In order to measure the extent of the problem of young gangs in the U.S., the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's 1996 National Youth Gang Survey was conducted by the National Gang Center. Almost 5,000 law enforcement agencies were surveyed about the number of gangs and gang members in their jurisdictions in 1996, gang member demographics, gang drug distribution, gang migration, and the level of crime in which gang members were involved. The results of this survey indicate that the youth gang problem in this country is substantial and affects communities of all sizes.