Florida Gang Reduction Strategy 2008 - 2012

Gang Officers
Experience in working with gangs is important
to law enforcement’s success in their anti-gang
strategies and goals. Many police departments
have formed gang units and have developed specialized
positions within these units. The ability
of officers to effectively combat gangs is greatly
enhanced by accumulated on-the-job experience.
Many police officers and other law enforcement
agents routinely rotate into other job assignments
every few years, thereby diminishing the institutional
knowledge of a particular unit. Expertise
regarding gangs is particularly difficult to maintain
because gangs on both local and national
levels are unpredictable and readily adapt their
methods of operation to changing circumstances.
Therefore, it is critical that at least some of the
personnel involved in gang enforcement have
extensive experience working with gangs. NAGIA
recommends that law enforcement agency administrators
consider these factors when rotating or
reassigning personnel from a gang unit.
Community Responses to Gangs
Law enforcement alone will never successfully
eliminate the threat of gangs. Other community
agencies and partners, including schools, juvenile
justice agencies, grassroots community organizations,
faith-based organizations, social services organizations,
and others, must work together to address
the problem of gangs in the local community
and to provide youths with opportunities to opt out
of the gang lifestyle. NAGIA strongly recommends
that law enforcement agencies reach out to social
service agencies, nonprofit community assistance
agencies, faith-based groups, schools, and private
businesses to promote a comprehensive and coordinated
community action plan to deal with gang
suppression, intervention, and prevention.
Appendix C: 2005 National Gang Threat Assessment Recommendations
Florida Gang Reduction Strategy 71