Anti-Gang Initiative, Southern District of Iowa

The Anti-Gang Initiative provides funds to support new or expanded anti-gang enforcement and prevention efforts under the existing Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Initiative. These new funds may be used by the PSN task force to combat gangs by leveraging current strategies and partnerships developed under PSN initiatives or may be used to develop new anti-gang initiatives. The Anti-Gang initiative will be led by the United States Attorney in each of the 94 federal judicial districts across America. Grant funds will be awarded to a single fiscal agent in each of the 94 districts. The fiscal agent, in coordination with the PSN task force, will allocate the funds throughout the community to support the anti-gang initiative in that community.

The Iowa Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy serves as the fiscal agent for the Southern District of Iowa's Fiscal Year 2007 Anti-Gang Initiative. The District's gang crime and activity is concentrated primarily in the metropolitan communities of Des Moines and Davenport. Many gangs have been involved with drug trafficking, particularly methamphetamines, violent crime, and violence against each other. To combat this situation, the District will utilize its Anti-Gang Initiative grant to increase police presence in problematic neighborhoods and provide additional investigative resources for gang-related activity in Des Moines, and divert juveniles at high risk for gang involvement in Davenport. The Davenport Police Department, PSN intervention specialist, and others will identify up to 30 youth, ages 8-17, who are at-risk for gang involvement and refer those youths and their families to "Bethany for Children and Families" for intensive intervention services. In the Des Moines community, funds will be used for up to 1,066 hours of suppression efforts at "Homes of Oakridge" and 1,200 hours of general police overtime on gang surveillance and suppression.

NCA/NCF