Florida Youth Chamber of Commerce Gang Prevention Hub Center

Vital Stats

Patricia H

Kissimmee, FL

  • people helped300
  • People Doing It 4

The Problem

The prevalence of gangs and gang-related violence in Florida is a growing threat to the safety and security of all Floridians. Law enforcement alone cannot stop the threats to public safety brought about by gang violence. In order to achieve real impact in the reduction and deterrence of gang-related crime and violence, targeted response must involve the active engagement of local and state leaders from the faith-based community, education, prevention and intervention organizations, the business community, criminal justice, government, and other concerned citizens.

Plan of Action

1. Top political leaders must issue a strong, unanimous, and sustained political mandate to remove the drivers and conditions that spawn gangs and neighborhood violence. 2. City approaches must stop focusing on isolated, tiny programs that address less than five percent of the problem and must begin to confront the size and scope of the gang problem. 3. City approaches must address the conditions in neighborhoods and the unmet needs of children that allow gangs to take root, flourish, and expand. 4. The City must get documented results for current monies spent and generate new resources by ending unnecessary and costly City practices. 5. After eliminating wasteful and ineffective approaches, the City should obtain new streams of funding for general prevention, intervention, and suppression and gang specific prevention, intervention, and suppression. 6. Create accountability for reducing gang violence through a powerful, centralizing, entrepreneurial City entity with the institutional and political clout needed to streamline bureaucracy; command cooperation across City departments, and external jurisdictions; and execute neighborhood-based violence prevention and reduction plans. If this new entity does not document substantial and sustained reductions in gang activity and violence in selected high crime neighborhoods within set time periods, the City should eliminate it and/or change strategies. 7. The leadership of the entrepreneurial entity will have to be bold, unafraid to take responsible risks or experiment, have extraordinary political skills, have credibility with sectors ranging from law enforcement to gang interventionists and academics, and possess working familiarity with areas of contention in the relevant disciplines ranging from gang culture and domestic violence to evaluation and program design. 8. Reap the “prevention dividend” by substantially increasing investment in gang focused prevention and intervention programs, and by creating gang focused prevention programs
Go
Gang Violence
Bullying and Violence

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