Victimization
While teen gang members may demonstrate delinquent behaviors and break the law, they often become victims because of their gang involvement. For example, in “Highlights of Findings from the Denver Youth Survey” by Katharine Browning, PhD, and David Huizinga, PhD, the study found that up to 87 percent teens who were involved in gangs for at least five years were victims of theft or a violent crime -- and were also perpetrators of such offenses. Of the victims in crimes reported, a quarter of them were survivors of a “serious” violent crime. Two-thirds of the youth gang members surveyed were chronic victims who experienced multiple offenses during a period of at least one year.