Baltimore City is located in the northern center of Maryland and is surrounded by Baltimore County. It is the largest city in the State of Maryland. According to the 2000 census, the population is approximately 650,000. Almost 23% of Baltimore City residents live below the poverty line compared with 8.5% for the state as a whole. This high concentration of poverty contributes to conditions that foster the growth of a significant number of gangs.

Baltimore City continues to document the number of gangs, gang members and gang-related crimes in the City. Based on current estimates, there are approximately 45 known criminal street gangs with over 1800 members. Some of these gangs are primarily youth gangs and others more highly organize drug gangs. There has been a significant decrease in the total number of “known criminal street gangs” compared with 2007. This decrease is a result of geographically based neighborhood gangs becoming more organized and joining “sets” of the nationally recognized gangs of the Bloods and Crips. There are over 1800 adult members, including over 900 Blood and 300 Crips members. Youth gangs are also present in the majority of schools in Baltimore with approximately 60 in high schools and 50 in middle schools with about 1200 members. In addition, there are 150 known members of Motorcycle gangs and 250 gang members in the Baltimore City Detention Center.

A sample of street gang names include the Blood “sets” Tree Top Piru and PDL-Pasadena Denver Lane and the Crips “sets” Eight Trey Gangstas (ETG), Shotgun Crips and Mass Money Murder Gangsta Crips (MMMGC).

Youth gangs are motivated by a sense of brotherhood, more than just as an organization to sell drugs. Many youth gangs are generational; fathers or uncles were members of gangs and then their sons or nephews join as they grow up. Children join these gangs for many reasons: to have a sense of belonging and friendship; to gain protection and respect; and the opportunity to make money through the drug trade. The vast majority of youth gangs are neighborhood gangs composed of 8 to 15 youth who focus their activities in a specific housing area. These gangs are responsible for street level drug sales, opportunistic robberies and assaults and do not hesitate to use violence to protect their drug turf. Increasingly these neighborhood gangs follow the “culture” of nationally recognized gangs such as the Bloods and Crips. These gangs may use the colors, clothing, and tattoos of the national gang; however, their membership and criminal activity are usually local. Youth gangs also exist in a majority of schools in Baltimore. These gangs are school based and are responsible for robberies, assaults, and intimidation/bullying in some schools. These gangs operate mainly in the school and in the surrounding neighborhoods before and after school.

A significant number of gangs are primarily motivated to sell and distribute drugs. These gangs operate as drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) and are generally responsible for a larger portion of serious crime in Baltimore than are street gangs. Drug gangs are primarily motivated to make money, are more likely to be controlled by older males, and are more willing to use extreme violence to protect their drug market. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baltimore has targeted a number of these drug gangs because they are responsible for a high level of violence in the city. Also, drug gangs often use youth gangs to distribute drugs and act as enforcers on their turf.