Gangs and Injunctions Criminal activity and gangs have always been an ongoing problem in the United States. Gangs and their members are often involved in a variety of different crimes. The 2008 National Youth Gang Survey reported that there are approximately 774,000 active gang members in the United States (Egley, Howell, & Moore, 2010). The 2008 National Youth Gang Survey also states that there are approximately 27,900 active gangs in the United States (Egley et al., 2010). Gangs active in California have had a major impact on the state in many ways. According to the California Department of Justice, approximately 300,000 gang members live in California (Crawford, 2009). California also attributes over 25% of all homicides to gang activity (Crawford, 2009). This is a huge and staggering amount. Increased gang involvement and gang crime has led law enforcement to issue and enforce injunctions against gangs. However, these anti-gang injunctions do not completely eliminate gang crime and have no effect one year after they are issued. Furthermore, gang injunctions interfere with the lives of normal people in society. Gang involvement was much higher than in years past. The 2008 National Youth Gang Survey estimated that approximately 32.4% of all cities, suburban areas, towns, and rural counties had gang-related problems (Egley et al., 2010). This represents a 15% increase over 2002. The total number of gangs also increased by 28% and total gang membership increased by 6% (Egley et al., 2010). This shows how relevant gang-related activities are in today's society. More and more locations are starting to experience gang activity for the first time. Gang crime has also increased in the past... middle of paper... fCaldwell, Beth. American Journal of Criminal Law 37.3 (2010): 241-290.Crawford, L. (2009). No way out: An analysis of exit processes for gang injunctions. California Law Review, 97(1), 161-193.Egley, A., Howell, J., & Moore, J. (2010). Highlights from the 2008 National Youth Gang Survey. Retrieved April 30, 2011, from http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/229249.pdfEgley, A., & Major, A. (2004). Highlights from the 2002 National Youth Gang Survey. Retrieved April 30, 2011, from http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/fs200805.pdfEgley, A., & O'Donnell, C. (2008). Highlights from the 2006 National Youth Gang Survey. Retrieved April 30, 2011, from http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/fs200805.pdfFoner, E. (2008). Give Me Freedom: An American Story. New York, New York: WW. Norton & Company.Siegal, Nina. “A commitment to civil liberties”. Progressive. 61.10(2005):28.