Florida Gang Reduction Strategy 2008 - 2012

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Resources
6. Establishing an active citizen organization to
give support to the prosecution effort, primarily
through creation and support of the media
outreach effort.
7. Establishing a cooperative working relationship
with the news media to insure that the
cases are covered and word is further passed
that the prosecution program is in effect.
Several innovative policing practices were formed
during the 1990s, and it is believed that these
practices assisted in producing fewer violent
crimes in our major metropolitan cities. Project
Exile was a new policing initiative that crafted a
clear message and strict adherence to the federal
gun laws. Richmond’s firearm homicide rate
steadily declined each year after the project was
initiated.11 Originators of the project insist that
the positive gains made in Richmond can be duplicated
in other cities. The key to the replication
is having a city build a coalition with the will to
implement the plan.
More information regarding Project Exile is available
on the Virginians Against Handgun Violence
website at: http://www.vahv.org/Exile or
at: P.O. Box 271, Norfolk, Virginia 23242-0462;
Phone: (757) 623-7918; Fax: (757) 622-3953; Email:
info@vahv.org.
Chicago Gang Intervention Strategy
At the start of 2003, the citizens of Chicago were
experiencing an escalation in narcotics-related
gang homicides. Many of the criminal gangs in
Chicago had become highly sophisticated and
well-organized. The Mayor’s Office and the Chicago
Police Department realized that their response
to gang activity had to counter the increased sophistication
of the criminal gangs that they were
confronting.
A key component of the city’s new strategy to
combat criminal gangs was the use of targeted
enforcement strategies that deployed police officers
to locations where gang crime was occurring.
Chicago was able to move officers into locations
where there was a high density of gang-related
Florida Gang Reduction Strategy
crime by creating an intelligence center that
would be able to predict where violent gang activities
were more likely to occur next. The creation
of the Deployment Operations Center (DOC)
produced a unique blend of accountability and
intelligence-led policing that produced substantial
declines in the rate of violent crimes.
Weekly meetings are held at the DOC with the
city’s five Area Chiefs and their district Commanders.
The predictive analysis, combined with
street level gang intelligence that is provided by
the Department’s tactical response units, special
operations, and area narcotics enforcement teams,
provides District Commanders with the ability of
directing effective deployment assignments to officers
in the field.
The intervention strategy in Chicago is viewed
as an effective way of staying one step ahead of
criminal gangs and defuses their ability to buy
and sell illegal drugs and commit acts of violence
against members of the community. By the end of
2004, the city of Chicago experienced a twentyfive
percent reduction in homicides, 1,100 fewer
intentional shootings, and more than 10,000 guns
were recovered in the city. 12
Other Programs and Resources of
Interest
National Youth Gang Center
The National Youth Gang Center (NYGC) is a
valuable resource in supporting gang prevention
and intervention programs. The center is located
in Tallahassee and has been supporting practitioners,
researchers, and policy makers, since 1995
with statistics, publications, training and technical
assistance on youth gangs. Its goal is to deliver
assistance that can be translated easily into policy
and practice. The NYGC website features a great
number of gang-specific publications that are fully
downloadable, a database of gang legislation that
is searchable by state or by topic and an interactive
list called GANGINFO that provides practitioners
with a forum for sharing ideas.