In recent years, the Chicago Police Department has expanded its gang enforcement efforts, and developed creative new approaches in some neighborhoods to reduce the influence and the lethal violence of gangs. The following information is designed to provide a basic understanding of the dynamics of street gangs in Chicago. A gang is an organized group with a recognized leader whose activities are either criminal or, at the very least, threatening to the community. Although gang members are part of these organizations, they rarely acknowledge their own roles as contributing to the problems in that community. Gangs display their identity and unity in obvious ways such as jewelry, colored clothing, jargon, and signals.
Members remain together in quiet times as well as in conflict.
In response to this twisted loyalty, members are rewarded by being accepted and recognized as a gang member. The main source of income for most gangs is narcotics. Members of all ages are used by the gang in the illegal sale of narcotics and other unlawful activities. It is a mistaken belief that gangs only operate in less affluent neighborhoods. Gangs exist in virtually every community in Chicago.