Starbuck et al, 2001). Another contributor to the proliferation of gangs is the notion that local groups of youth are imitating big city gangs with the use of hand signals and graffiti, actions that are perceived to be gang activity (Howell & Egley, 2005). The community sees these behaviors as a threat, and assumes that the group of youth is an established gang, when the grouping is informal and will not be sustained. While a plethora of research studies exist which document the etiology of gangs and their behavior a lesser amount of research has been conducted which focuses on specific types of gangs along racial and ethnic Yearwood and Rhyne: Hispanic/Latino Gangs 3 © Copyrighted by the National Gang Crime Research Center lines; i.e. case studies of Hispanic and Latino gangs or analyses which compare and contrast African-American gangs with White gangs or Asian gangs. Little, if any, research exists which extends this type of analysis down to a micro level; i.e. comparisons within and between Hispanic/Latino gangs. This paper seeks to address this deficiency or void in the gang literature by comparing nationally affiliated Hispanic/Latino gangs with each other as well as drawing comparisons between these nationally affiliated gangs and local Hispanic/Latino gangs with no known or validated national affiliations. These gangs are also analyzed along a rural/urban dichotomy in an effort to determine if significant differences exist along geographical lines. Methods A larger and more generalized survey of law enforcement was conducted in an effort to identify the nature and scope of Hispanic/Latino gang activity in North Carolina. This paper presents the findings from the second part of the survey which specifically focused on the identified Hispanic/Latino gangs to assess the level of criminal activity, the size and composition of gang membership and the magnitude of the gangs’ involvement in drugs and violence. Survey items also included an examination of gang mobility, organization and the extent to which these gangs maintain, and protect, a unique territory or “turf”. The extent to which these gangs demonstrate an alliance, or a unique connection, with other nationally recognized Hispanic/Latino gangs was documented for comparative purposes. Specifically, to facilitate both within group, and between group, comparisons of those gangs possessing an identified national affiliation and those local gangs with no known relationships or ties to national Hispanic/Latino gangs. Two separate samples were drawn based on county and city populations as derived from the latest Census Bureau data. A proportionate stratified sampling technique was used to produce a list of 80 sheriffs’ offices for inclusion in the study. Seventeen surveys (22% of the county sample) were mailed to the smallest sheriffs’ offices in those counties with populations less than 21,865. Twenty-two surveys (28%) were mailed to agencies in counties with a population base between 21,866 and the median county population of 47,879. The remaining surveys were mailed to 38 sheriffs’ offices (47%) with county populations ranging from 47,880 to 323,788 and to the three largest offices (3%) as defined by populations greater than 323,789. A total of 202 municipal police departments were selected with 28 (14.4%) departments representing the smallest cities with populations 4 Journal of Gang Research Volume 14, Number 2 Winter, 2007 © Copyrighted by the National Gang Crime Research Center ranging from 50 to 693. Forty-three departments (21.2%) with populations between 694 and the median city population of 1,435 were selected for inclusion in the study. Mid-size and larger departments constituted the remainder of the survey sample with 120 (59.2%) departments, in the population range of 1,436 to 29,916, being selected. The remaining 11 (5.2%) police departments had jurisdictions of more than 29,917. Nationally Affiliated Hispanic/Latino Gangs A total of 164 surveys were returned producing a response rate of 58.2%. Fifty-one, or 31.1%, were received from the county sheriffs’ offices with the remaining 113, or 68.9%, being received from the municipal police departments. Surveys were returned by agencies located in 82 of the state’s 100 counties. Of the 164 respondents 48, or 29.4%, reported the presence of Hispanic/Latino gangs and gang activity within their respective jurisdictions. Of this number almost half of those respondents, from agencies which acknowledged a gang presence, also noted that these Hispanic/Latino gangs posed a significant problem for their service areas (N=22, 45.8%). The remaining 26 respondents acknowledged a gang presence but reported that, to date, Hispanic/Latino gangs did not present a significant problem or threat to their communities. A total of 118 Hispanic/Latino gangs were reported of which 91 were reputed to be nationally affiliated with, or have connections to, similar gangs outside of the respondents’ respective counties and beyond state boundaries. Twenty-three gangs were considered local with no known documented associations or connections to any other gangs either outside of the county or on the national level. A total of at least 3,420 gang members were identified of which 276 were female members (8.1%).