Gangs
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·	Facts & Figures
·	Legislation
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Programs
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Gangs - Programs

This section provides examples of State and local programs and initiatives available online.

CHARGE Gang Task Force
The Harrisonburg (Virginia) Police Department and the Rockingham County (Virginia) Sheriff’s Office have joined together to form a Gang Investigative unit known as the CHARGE (Combined Harrisonburg and Rockingham Gang Enforcement) Unit.  The CHARGE Unit was implemented to prevent and reduce gang activity occurring in and around the City of Harrisonburg and the County of Rockingham and to educate citizens of these communities on gang awareness issues.

Dane County (Wisconsin) Narcotics and Gang Task Force
The Dane County Narcotics and Gang Task Force investigates crimes involving narcotics, organized groups, gangs, and vice throughout the county. The Task Force gathers intelligence on suspected criminals and upon request, assists other agencies with major criminal investigations, such as homicide.

Gang Resistance Education And Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program
The G.R.E.A.T. Program, administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), is a school-based, law enforcement officer-instructed classroom curriculum. The program's primary objective is prevention and is intended as an immunization against delinquency, youth violence, and gang membership. G.R.E.A.T. lessons focus on providing life skills to students to help them avoid delinquent behavior and violence to solve problems.

Great Lakes International Gang Investigators Coalition (GLIGIC)
The coalition was formed from a variety of Federal and State law enforcement officers, corrections officers, probation and parole agents and specialized investigators throughout Canada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania.  GLIGIC brings international borders closer together to promote the exchange and rapid dissemination of gang intelligence, within the criminal justice community.

Lake County (Illinois) Sheriffs Office Gang Task Force
The task force consists of representatives from 39 local, State and Federal law enforcement agencies. The three main goals of the task force include: increase the ability to identify and deter gang activity; identify, share and maintain in a consistent manner intelligence information concerning gang presence, their activity and gang members; and increase arrests and convictions of gang crimes and gang offenders.

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New Haven (Connecticut) Gang Task Force
The task force brings together New Haven and State police, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Marshal Service, U.S. Attorney's Office, and New Haven State's Attorneys Office to focus efforts on drug gangs and associated violence in the City of New Haven.

New York City Police Department Citywide Anti-Gang Enforcement (CAGE)
NYPD CAGE is a citywide anti-gang unit that aggressively deploys some of New York's best street cops into its worst neighborhoods.

North Carolina Gang Investigators Association (NCGIA)
This association of law enforcement and criminal justice professionals is dedicated to the prevention of gangs and suppression of gang-related activity in North Carolina.

Oak Park Township (Illinois) Gang and Drug Task Force
The Gang Prevention/Intervention Program was established to address the threat of street gangs in Oak Park and River Forest and the victimization of young gang members and local residents by gang activity.

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Gang-Free Schools and Communities Program
The Gang-Free Schools and Communities Program was launched in 2000 to address and reduce youth gang crime and violence in schools and communities throughout the nation. Four sites were selected (East Cleveland, Ohio; Houston, Texas; Miami/Dade County, Florida; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) through a competitive process to participate in the two phases of this program, which is a replication of the Office's Comprehensive Gang Model.

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Office of Juvenile Justice and Deliquency Prevention (OJJDP) Gang Reduction Program
The Gang Reduction Program is designed to reduce gang activity in targeted neighborhoods by incorporating a broad spectrum of research-based interventions to address the range of personal, family, and community factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency and gang activity. The program integrates local, state, and federal resources to incorporate state-of-the-art practices in prevention, intervention, and suppression in program activities and resources to enhance prosocial influences in the community.

Pasadena (Texas) Police Gang Task Force
The Pasadena Police Gang Task Force was formed to investigate gang-related activity and develop an aggressive program combining suppression and intervention tactics.

Quad State Rural Enforcement Task Force
The task force is a nonprofit professional association of Federal, State, and local criminal investigators, and peace officers from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota that tracks organized criminal activity which affects numerous member jurisdictions.

Richland County (South Carolina) Gang Task Force
The Richland County Gang Task Force is manned by three full-time investigators, who gathers intelligence, conduct gang awareness classes and assist investigations with gang related crimes.

Santa Clarita (California) Gang Task Force
The task force is made up of community members, school personnel, law enforcement, and volunteers. They work together to develop and refer youth to programs that intervene in their lives to build self-esteem, give direction, develop skills, and let youth know they are cared about and thus discourage their involvement in gangs.

Santa Rosa (California) Mayor's Gang Prevention Task Force
The Mayor's Gang Prevention Task Force (MGPTF) and the Mayor’s Advisory Board were created in response to increased gang activity in the City of Santa Rosa.  The MGPTF Policy Team endorsed a commitment to focus on: outreach to youth and families; out-patient counseling; targeted programming for youth at risk of gang involvement; parent/family support; job readiness training and job placement for gang-involved youth.

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Links from the NCJRS Web site to non-Federal sites do not constitute an endorsement by NCJRS or its sponsors. NCJRS is not responsible for the content or privacy policy of any off-site pages that are referenced, nor does NCJRS guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correct sequencing of information. NCJRS is also not responsible for the use of, or results obtained from the use of, the information. It is the responsibility of the user to evaluate the content and usefulness of information obtained from non-Federal sites.