The North Carolina Governor's Crime Commission states that there are 1,446 gangs statewide with a total of 19,000 members. The average age of gang membership is 15 years (Our initiatives - Gang prevention). In the 1980s, national gangs began to transform from simple street criminals to take over public organizations involved in drug trafficking and other illegal activities. As gangs increased in power and membership, they were recognized in places outside their normal neighborhood (SKEP). Research indicates that due to the growing number of teenagers joining gangs, there could be more than 41,300 gang members in North Carolina by 2012 (Our Initiatives-Gang Prevention). Street gangs are impacting the lives of teenagers and to prevent this from happening, schools need to provide more gang prevention programs and gang laws should be stricter. Schools in North Carolina need to provide more gang prevention programs. Surveys indicate that between 14% and 13% of adolescents and young adults in urban areas join gangs. Gang Resistance Education and Training GREAT is a gang prevention program that is based on school-based curricula taught by law enforcement officers, which could truly benefit North Carolina and its school systems because GREAT's mission is help young people develop positive life skills that will help avoid gang involvement and violent behavior. Improved student attitudes towards the police and greater recognition of the consequences of gang membership are two of the three program goals that GREAT has achieved despite its success in explaining risk factors to them, the third goal: reducing gang membership and irresponsible behavior was not encountered. 5% differ... half of the document... revention." Communities in North Carolina Schools. Network. November 26, 2011. Right Moves for Youth. Network. November 28, 2011. "SKEP The Influence of Gangs, clubs and other school-related groups on classroom management - WikEd." Main page – WikEd.Web. November 26, 2011. .TKF. Network Mission Statement. November 30, 2011. .Tkf.org. Network. November 30, 2011. .“UPDATED: Eight shot, injured in early Saturday morning gang shooting |. Crime Blog |. Dallasnews.com. Crime Blog. 2011. .