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Border, while the Sinaloa Cartel emerges
as the MTCO with the most gang ties.
Despite intelligence to support gang/
MTCO partnerships, the exact nature of
these relationships remains unclear. Drug
trafficking is the cross-border crime gangs
most frequently commit.
• (U) Approximately 26 percent of jurisdictions
and 44 percent of prison facilities report that
gang members joined domestic extremist
groups. A mutually beneficial arrangement,
extremists use gangs to spread their doctrine,
while gangs turn to extremists to increase
membership and facilitate collaboration
with other criminal organizations. Gangs
also refer to extremist ideology to respond
to perceived injustices and to enact social
change.
• (U) Survey respondents indicate that over
the past two years known or suspected gang
members from over 100 jurisdictions have
applied for positions or gained employment
with the US military, law enforcement
agencies, corrections facilities, and within
the judiciary. Employment with the US
military ranked as the most common,
followed by corrections, law enforcement,
and the judiciary.
or fear; and misclassification of ganginvolved
cases, where the offense is cited as
prostitution, as opposed to sex trafficking.
Gangs that partake in sex trafficking and
prostitution crimes typically collaborate
with other criminal organizations in order to
maximize profit and evade detection from
law enforcement.
• (U) Social media and other forms of
technology play an essential role in the
illicit activities of gang members. Gangs
use a number of sites, applications, and
platforms to recruit prospects, facilitate
communication, target rivals, and to thwart
law enforcement efforts. Over the past
two years, gang members’ utilization of
technology, social media in particular, has
risen significantly, enabling gangs to more
readily further their criminal objectives.
Nearly all jurisdictions report gang member
use of technology, most frequently citing
Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter.
Technology is also playing an increasingly
pivotal role in police investigations and antigang
efforts. Over 54 percent of agencies
report integrating social media into their
gang investigations within the past two
years.
• (U) Approximately 15 percent of
respondents report that gangs in their
jurisdiction engage in human trafficking.
According to law enforcement reporting,
gang involvement in sex trafficking has
increased over the past two years. This is
likely a significant underestimation, as sex
trafficking is often underreported for two
reasons: victims fail to report due to shame
10
National Gang Intelligence Center
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