This article was prepared under an award made by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to the National Youth Gang Center at the Institute for Intergovernmental Research in Tallahassee. It is based on a detailed report by the author for the National Youth Gang Center entitled "Youth Gang Homicides and Drug Trafficking." Notes The term "youth gang" is commonly used interchangeably with "street gang," referring to neighborhood or street-based youth groups, generally in the age range from 10 to 26. Youth gangs are commonly defined as "a self-formed association of peers, united by mutual interests, with identifiable leadership and internal organization, who act collectively or as individuals to achieve specific purposes, including the conduct of illegal activity and control of a particular territory, facility, or enterprise" (Miller, 1982, p. 21). Motorcycle gangs, prison gangs, and racial supremacists and other hate groups are excluded. 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