This newsletter reports on events, research, training, and programs related to the work of the National Gang Center, which conducts research on street gangs and serves as a clearinghouse for individuals and agencies that seek information, technical assistance, and training in the areas of gang prevention, intervention, suppression, and reentry.
The first volume of the National Gang Center newsletter highlights initiatives, a new publication, and investigative approaches to gang-related crimes. Cure Violence is an interdisciplinary public health strategy aimed at reducing gang-related gun violence and homicides in Chicago. Another initiative featured is the Massachusetts Shannon Community Safety Initiative that is named after deceased Massachusetts Sen. Charles E. Shannon, Jr. It was first funded in 2006 by the Massachusetts legislature to implement the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Comprehensive Gang Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression Model statewide. The newsletter announces a new National Gang Center bulletin "Street Outreach and the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model," which provides an overview of best practices obtained from practitioners in communities with experience in planning and implementing street outreach activities in the context of the model. The fall issue also features the Hardcore Gang Investigations Unit, which operates within the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office. The specialized prosecution unit is devoted to violent gang crimes. The article includes a study that examines the unit's impact.