Best Practices to Address Community Gang Problems: OJJDP's Comprehensive Gang Model - Intervention Teams, Outreach Workers, Law Enforcement, Suppression, Social Control, Reentry Programs

Since its inception, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Juvenile Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has initiated and supported a broad range of research, demonstration, evaluation, and training and technical assistance initiatives to prevent and reduce gang crime. A central focus of these anti-gang efforts is to support community endeavors to provide youth with a safe environment in which to grow up. As part of that comprehensive initiative, OJJDP launched the Gang Reduction Program. The multimillion-dollar initiative was designed to reduce gang crime in targeted neighborhoods by incorporating research-based interventions to address individual, family, and community factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency and gang activity. The program leveraged local, State, and Federal resources in support of community partnerships that implement progressive practices in prevention, intervention, suppression, and reentry. Best Practices To Address Community Gang Problems: OJJDP's Comprehensive Gang Model provides communities considering implementing the comprehensive gang model with critical information to guide their efforts. The Report describes the research that produced the model; outlines best practices obtained from practitioners with years of experience in planning, implementing, and overseeing variations of the model in their communities; and presents essential findings from evaluations of several programs that demonstrate the success of the model in a variety of environments.

Purpose and Organization of the Report * Development of OJJDP's Comprehensive Gang Model * Research Foundation of the Comprehensive Gang Model * National Assessment of Gang Problems and Programs * Development of the Comprehensive Community-Wide Gang Program Model * OJJDP's Comprehensive Gang Model * The Comprehensive Gang Model in Action—OJJDP's Gang Reduction Program * Best Practices for Planning and Implementing the Comprehensive Gang Model * Convening a Steering Committee * Administering the Program * Lead Agency * Program Director * Assessing the Gang Problem * Planning for Implementation * Implementing the Program * Maintaining the Steering Committee * The Intervention Team * Outreach Workers * Law Enforcement Personnel * Selecting Program Activities * Intervention Activities * Prevention Activities * Suppression/Social Control Activities * Reentry Activities * Sustaining the Program * Notes * References * Appendix A: Demonstration and Testing of the Comprehensive Gang Model * Appendix B: Multistrategy Gang Initiative Survey