DOI: 10.3886/icpsr02570
title: Impact of Gang Migration: Effective Responses by Law Enforcement Agencies in the United States, 1992
title: Archival Version

description: This study was the first attempt to investigate gang
 migration systematically and on a national level. The primary
 objectives of the study were (1) to identify the scope of gang
 migration nationally, (2) to describe the nature of gang migration,
 (3) to assess the impact of gang migration on destination cities, and
 (4) to describe the current law enforcement responses to the migration
 of gangs and identify those that appeared to be most effective for
 various types of migration. Two phases of data collection were
 used. The major objective of the initial phase was to identify cities
 that had experienced gang migration (Part 1). This was accomplished by
 distributing a brief mail questionnaire in 1992 to law enforcement
 agencies in cities identified as potential gang or gang migration
 sites. The second major phase of data collection involved in-depth
 telephone interviews with law enforcement officers in cities that had
 experienced gang migration in order to develop descriptions of the
 nature of migration and police responses to it (Part 2). For Part 1,
 information was collected on the year migration started, number of
 migrants in the past year, factors that deter gang migration, number
 of gang members, names of gangs, ethnic distribution of gang members
 and their drug market involvement, number of gang homicides, number of
 1991 gang "drive-bys", and if gangs or narcotics were specified in the
 respondent's assignment. For Part 2, information was collected on the
 demographics of gang members, the ethnic percentage of drug gang
 members and their involvement in distributing specific drugs, and the
 influence of gang migrants on local gang and crime situations in terms
 of types and methods of crime, drug distribution activities,
 technology/equipment used, and targets of crime. Information on
 patterns of gang migration, including motivations to migrate, drug gang
 migration, and volume of migration, was also collected. Local responses
 to gang migration covered information sources, department policies
 relative to migration, gang specialization in department, approaches
 taken by the department, and information exchanges and coordination
among local, state, and federal agencies.
description: While gang migration had been mentioned with
 increasing frequency in state legislative task force investigations,
 conferences, and law enforcement accounts at the local, state, and
 federal levels, the evidence cited rarely reflected a systematic
 assessment of the prevalence, nature, and consequences of gang
 migration. It became critical to determine how the migration of gang
 members from traditional urban centers affected the emergence of
 street gangs in mid-sized and smaller cities throughout the nation. A
 migratory population of gang members may require different prevention
 and intervention strategies than an indigenous population of gang
 members. Different collaborative efforts among law enforcement
 agencies may be necessary. Finally, if various motivations for
 migration are observed in different settings, different responses by
 law enforcement agencies may be appropriate. This study was the first
 attempt to investigate gang migration systematically and on a national
 level. The primary objectives were (1) to identify the scope of gang
 migration nationally, (2) to describe the nature of gang migration,
 (3) to assess the impact of migration on destination cities, and (4)
 to describe the current law enforcement responses to the migration of
 gangs and identify those that appeared to be most effective for
various types of migration.
description: To investigate gang migration systematically and
 on a national level, two phases of data collection were used. The
 major objective of the initial phase was to identify cities that had
 experienced gang migration (Part 1). This was accomplished by
 distributing a brief mail questionnaire in 1992 to law enforcement
 agencies in cities identified as potential gang or gang migration
 sites. The researchers obtained membership lists of gang investigator
 associations and solicited candidate municipalities from law
 enforcement contacts across the country. The primary agency
 responsible for policing each city was identified from the 1991
 National Directory of Law Enforcement Administrators. If the
 municipality contracted police services to an agency other than the
 local police department, this agency was contacted by telephone to
 identify the appropriate respondent. Telephone follow-up procedures
 were instituted for cities that had not responded to the survey one
 month subsequent to the second mailing. Once the cities that
 experienced gang migration were identified, the second major phase of
 the data collection was to conduct in-depth telephone interviews with
 law enforcement officers in those cities in order to develop
 descriptions of the nature of migration and police responses to
 it. The interviews were conducted anywhere from six months to one year
following completion of the migration survey.
description: For Part 1, information was collected on the year
 migration started, number of migrants in the past year, factors that
 deter gang migration, number of gang members, names of gangs, ethnic
 distribution of gang members and their drug market involvement, number
 of gang homicides, number of 1991 gang "drive-bys", and if gangs or
 narcotics were specified in the respondent's assignment. For Part 2,
 information was collected on demographics of gang members, the ethnic
 percentage of drug gang members and their involvement in distributing
 specific drugs, and the influence of gang migrants on local gang and
 crime situations in terms of types and methods of crime, drug
 distribution activities, technology/equipment used, and targets of
 crime. Information on patterns of gang migration, including motivations
 to migrate, drug gang migration, and volume of migration, was also
 collected. Local responses to gang migration covered information
 sources, department policies relative to migration, gang
 specialization in department, approaches taken by the department, and
 information exchanges and coordination among local, state, and federal
agencies.
description: Response Rates: For Part 1, over 90 percent. For Part 2,
unknown.
description: Presence of Common Scales: Several Likert-type scales were used.
description: Part 1: All 190 United States cities with a population
 over 100,000 were included in the survey, as well as a convenience
 sample of smaller cities and towns known to have experienced gang
 migration or to have local gangs. The primary agency in each city was
 selected using the 1991 National Directory of Law Enforcement
 Administrators. Part 2: Random sample of cities that cited at least
ten gang migrants in the Part 1 mail survey.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Migration Survey Data
DS2: Phone Interview Data
description: Law enforcement agencies nationwide.
description: A user guide, codebook, and data collection
 instruments are provided as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The
 PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be
 accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat
 Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is
provided through the ICPSR Website on the Internet.