Akron/Summit County Gang Initiative

The Edward Byrne Memorial Discretionary Grants Program, administered by the Office of Justice Programs' (OJP's) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), furthers the Department's mission by assisting state and local jurisdictions in improving the criminal justice system and assisting communities in preventing drug abuse and crime. In fiscal year 2007, the Edward Byrne Memorial Discretionary Grants Program will focus on funding local, regional, and national efforts within six major categories: 1) targeting violent crime; 2) preventing crime and drug abuse; 3) enhancing local law enforcement; 4) enhancing local courts; 5) enhancing local corrections and offender reentry; and 6) facilitating justice information sharing. All categories combat, address, or otherwise respond to precipitous or extraordinary increases in crime, or in a type or types of crime.

The City of Akron will use its Fiscal Year 2007 Byrne Discretionary Category 1: Targeting Violent Crime grant award to fund the Akron/Summit County Gang Initiative Project to build a sustainable intelligence-led policing initiative to reduce the number of violent crimes committed in the Akron-Summit County region, specifically crimes committed by gang members. In addition, the project will focus on increasing the incarcerations of 'hardcore' criminal gang members, preventing gang members from committing violent crimes on the streets of Akron, and creating a deterrent to lifelong criminal gang membership of 'prospective' youth members of these criminal organizations. This comprehensive project will use a multi-jurisdictional gang task force to incorporate the components of prevention, intervention, suppression, prosecution, and reentry and provide a comprehensive response to address gang-related violent crime. Task force membership will include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Akron Police Department, Summit County Sheriff's Office, Summit County Adult Probation, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Summit County Juvenile Court Probation Officers, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Greater Akron Drug Task Force, the University of Akron, the East Akron Phoenix School, and other interested law enforcement agencies within Summit County.

CA/NCF