Moreover, definitions from police agency to police agency and from social service agency to social service agency vary according to many factors. Further compounding the problem of counting according to a given definition is the widespread practice of a single agency having more than one definition of gang, each with its own purpose. In any event, there are more important things to know about gangs and gang members than how many there are. The GCPC urges concerned citizens and organizations to spend less time trying to count and more time studying and responding to the anti-social, illegal, and destructive activities of gang members. Because they facilitate crime and delinquency.
Gang members are responsible for a disproportionate share of criminal and delinquent offenses.
In other words, they are responsible for more than their fair share of offenses given their population's size relative to the total number of non-gang offenders. Within a single community the causes of street gang formation and proliferation also vary, across both space and time as well as socio-cultural milieu. No single construct can universally explain what particular communities are facing with respect to the delinquency and crime occurring in the context of deviant groups. Instead, there are dozens of variations, typically sharing some common themes. Russ Schecht, a Detective for the Addison Police Department, talks about how gangs begin.