DOI: 10.3886/icpsr36786
title: National Youth Gang Survey, [United States], 1996-2001
title: Archival Version

description: These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.Prior to 1996, surveys pertaining to youth gangs in the United States were conducted infrequently, and methodology and samples had been inconsistent. No single source of data pertaining to the nature, size, and scope of youth gangs existed. From 1996 through 2012, the National Youth Gang Survey (NYGS) collected data annually from a large, representative sample of local law enforcement agencies to track the span and seriousness of gang activity nationwide. The NYGS collected data from a sample of the universe of law enforcement agencies in the United States from which data can be extrapolated to determine the scope of youth gangs nationally.This collection includes one SPSS data file "1996-2001_cleaned_for_NACJD.sav" with 330 variables and 3,018 cases.
description: The purpose of the study was to systematically gather timely and important information on gangs from a large and diverse set of police and sheriffs' agencies at the national and regional levels.
description: In 1996, the National Gang Center (it was named the National Youth Gang Center until 2009) implemented a systematic methodological design that surveyed a nationally representative sample of local law enforcement agencies to assess the extent of gang problems by measuring the presence, characteristics, and behaviors of local gangs in jurisdictions throughout the United States. From 1996 through 2001, the NYGS collected data annually from a representative sample of all law enforcement agencies in the United States. This longitudinal study allows for examination of the trends in scope and magnitude of youth gangs nationally.
description: The data set contains a total of 330 variables. Each annual survey included three categories of questions: (1) core questions that were asked each year; (2) recurrent questions that were asked on a regular basis, though not annually; and (3) topics of special interest. The total number of questions in each annual survey varied, mainly in accordance with the number of questions in the latter category. The core questions that were asked each year comprise the key features of the magnitude of the gang problems: whether or not gang activity was observed in the past year (gang presence), number of gangs, number of gang members, a single measure of severity (gang homicide), and the respondent's assessment of whether the jurisdiction's gang problem is better, worse, or staying the same--compared with the prior year. Recurrent questions are important descriptive features of gangs that need not be asked each year because these change very little from year to year (e.g., age, gender, and race/ethnicity). The last section of each year's survey consisted of special-interest questions pertaining to current national issues.
description: None
description: Response Rates: From 1996 through 2001 the average annual response rate was 87 percent.
description: Presence of Common Scales: None
description: The sample of law enforcement jurisdictions was selected in 1996. It included 1,216 police departments serving cities above 25,000 in population in the United States; 664 suburban county sheriffs' and police departments; a representative sample, selected at random, of 399 police departments serving cities with populations between 2,500 and 25,000; and a representative sample, also selected at random, of 745 rural county police and sheriffs' departments. Six cases were dropped due to non-response over the course of the entire survey, leaving a final sample of 3,018 law enforcement jurisdictions.
description: Datasets: DS1: National Youth Gang Survey, [United States], 1996-2001
description: Law enforcement agencies in the United States. Smallest Geographic Unit: None
description: mail questionnaireThese data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they were received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except for the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompanying readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collection and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.The sampling methodology of this survey differs from that of the 2002-2012 National Youth Gang Survey (see ICPSR study number 36787). While there is some overlap in the two samples, they are not identical.