Responding to Gang, Crew and Youth Violence in the District of Columbia

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURESTable 1. Characteristics of Gangs and Crews...............................................................................................................3Table 2. Frequency Distribution of Juvenile Arrests for Violent Crimes, DC 2008 ....................................................5Table 3. Timeline of Significant Reports ...................................................................................................................15Table 4. Youth Violence Risk and Protective Factors................................................................................................27Table 5: Warning Signs of Youth Violence ...............................................................................................................28Table 6. Prevention Strategies ....................................................................................................................................38Figure 1. Juvenile Arrests for Violent Crimes: 2004 to 2008......................................................................................6Figure 2. Breakdown of Juveniles and Adults Arrested for Top 5 Arrest Categories in 2008.....................................6Figure 3. MPD Map of DC Violent Crime Locations: 1/1/08 to 1/31/09 ....................................................................7Figure 4. MPD Map of DC Homicide Locations: 1/1/08 to 1/31/09.............................................................................8Figure 5. Distribution of Juvenile Violent Crime Arrests: 2008 ...................................................................................9Figure 6. Gangs and Crews by Ward.............................................................................................................................9Figure 7. Crew Loctions - Ward 7..............................................................................................................................10Figure 8. Crew Locations - Ward 8 ...........................................................................................................................11Figure 9. Use of Best Practice or Evidence-Based Model..........................................................................................42Figure 10. Best Practices/Evidence-Based Practices Used by Respondents ...............................................................42iv
A BLUEPRINT FOR ACTIONEXECUTIVE SUMMARYChargeThis Blueprint for Action was commissioned by Councilmember Jim Graham and the Council of the District of Columbiato provide a framework for developing a comprehensive, community-based strategy to prevent youth involvementin violence, particularly gang and crew activity, and address its root causes. The research and writing was completedby staff of the Healthy Families Thriving Communities Collaborative Council and informed by the input of communitystakeholders, research contractors and consultants.ContentChapter 1 examines the state of youth violence in the District of Columbia, particularly the incidence of violent crimescommitted by juveniles and the infiltration of gangs and crews into community life. The chapter also discusses broadlythe impact of violence on young people. Chapter 2 explores a history of community responses to youth violence by highlightingsignificant reports and program initiatives over the last several decades. Chapter 3 offers a summative set offindings that follow from the first two chapters. Chapter 4 explores the complex causes of youth violence and relevanttheories developed to explain them. Chapter 5 studies emerging state and local efforts to prevent youth violence throughoutthe country. Finally, Chapter 6 provides recommendations to the Council of the District of Columbia in support ofits desire to bring a comprehensive approach to the District’s efforts.MethodMany primary and secondary data sources are integrated into this document. These include publicly available data fromthe District and national sources; results of confidential interviews with government, nonprofit and philanthropic stakeholdersthroughout the District; and survey results from two studies assessing perspectives on youth violence and youthviolence work among young people and program providers. These data supplement a comprehensive review of priorstudies, reports and initiatives aimed at improving outcomes for youth and increasing public safety in the District of Columbiaand a thorough analysis of national best practices and model programs.FindingsThis report finds that several key elements characterize effective youth violence response practice in the District:• Strong, consistent and trusting community/police partnerships are essential for the work to be successful.• Intensive targeted street level outreach is necessary to identify and engage gang and crew involved young people.• Outreach work requires passion, commitment and compassion.• Outreach workers need solid supervision, training and support.• Mediation between feuding groups requires multi-layered approaches and solutions.• Many neighborhood “beefs” have become generational and require multi-generational interventions.• Evidence-based approaches including Family Group Conferencing and Solution Focused Therapy are frequent componentsof successful intervention plans.Regarding the local response to youth violence, this report finds:• Many critical components of a citywide violence prevention strategy have already been proposed and tested in theDistrict but little has been done to learn from these efforts.• There is little publicly available data relating to crews and gangs in the District.• Support for community-based services has too often been driven by crisis or political considerations and has notbeen sustained over time.• The violence intervention and prevention programs that are currently funded are disjointed and not part of a broadercitywide strategy.• The bifurcation of the juvenile justice system in the District creates unique and difficult challenges in developing anintegrated approach to youth violence prevention.• The organization of the adult criminal justice system is a deterrent to coordinated services for offenders and ex-offenders.• School culture, truancy and dropout are major factors in the continuation of youth violence in the District.• Mental health services for the District’s highest risk youth are inadequate in availability and design.v
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Responding to Gang, Crew and Youth Violence in the District of Columbia

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