Gang Reduction Program

The Gang Reduction Program (GRP) is an effort to reduce gang related crime and violence in high-risk areas. Four pilot sites have implemented the program: Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Milwaukee, WI; and Richmond, VA.

The program uses a "Five Pronged Approach to Gang Reduction." First, primary prevention provides resources to the community such as truancy programs and job development strategies. Secondly, the program identifies at-risk children ages 7-14 and reaches out to them through school and community-based organizations to proactively intervene before serious delinquency problems occur. The third approach uses targeted interventions with teens already involved with gangs. The program works with the youth and their families to foster communication and aid the teens in making appropriate choices. For the most serious cases, the fourth prong of this program aims to suppress the gang activity using appropriate local and state resources. Lastly, the Gang Reduction Program assists with the reentry of individuals into the community.

The primary goal of the GRP is to reduce youth gang crime and violence in targeted neighborhoods/communities by addressing the personal, family and community factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency and gang activity.

During the funded period, Richmond (VA) dropped from the 5th most dangerous city in the Nation to the 15th, and is now ranked as the 29th.

In Los Angeles, the program significantly reduced levels of gang activity and gang-related crime and moderately reduced levels of serious violence and citizen reports of shots fired.