Gang Deconstruction

the Forum and other efforts.
The Community-Based Violence Prevention Initiative is adapted from the best violence
reduction work in several cities and the public health research of the last several
decades. Evaluation research has identified programs that have demonstrated
effectiveness in reducing the impact of risk factors. These efforts have identified that
responses must be comprehensive, long-term strategic approaches that contain the
spread of gang activity, protect those youth who are most susceptible, and mitigate risk
factors that foster gang activity. The four-pronged approach of effective anti-gang
strategies include: targeted suppression of youth who commit the most serious and
chronic offenses; intervention with youthful gang members; prevention efforts for youth
identified as being at high risk of entering a gang; and implementation of programs that
address risk and protective factors and targets the entire population in high-crime, highrisk
areas. Additional public health research conducted over the last decade shows
success in those programs, which have focused on not only managing incidents of
serious youth violence and gang violence, but also those that include proactive
interventions to prevent further retaliatory acts of youth or gang violence. FY2010 grant
recipients were Brooklyn, NY, Oakland, CA, Denver, CO, and Washington, DC. In
FY2011, OJJDP made awards to Baltimore, MD, Boston, MA, and Newark, NJ. In FY
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