MARCH GENERAL DINNER MEETING
Tuesday, March 16, 2010 Coast Hotel and Convention Centre ~ 20393 Fraser Highway, Langley

SUPERINTENDENT DAN MALO

Officer in Charge, Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit Gang Task Force
Networking: 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm (Dinner) RESERVATIONS REQUIRED BEFORE 5 PM FRIDAY, March 12th Members: $30 ~ Non Members: $45 RSVP: 604.530.6656 ~ events@langleychamber.com Cancellation Deadline: 48 hours prior Sorry, “No Shows” will be invoiced

“A TRUE LOOK AT GANGS AND
WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT!”

Results of the Canadian Police Survey on Youth Gangs

Youth gangs are not just an urban phenomenon. They are active across the country in both large and small communities.

Results of the Canadian Police Survey on Youth Gangs and other sources suggest that youth gangs are a growing concern in many Canadian jurisdictions. Although not to the same extent as in the United States, comparisons between the two countries show that almost twice the percentage of jurisdictions in the United States report active youth gangs as compared with those in Canada.

The Survey asked police officers to estimate the number of youth gangs in their jurisdiction. According to these estimates:

• Canada has 434 youth gangs with roughly 7,000 members nationally.
• Ontario has the highest number of youth gangs and youth gang members in absolute terms, with 216 youth gangs and 3,320 youth gang members. Saskatchewan is second (28 youth gangs and 1,315 members), followed by British Columbia (102 youth gangs and 1,027 members).
• For the country as a whole, the vast majority of youth gang members are male (94%).
• Almost half (48%) of all youth gang members are under the age of 18. Most (39%) are between 16 and 18 years old.
• The largest proportion of youth gang members are African Canadian (25%), followed by First Nations (21%) and Caucasian (18%).
• Police agencies and Aboriginal organizations indicate that there is a growing percentage of female gang membership in western Canadian provinces, including British Columbia (12%), Manitoba (10%) and Saskatchewan (9%).

Gangs, crime and violence

The movement of gang members from one jurisdiction to another appears to have an impact on the criminal activities and involvement of youth, as does the return of gang-involved youth or adult inmates from correctional facilities.

From a prevention perspective, it is vital to understand that youth involvement in crime and violence is linked with the experience of the gang itself.

In the United States, studies of large urban samples show that youth gang members are responsible for a large proportion of all violent adolescent offences. On average, 20% of gang members were responsible for committing about 80% of all serious violent adolescent offences.

While similar offence data is not available in Canada, a quasi-national study of the criminal careers of a birth cohort found that 16% of alleged young offenders who were classified as chronic offenders were responsible for 58% of all alleged criminal incidents.

Table 1: Comparison of Youth Gangs in Canada and the United States

Source: Astwood Strategy Corporation (2004)

Table 2: Estimated Number of Youth Gangs and Youth Gang Members, Nationally and by Province, 2002

Reference:

Greater Langley Chamber Of Commerce

http://www.langleychamber.com/

Public Safety Stats Canada

http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/cp/bldngevd/2007-yg-1-eng.aspx