---
kind: "section"
citation: "18 U.S.C. § 521"
title: "18"
title_heading: "Crimes and Criminal Procedure"
number: "521"
heading: "Criminal street gangs"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/18/521"
units:
  - "Part I — Crimes"
  - "Chapter 26 — Criminal Street Gangs"
---

# §521. Criminal street gangs

- (a) **Definitions.—** “conviction” includes a finding, under [State](/usc/18/31.md?p=a-9) or Federal law, that a [person](/usc/18/229F.md?p=5) has committed an act of juvenile delinquency involving a violent or controlled substances felony.

  “criminal street gang” means an ongoing group, club, [organization](/usc/18/2256.md?p=4), or association of 5 or more [persons](/usc/18/229F.md?p=5)—

  - (A) that has as 1 of its primary purposes the commission of 1 or more of the criminal offenses described in [subsection (c)](#c);
  - (B) the [members](/usc/18/1093.md?p=4) of which engage, or have engaged within the past 5 years, in a continuing series of offenses described in [subsection (c)](#c); and
  - (C) the activities of which affect [interstate or foreign commerce](/usc/18/921.md?p=a-2).

  “[State](/usc/18/31.md?p=a-9)” means a [State](/usc/18/31.md?p=a-9) of the [United States](/usc/18/229F.md?p=9), the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the [United States](/usc/18/229F.md?p=9).

- (b) **Penalty.—** The sentence of a [person](/usc/18/229F.md?p=5) convicted of an offense described in [subsection (c)](#c) shall be increased by up to 10 years if the offense is committed under the circumstances described in [subsection (d)](#d).
- (c) **Offenses.—** The offenses described in this section are—
  - (1) a Federal felony involving a controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act ([21 U.S.C. 802](/usc/21/802.md))) for which the maximum penalty is not less than 5 years;
  - (2) a Federal felony crime of violence that has as an element the use or attempted use of [physical force](/usc/18/1515.md?p=a-2) against the [person](/usc/18/229F.md?p=5) of another;
  - (3) a Federal offense involving human trafficking, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or transportation for prostitution or any illegal sexual activity; and
  - (4) a conspiracy to commit an offense described in paragraph [(1)](#c-1), [(2)](#c-2), or [(3)](#c-3).
- (d) **Circumstances.—** The circumstances described in this section are that the offense described in [subsection (c)](#c) was committed by a [person](/usc/18/229F.md?p=5) who—
  - (1) participates in a criminal street gang with knowledge that its [members](/usc/18/1093.md?p=4) engage in or have engaged in a continuing series of offenses described in [subsection (c)](#c);
  - (2) intends to promote or further the felonious activities of the criminal street gang or maintain or increase his or her position in the gang; and
  - (3) has been convicted within the past 5 years for—
    - (A) an offense described in [subsection (c)](#c);
    - (B) a [State](/usc/18/31.md?p=a-9) offense—
      - (i) involving a controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act ([21 U.S.C. 802](/usc/21/802.md))) for which the maximum penalty is not less than 5 years’ imprisonment; or
      - (ii) that is a felony crime of violence that has as an element the use or attempted use of [physical force](/usc/18/1515.md?p=a-2) against the [person](/usc/18/229F.md?p=5) of another;
    - (C) any Federal or [State](/usc/18/31.md?p=a-9) felony offense that by its nature involves a substantial risk that [physical force](/usc/18/1515.md?p=a-2) against the [person](/usc/18/229F.md?p=5) of another may be used in the course of committing the offense; or
    - (D) a conspiracy to commit an offense described in subparagraph [(A)](#d-3-A), [(B)](#d-3-B), or [(C)](#d-3-C).

## Source credit

(Added Pub. L. 103–322, title XV, § 150001(a), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2034; amended Pub. L. 104–294, title VI, § 607(q), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3513; Pub. L. 107–273, div. B, title IV, § 4002(b)(3), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1807; Pub. L. 115–392, § 12, Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5255.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Amendments

2018—Subsec. (c)(3), (4). Pub. L. 115–392 added par. (3), redesignated former par. (3) as (4), and in par. (4), substituted “(1), (2), or (3)” for “(1) or (2)”.

2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–273 realigned margins of par. defining “State”.

1996—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–294 inserted par. defining “State” at end.