Street Gangs, Terrorists and Outlaw Bikers: Smith, C.F. & Harms, J. Middle Tennessee State University Examining the community threat of organized crime groups with military trained gang members (MTGMs) Summary Introduction Previous knowledge impact on perception of threat. Perceived threat consistent. More reported: gangs using military weapons and tactics; committing home invasions/armed robberies; current/past military experience. Ample evidence to claim MTGM’s pose real/serious threat to communities. Street gangs, domestic terrorists, outlaw motorcycle gangs negatively affect communities Presence increases violence Military personnel with gang membership/affiliation in each branch get away from lifestyle get military training, weapons, sensitive information Problem/Purpose: growing presence of MTGMs in civilian communities/determine perceived presence in jails and community corrections. Mixed results whether military service increases likelihood of criminal record (Albaek et al, 2013; Galiani et al, 2009; Teachman and Tedrow, 2015). Boucai (2007) suggested active recruitment of criminals. recruitment pool for military disciplinary foundation for individual Since 2013, gang members in 100+ jurisdictions applied for positions in military, law enforcement, corrections, judiciary (NGIC 2015). Military most common FY2012 GEATA (Army CID, 2013) 31 soldier subjects – street gangs 8 in OMGs, 7 DEs. Methodology Index measures perceived threat of MTGMs. Range 0 to 34. Modified Military Gang Perception Questionnaire (Smith, 2011) 274 members, N = 242. 95% confidence, 2.16% error margin. 96.3% corrections. 81% no military. Questioned use of military-type weapons, explosives, equipment, tactics, currently/previously served in military, if military advised when discharged. Future Research Other state/national participants. Larger police departments adjacent to/distant from military installation. Cities with varying gang experiences, geographically diverse. States/cities with different history of gangs, states outside of SE U.S. How many are MTGMs? Bivariate Analysis Most (49.7%) reported 1-10%. Some (20%) estimated over 11%, many (30.6%) reported none (0%). Four variables influenced perceptions. Bivariate analysis was conducted using both independent sample t-tests and a one-way between groups ANOVA. References Perceived threat of MTGMs Albaek, K. and Leth-Petersen, S., le Maire, D. and Tranaes, T., Does Peacetime Military Service Affect Crime? Boucai, M. (2007). “Balancing your strengths against your felonies”: Considerations for military recruitment of ex-offenders. 61 U. Miami L. Rev. 997. Galiani, S., Rossi, M.A., and Schargrodsky, E. (2009). The effects of peacetime and wartime conscription on criminal activity. National Gang Intelligence Center [NGIC]. (2013). National gang report - 2013. Washington, DC: National Gang Intelligence Center. National Gang Intelligence Center [NGIC]. (2015). National gang report - 2015. Washington, DC: National Gang Intelligence Center. Smith, C. F. (2011). Documenting the pilot: The military gang perception questionnaire (MGPQ). Journal of Gang Research, 18(4) 1-17 Teachman, J. & Tedrow, L. Military Service and Desistance from Contact with the Criminal Justice System. (2015). Unpublished paper. Population Association of America, 2015 Annual Meeting. U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Command. (2013). Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12) Gang and Domestic Extremist Activity Threat Assessment (GDEATA). Independent Variable Dependent Variable Test Used Value Military service Perceived threat T-test .353 Previous knowledge of MTGM’s 3.282** CJ function (law enforcement or corrections) .324 Level of government ANOVA 1.520 **p<=.01 Perceived severity of the threat of MTGMs Mean 16.82 Median 17 Mode 20 SD 4.28 Variance 18.316 Min 7 Max 30 N 96