The Little Village Gang Violence Reduction Project in Chicago

Project was only indirectly and partially expected to modify the causal aspects of the gangproblem which was a product of larger societal and community forces including populationmovement, poverty, racism, segregation, and family disorganization as well as defective publicpolicies. The Project was also an attempt to show, through research and evaluation, how itcreated a structure and process to achieve an integrated community-based approach, and to whatextent it achieved its purpose.Evaluation IssuesIn the past, models of gang-intervention programs were not clearly developed oradequately tested. Key questions remained about the effectiveness of gang projects, andespecially about the roles of detached gang (or community) youth workers, criminal-justice,social-agency and community-group personnel and strategies for addressing the youth-gangproblem. Policy and program questions still include:• What is the primary concern about the specific gang problem that needs to be addressed?• How closely should criminal-justice agencies be involved with youth agencies andcommunity groups (let alone former gang members) in addressing the gang problem?• Who should take primary responsibility for developing and conducting an interagency,community-wide and grassroots approach to the problem?• Are former gang members effective in dealing with gangs?• Should community youth workers be professionals and, if so, should they come from thegang neighborhoods?• Can schools be engaged in interagency programs other than “zero tolerance,” suspension,1.26