Does Omaha have a high number of gang members?
There are hundreds of at-risk youth in the Omaha area who are susceptible, and may become vulnerable to the gang lifestyle. At the present time, only a small percent of these at-risk youth are considered to be “hard-core gang members,” with many of the extreme hard-core members being adults who may have already served sentences in a penal institution. Does gang activity affect only the inner city? Gang activity does not have any territorial or ethnic boundaries. Criminal activity that accompanies some of the gangs can range from a territory as small as a single neighborhood block, to a highly mobile criminal operation that reaches to the coastal states. Gangs may become criminally competitive with each other, and have a need to expand into new territories including suburban areas. Who are the leaders of the gangs? Most gangs are small and are formed in neighborhoods by local youth. Often there is no formally recognized leadership in gangs. The oldest, or strongest, youth is usually the
