GANG ACTIVITY AMONG YOUTH

This indicator reports the number and rate of gang-related prosecutions of juveniles under the age of 18.1 Gang-related prosecutions involve charges related to active gang membership and/or committing a crime at the direction of a criminal street gang, with other gang members and/or for the benefit of a gang.2

Data consistently shows that gang members are responsible for a disproportionately high number of crimes committed by youthful offenders. Compared to other delinquent youth, gang members are more extensively involved in serious and violent criminal behavior. Juvenile gang members commit serious and violent offenses at a rate several times higher than non-gang adolescents. Gang crime often involves offenses such as weapons possession, drug trafficking, carjacking, assault and murder.3 According to the 2015 National Gang Report, neighborhood street gangs continue to be a significant threat to local jurisdictions across the country.4 From a societal standpoint, the issue of juvenile gangs is one that requires swift action for both the well-being and safety of communities and the youth who get caught up in gang life. The Orange County District Attorney’s office seeks to reduce juvenile gang crime both by prosecuting those crimes and collaborating with other agencies to prevent juveniles from joining gangs via the Orange County Gang Reduction and Intervention Partnership (OC GRIP). OC GRIP focuses its work on reducing truancy and providing gang prevention and resiliency building curricula. As a result of OC GRIP, in 2016/17, 89% of students have decreased truancy and about 60% of students receiving its curricula reported increased well-being and resiliency.

• In 2017, 4% of juvenile prosecutions were gang-related, down from 15% in 2008.

• Between 2008 and 2017, the total number of juvenile gang-related prosecutions in Orange County decreased 84%, from 859 in 2008 to 136 in 2017.

• Also, the number of unique juveniles prosecuted for gang-related offenses in Orange County dropped 82% from 625 in 2008 to 110 in 2017.

• The rate of juvenile gang-related prosecutions declined 81% from 144.4 per 100,000 youth aged 10 to 17 in 2008 to 26.9 per 100,000 in 2017.

• Older teens accounted for the majority of gangrelated activity, with teens ages 15-17 comprising 84% of the total number of juveniles in 2017 who were prosecuted for gang-related offenses.

• In 2017, Hispanic youth represented the highest percentage of juvenile gang-related prosecutions (91.8%), followed by Asian (3.6%), Black (2.7%), White (<1%) and Other (<1%) youth.

• The communities most impacted by juvenile gang-related crime in 2017 were Anaheim and Santa Ana, as 69% of the juvenile gang-related filings originated in these cities

Number of Juvenile Gang-Related Prosecutions and Number of Unique Juveniles Prosecuted for Gang-Related Offenses 10 to 17 Years Old, 2008 to 2017

Number of Unique Juveniles with Gang-Related Prosecutions and Rate Per 100,000 Youth 10 to 17 Years Old with Gang-Related Prosecutions, by Age, 2008 to 2017

Percent of Unique Juveniles with Gang-Related Prosecutions, by Race/Ethnicity, 10 to 17 Years Old