The Street Gang Unit was initially established in 1994 to combat the increasing threat of gang related violence and support the anti-gang efforts of county and local law enforcement agencies throughout the state. Since then the responsibilities of the Street Gang Unit have been divided amongst the North, Cental, and South Organized Crime Control Bureaus. The regionally assigned Street Gang Unit’s primary functions are to collect, evaluate, and disseminate intelligence on criminal gangs; analyze gang trends; identify problem areas, and target New Jersey’s most violent criminal street gangs for enforcement action.

Since its inception, the Street Gang North Unit has been mandated to target the most violent criminal street gangs which pose the greatest danger to the citizens of the state in the seven northern counties. To achieve its mission, the Street Gang North Unit utilizes a task force concept to combat gang violence by working in cooperation with other state, county, and local law enforcement agencies in the seven northern counties. The Street Gang North Unit also provides training in street gang recognition, investigative techniques, intelligence collection, analysis, and tactical expertise in enforcement operations.