The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice and prepared the following final report: Document Title: Police Response to Gangs: A Multi-Site Study Author(s): Charles M. Katz; Vincent J. Webb Document No.: 205003 Date Received: April 2004 Award Number: 98-IJ-CX-0078 This report has not been published by the U.S. Department of Justice. To provide better customer service, NCJRS has made this Federally- funded grant final report available electronically in addition to traditional paper copies. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Police Response to Gangs: A Multi-Site Study 1 Prepared for the National Institute of Justice by Charles M. Katz Vincent J. Webb Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology December 2003 Phoenix, Arizona 1 This research report was funded by the National Institute of Justice, Grant No. 1998-IJ-CX-0078. The opinions expressed in the report are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the National Institute of Justice. Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ i Research Goals and Objectives ........................................................................................ i Research Design and Methodology.................................................................................. i Research Results and Conclusions..................................................................................ii Executive Summary ...........................................................................................................iii Study Sites....................................................................................................................... v Study Design .................................................................................................................. vi Field Observations.....................................................................................................vii Interviews with Gang Unit Officers, Unit Managers, and Stakeholders...................vii Document Reviews ..................................................................................................viii Police Gang Units as an Indirect Response to an Objective Problem..........................viii The Absence of Control and Accountability................................................................... x Information as the Principal Commodity of Gang Units ............................................... xi Strategic and Structural Decoupling of Gang Units.....................................................xiii Police Gang Units and Community Policing ................................................................ xv Toward Improving the Effectiveness of Police Gang Units ........................................ xvi Notes...............................................................................................................................xviii Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................xviii Authors .......................................................................................................................xviii Chapter 1. Studying the Police Response to Gangs ............................................................ 1 The Contemporary Gang Problem .................................................................................. 6 Police Response to Gangs: Theoretical, Policy, and Organizational Rationales .......... 13 Prior Research Examining the Police Response to Gangs ............................................ 18 The Present Study.......................................................................................................... 25 Reasons for Establishing Gang Units........................................................................ 26 Alternative Organizational Forms ............................................................................. 27 Gang Unit Officers .................................................................................................... 28 Gang Unit Functions and Activities .......................................................................... 29 Compatibility of Gang Units with Community-Oriented Policing ........................... 30 Chapter 2. Setting and Methods ........................................................................................ 32 Study Setting ................................................................................................................. 32 Police Departments Studied ...................................................................................... 35 A Multi-Methodological Research Design ................................................................... 36 Field Observations..................................................................................................... 36 Interviews with Gang Unit Officers .......................................................................... 41 Document Reviews ................................................................................................... 44 Interviews with Non-Gang Unit Personnel and Stakeholders................................... 47 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................ 48 Verification................................................................................................................49 Report Narrative............................................................................................................ 50 Police Response to Gangs: A Multi-Site Study ii Chapter 3. Historical Analysis of Gangs and Gang Control in Four Cities ...................... 54 Inglewood, California.................................................................................................... 55 Response to Gangs: Late 1960s Through 1980......................................................... 58 Response to Gangs: 1981 Through 1989 .................................................................. 61 Response to Gangs: Late 1990s Through 1999......................................................... 65 Albuquerque, New Mexico ........................................................................................... 74 Response to Gangs: 1980 Through 1994 .................................................................. 77 Response to Gangs: 1998 Through 1999 .................................................................. 86 Las Vegas, Nevada........................................................................................................ 91 Response to Gangs: 1980 Through 1986 .................................................................. 92 Response to Gangs: 1987 Through 1990 .................................................................. 97 Response to Gangs: 1991 Through 1998 ................................................................ 104 Phoenix, Arizona......................................................................................................... 109 Response to Gangs: 1970 Through 1983 ................................................................ 109 Response to Gangs: 1984 Through 1994 ................................................................ 113 Response to Gangs: 1991 Through 1999 ................................................................ 116 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 122 Chapter 4. Scope and Nature of the Current Gang Problem in Four Cities .................... 128 Inglewood.................................................................................................................... 129 Documented Gang Crime........................................................................................ 130 Perceptions of the Gang Problem............................................................................ 131 Albuquerque ................................................................................................................ 134 Documented Gang Crime........................................................................................ 137 Perceptions of the Gang Problem............................................................................ 137 Las Vegas .................................................................................................................... 140 Documented Gang Crime........................................................................................ 143 Perceptions of the Gang Problem............................................................................ 144 Phoenix........................................................................................................................ 152 Documented Gang Crime........................................................................................ 153 Perceptions of the Gang Problem............................................................................ 154 National Youth Gang Center Data .............................................................................. 159 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 162 Chapter 5. Form, Function, and Management of the Police Gang Unit.........................