The latest statistics provided by the National Youth Gang Center reveal that there are over 25,000 gangs nationwide, with a total membership of over 600,000. It’s also suggested that these figures may be conservative estimates. Police departments and communities tend to under-report their gang problem. Total gang population of the United States may actually be between 850,000 to 950,000.
To give you an idea of the size of the gang problem: There are nearly as many gangs as there are McDonald’s, Burger King’s, and Wendy’s combined.
If 850,000 – 950,000 gang members were standing back-to-back, that line would stretch 240 to 270 miles! That’s the distance between San Francisco, California and Las Vegas, Nevada.
