If gangs are already present in the neighborhood, that can provide an outlet. With nothing else to occupy their time, youths sometimes turn to mischief to entertain themselves. Peer pressure is a driving force behind gang membership in affluent areas. Many teenagers do resist the temptation of gang membership, but for others it is easier to follow the crowd. It can be difficult for a teen to understand the harm that joining a gang can bring if he's worried about losing all of his friends. If they live in a gang-dominated area, or go to a school with a strong gang presence, they might find that many of their friends are joining gangs. This is partly because gangs intentionally recruit teenagers, but it's also because young people are very susceptible to peer pressure. However, not everyone who is poor joins a gang, and not every gang member is poor. This partly explains why gangs exist in poor, rundown areas of cities. People who are faced with a lack of money may turn to crime if they can't earn enough with a legitimate job. By committing thefts and dealing drugs, gang members can make relatively large amounts of money. Many gangs exist mainly as a moneymaking enterprise. There are many possible reasons for someone to join a gang, but four primary reasons seem to describe those of most gang members: Those that did join gangs didn't stay long, with the majority remaining in the gang for less than a year. They also found that gang membership is not as prevalent among youth as some fear - between 1 and 2 percent of children ages 10 to 17 were gang members, although the percentage spikes when only 'at-risk' youth are counted. They estimated that 49 percent of gang members were Hispanic, 37 percent were black, 8 percent white, 5 percent Asian and 1 percent had another ethnicity. The National Center for Juvenile Justice used a combination of police department reports and self-reporting to compile the ВJuvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report. Federal grants for fighting gang violence can give departments incentive to exaggerate gang numbers, while some departments deny having any gang problems at all to appease the public. Police departments don't always report gang statistics accurately, either.

Some youths may claim gang membership around other teens to seem tough, and gangs might inflate membership numbers to make their gang seem more powerful. If a police officer asks a gang member, 'Are you in a gang?' chances are the gang member will say no, knowing that police place extra scrutiny on known gang members.

It's also important to consider the source of the data. If someone 'runs with' a gang, but hasn't been initiated yet, is that person a member? Who do you count when compiling your statistics?В Some people hang out with gang members, but aren't actually in a gang themselves. Gangs obviously don't keep official records of their membership. Gathering accurate statistics on gangs and gang membership is difficult for a number of reasons. В Gangs are also becoming more savvy, using computers and other technology to commit crimes. While gangs are less prevalent in rural areas, in major cities, gang violence is responsibleВ for roughly half of all ВВhomicides. According to the Department of Justice's 2005 National Gang Threat Assessment, there are at least 21,500 gangs and more than 731,000 active gang members. Gang violence is a problem in every major city in the United States and membership is on the rise. According to a 2005 report by the Department of Justice, there are at least 21,500 gangs and more than 731,000 active gang members in the United States.

Bloods and crips gang signs