Summary
This report examines the extent of the involvement of youths aged 10 to 19 in "delinquent youth groups" (including gangs), based on data from the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS) based on questions developed by the Eurogang Network. Overall, a minority of young people (6%) belong to such groups, they engage in mostly low level offending behaviour, with only a minority of those six per cent having engaged in serious or frequent offending (34% and 28% respectively). However, a higher proportion of those who are members of delinquent youth groups commit offences compared with others of the same age.