L.A. GANG COUNT, JANUARY 2006

TOTAL NUMBER GANG MEMBERS = 38,811

NUMBER OF ILLEGAL ALIEN GANG MEMBERS = 13,070*

* How the number of ILLEGAL ALIEN gang members was derived:

Strong evidence supports the estimate of the number of illegal alien gang members as 13,070. A 1997 L.A. Times three part series on the 18th street gang stated that according to a confidential report by the state Department of Justice, out of the membership estimated to be as high as 20,000, about 60% of them are illegal immigrants. The report also stated that the gang's primary recruitment targets are immigrant youngsters.

Using the 60 percent figure of the 18th Street Gang and applying that figure to the total number of Hispanic gang members (21,784), the total numbers of illegal alien gang members is conservatively estimated as 13,070.

Other supporting evidence of the high number of illegal alien gang member population comes from the April 21, 2002 L.A. Daily News article, "President's Budget Will Strain California" in which it points out that Sheriff Baca's own study estimated that 38,748 county inmates (23 percent of the jail population) are illegal aliens.

Data taken from LAPD Website