Gang Reduction Program

1411 Words3 Pages

In 2003 as a response to communities with a large amount and growing number of youth gangs the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), a branch of the U.S. Department of Justice, initiated the Gang Reduction Program (GRP) (U.S. Department of Justice 2008). The formation of gangs is seen as a response to system failures and community dysfunction. As a result, one of OJJPD’s anti-gang initiatives is to make communities safer and have a pro-social environment (U.S. Department of Justice 2008). Furthermore, OJJDP plans to provide economic and social opportunities that gangs often promise to new recruits which are often obtained in an illegal and dangerous fashion (U.S. Department of Justice 2008). OJJDP believes that the GRP is capable of addressing the underlying issues for the increasing popularity and intensity of gang activity in specific suburban and rural neighborhoods (U.S. Department of Justice 2008). The program takes an integrative approach to dealing with the issue of increasing membership and participation with gangs. The following will discuss the program’s goal, theoretical basis, methods of operation, and overall effectiveness. After reviewing these major aspects of the GRP I will personally assess the value of this program and conclude whether or not the evidence supporting the program’s efficiency is strong enough for me to recommend it for implementation. In response to a growing gang problem in specific communities, the OJJDP has refined the Comprehensive Gang Model to better fit the issues related to today’s gangs. The GRP incorporates several new aspects into the pre-existing Comprehensive Gang Model. The revamped program was tested in four communities: East Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, W... ... middle of paper ... ...sues causing an increase in the popularity and intensity of youth gang activity in targeted neighborhoods. This program has taken a bold, integrative approach to dealing with the issue of increasing membership and participation with gangs. The research findings for this program have supported the notion of its success and make assumptions about its continued success in the future. The program has shown to be of great value to those in the program and should continue to receive support and funding from government agencies and community members. Bibliography U.S. Department of Justice. Best Practices to Address Community Gang Problems: OJJDP’s Comprehensive Gang Model. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 2008. U.S. Department of Justice. Findings from the Evaluation of OJJDP’s Gang Reduction Program. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 2010.

Show More
Related

  • The Gang Crackdown Summary

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Climate of Fear “The Gang Crackdown”, provided by PBS, communicates the everyday struggles that the communities of Nassau County face every day. The video’s focus revolves around the homicidal and violent crimes that have been provided by the “MS-13” and the details of cracking down on their development. The Latin American gang from El Salvador is known for their audacity to target the young population of Long Island and their homicidal tendencies. They have targeted children and teenagers at their workplace, their home, and their school. These gang members have left the community defenseless and struck fear into the hearts of many parents along with the government itself.

    Read More

  • My Bloody Life: The Making of the Latin King, by Reymundo Sanchez

    2354 Words  | 5 Pages

    Spergel, I., Chance, R., Ehrensaft, K., Regulus, T., Cane, K., Laseter, R., . . . Alexander, A. (1994, October). Gang Suppression and Intervention: Community Models Research Summary. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/gangcorr.pdf

    Read More

  • Book Review: Policing Gangs in America

    1721 Words  | 4 Pages

    This book review covers Policing Gangs in America by Charles Katz and Vincent Webb. Charles Katz has a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice, while Vincent Webb has a Ph.D. in Sociology, making both qualified to conduct and discuss research on gangs. Research for Policing Gangs in America was gathered in four cities across the American Southwest; Inglewood, California, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Phoenix, Arizona. This review will summarize and discuss the main points of each chapter, then cover the relationship between the literature and class discussions in Introduction to Policing and finally it will note the strengths and weaknesses of book.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Asian Gangs

    1705 Words  | 4 Pages

    First let's focus on the fact that gang related crime is one of the most dangerous challenges facing society and law enforcement today. They are younger, more brutal, unafraid of consequences and becoming increasingly more vicious. Gang members work together as cliques, they commit all sorts of violent crimes including murders, rapes, robberies and kidnappings. "They live in aimless and violent presents; have no sense of the past and no hope for the future; they commit unspeakably brutal crimes against other people often to gratify whatever urges of desires drive them at the moment and their utter lack of remorse is...

    Read More

  • Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2009

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to the National Gang Center, the change is gangs from 2002-2007: +12% in larger cities, +33% in suburban counties, +27% smaller cities and +24% in rural counties (National Youth Gang Center, 2009). The gang problem in the United States of America has been getting worse since the first gang was formed by Irish immigrants in the early 1800s. For low income and areas with high population, gang involvement with youths has also been getting worse. Regarding gang-related homicides, it is for difficult data collection industries to gather correct information because after a murder is committed it must be determined whether the murder is gang-related or not. But despite that, reports of gang-related murders are concentrated mostly in the large cities in the United States of America. Including San Jose, where there are long standing and persistent gang problems, which mean there are a larger number of documented gang members. There are literally thousands of anti-gang advocacy groups because there are so many concerned parents. These groups support politicians who are working to try to create legislation to reduce the gang problem in the United States of America. There are a number of theories on how to combat the gang problem, but a strategy which rarely fails is to take small steps in progress and continue to move forward.. There will never be a perfect solution that solves every aspect of a problem. But one policy that covers a wide range of issues involving gangs is the United States Constitutional bill S.132, “Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2009.” It is the most extensive and sophisticated piece of gang legislation to appear in the last decade, it has many objectives on increasing and enhancing law enforcement resources committed to the investigation and prosecution of violent gangs. It has had more supporters from both parties than any anti-gang bill in the last decade. S.132, “The Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2009” has the potential to deter and punish violent gang crime, to protect law-abiding citizens and communities from violent criminals, to revise and enhance criminal penalties for violent crimes, to expand and improve gang prevention programs; it will give jobs back to police officers such as those in San Jose who lost their jobs and will help law enforcement indentify gang crimes to be able to put murderers behind bars faster.

    Read More

  • Gangs and Injunctions

    1320 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gang involvement has been quite higher than past years. The 2008 National Youth Gang Survey estimates that about 32.4 percent of all cities, suburban areas, towns, and rural counties had a gang problem (Egley et al., 2010). This represented a 15 percent increase from the year 2002. The total number of gangs has also increased by 28 percent and total gang members have increased by 6 percent (Egley et al., 2010). This shows how relevant gang related activity is in today’s society. More locations are beginning to experience gang activity for the first time. Gang crime has also been on the rise in the past...

    Read More

  • Street Gangs: Removing them from the community

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    Street Gangs are becoming popular in many cities across the country. According to the Department of Justice's 2005 National Gang Threat Assessment, there are at least 21,500 gangs and more than 731,000 active gang members (Grabianowski). Gangs bring fear and violence to neighborhoods, drugs, destroy property, involve youth in crimes and drive out businesses. When you have gangs in a community, it affects everyone in the community. An alarming amount of young adults are joining gangs and becoming involved in illegal activity. Most gangs have a rule that when you join the gang you are a member of the gang for life. Gangs can be removed from our communities with more community involvement and education.

    Read More

  • National Gang Report

    686 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to the 2015 National Gang Report (NGR) from the National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC) almost half of law enforcement juristictions across the United States reported a rise in street gang membership and street gang activitiy. My communitty is no exception.

    Read More

  • Essay On Native American Gangs

    1634 Words  | 4 Pages

    Theriot, Matthew T., and Barbara “Sunshine” Parke. "Native American Youth Gangs." Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice 5.4 (2008): 83-97. Print.

    Read More

  • Gang Rehabilitation: Effective or Not?

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    Criminal gangs are a crucial part of the criminal pyramid; they can be paid as hit-men, distribute narcotics, assault innocent victims, and commit larceny, among other crimes. These are more serious crimes that require harsher punishment, though, but are these harsher punishments effective?

    Read More

  • Gang Prevention Essay

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Gang Prevention and Deterrence Act was presented by Sen. Orrin Hatch and Diane Feinstein in the winter of 2003. The Act stated an increase in funding for the federal prosecutors and FBI agents needed to conduct coordinated enforcement efforts against violent gangs. There are much better alternatives than trying to pass a law that most people will never even hear about, or increasing funding for prosecutors and FBI agents. Creating new gang-prosecution offences will not prevent teens from getting into gangs. Jeralyn Merritt, a criminal defense attorney in Denver, Co. also suggested sports and mentoring programs. We should not just focus on the children and forget about the adults, help those adults that are already gang involved by actually employing them, but under certain guidelines. If there were more options out there, people would be to mentally and physically busy to even consider joining a gang. Gang Prevention and Effective Deterrence Act would not do any good to assist in the fight against gangs.

    Read More

  • Changing Chattanooga

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    The metropolitan community of Chattanooga, Tn is presently experiencing increasing gang activity. However, until recently the issue hasn’t been acknowledged as a community threat, but street gangs such as the Bloods and Crips have been a menace to Hamilton County, particularly the inner-city neighborhoods of Alton Park, Avondale, East Chattanooga, and Westside for years. Reports from Hamilton County Schools suggest that gang activity is spreading outside of these neighborhoods. The Chattanooga Police Departments failure to address the growing issue has allowed gangs to enter schools where now over seven-hundred students self-identify themselves as active gang members. Students acknowledge gangs are a “culture,” with the indication of fear and strong concerns about personal vulnerability. As a result of community officials neglecting the problem, residents have lost faith in the local law enforcement, in part to no improvements to these neighborhoods in the past decade. To date, there is no system wide initiative combating youth gang involvement in Chattanooga. Therefore, its essential careful consideration and planning are used when implementing the G.R.E.A.T. program into the Hamilton County Schools and community.

    Read More

  • Can We Stop Gang Violence?

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    Statistics show that school-based programs as well as community-based prevention programs minimize gang involvement. School-based programs address substance abuse and violence, which reduces the risk factors for gang involvement. For example, in the article “What Can Schools Do to Prevent Gang Involvement,” by Gary D. Gottfredson, he states, “universal programs in kindergarten through secondary school, which [is a] rewarding educational environment im...

    Read More

  • Is Criminal Behaviour Inherited or Learned?

    1438 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hallswort, S. And Young, T. (2004) Getting Real About Gang. Criminal Justice Matters [online]. 55. (1), pp 12-13 [Accessed 10 December 2013]

    Read More

  • Solutions to Gang Violence in Society

    2296 Words  | 5 Pages

    Otero, Juan. “Curbing street gang violence,” National League of Cities. 21 Dec 1998. General Reference Center Gold. Jan 2007

    Read More

More about Gang Reduction Program

Open Document