Florida Gang Reduction Strategy 2008 - 2012

prompted the formation
of the Security Threat
Group (STG) management
initiative.
The mission of the Security
Threat Intelligence
Unit (STIU) is to maintain
a safe and secure operation
for correctional/probation
officers, visitors,
and inmates/offenders by
identifying, certifying and
monitoring STG activity,
coordinating all intelligence with fellow criminal
justice agencies, and providing community awareness
programs and education. After placement in
the correctional system, the inmates prone to gang
membership tend to mirror gangs in the community.
An exception to the similarity exists in that
prison gangs tend to gravitate and identify along
racial lines, whereas the majority of gangs reported
in Florida are multi-cultural allegiances.
The result is the comprehensive intelligence gathering
program that has given Florida a “blueprint”
of gang activity. The STIU is now recognized as a
national leader in STG identification, assessment
and management. Although the STIU’s primary
focus is on inmates and offenders, the unit is
committed to sharing what they learn with other
criminal justice agencies and the public.
In response to the staggering statistics on the
projected inmate population, the Department
of Corrections has made reducing recidivism a
major focus. It is important to note that each year
approximately 34,000 inmates are released from
the Department of Corrections. 6 The STIU will
continue to expand their synchronization with
outside agencies by notifying local law enforcement
when a gang member is released from
prison. By enhanced coordination with local law
enforcement, communities will be able to monitor,
and when appropriate, provide services for
the reintegration, or in some cases, the integration
of a former gang member into a productive, lawabiding
citizen.
Resources
TTo
accomplish the task of
ooffender
reintegration the
DDepartment
of Correc-
ttions
changed its mission
in
May 2007 to state, “To
pprotect
the public, ensure
tthe
safety of Department
ppersonnel,
and provide
ffor
the proper care and
ssupervision
of all offend-
eers
under our jurisdiction
wwhile
assisting, as ap-
ppropriate,
their re-entry
in
into society.” Coupled
with this change to the mission statement, the
Department set a goal of bringing the recidivism
rate down from its present rate of 32% to 20% or
less by 2012. The Department envisions that, if
accomplished, the criminal justice system will see
a significant reduction in the demands that repeat
offenders exert and provide safer communities for
the citizens of Florida and those who visit the state.
In addition to the re-entry of offenders, the Department
of Corrections has also been contributing
many hours annually in community service projects
through inmate labor. Aside from contracting with
the Florida Department of Transportation and local
communities to keep roads, highways, and parks
clean, communities and civic organizations can
contract with the Department to aggressively eliminate
gang graffiti and the other visible stains left
by gangs. Graffiti and gang “tagging” are stigmas
on Florida’s communities and without an effective
means to continually remove them gangs continue
to mark their territory on roads, buildings, and
signs. Being vigilant and not tolerating any gang
defacing neighborhoods will amplify the collective
community resistance to gangs.
Office of Drug Control
The Florida Office of Drug Control (ODC), located
in the Executive Office of the Governor, collaborates
with the Office of Planning and Budget to
implement a statewide drug abatement strategy
that utilizes a three-pronged approach of drug
Florida Gang Reduction Strategy 39