NCJ Number
147629
Date Published
1990
Length
110 pages
Annotation
A futures study was completed to become the foundation for a strategic plan for police in mid-size cities to respond to juvenile gangs.
Abstract
Through personal interviews conducted in 20 mid-size cities, researchers learned that most of the cities had either recently experienced the emergence of a youth gang issue in their community or feared they might. To further define the future, a nominal group panel was assembled. It identified five trends and events that would have the most impact on the issue. Based on an analysis of those trends and events and their cross-impact, two themes emerged. First, communities, especially mid-size ones, must treat youth gangs as not only a police problem but a community issue. Second, those communities must act immediately at the first sign of an emerging youth gang problem in their community. To that end, the author developed a strategic plan. The strategic plan provides a multilevel comprehensive approach. This approach emphasizes dealing proactively with an emerging juvenile gang issue. The three strategy elements are to be applied incrementally as the severity and intensity of the problem dictates. They include graffiti abatement, gang unit deployment, city council commitment, education of school officials, zero-tolerance law enforcement, gang activity reporting, parent contact, criminal justice system coordination, and top police departmental priority. Other elements of the strategy are news media involvement, a community advisory board, the G.I.A.R.Y. program, and a multiagency task force. The report concludes with a transition management plan. 12 tables and 15 references