2007 Anti-Gang Initiative

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 Oklahoma District Attorneys Council will utilize their FY 2007 Anti-Gang Initiative grant to support law enforcement efforts to combat youth and gang violence in the forty counties that compose the Western District of Oklahoma. The goal of the initiative is to reduce and prosecute gang-related shootings. The activities identified will provide a gang prosecutor to screen 75 percent of all the cases for charges identified as having gang involvement brought by the Oklahoma City Police Department's (OCPD) Gang Unit; incarcerate the top fifteen members in each of the six main gangs as identified by the OCPD's Gang Unit; establish a coalition within six months of the beginning of the project period to assist victims and witnesses of gang related crimes to further enable victims and witnesses to testify against gang members; refer at least 10 percent of the gang related cases to the United States Attorney's Office for federal prosecution; fund law enforcement to implement specific components of the Truancy Habits Reduced Increasing Valuable Education (THRIVE) Project; and fund 868 hours of overtime by sheriff deputies to pick up truants during peak times.

NCA/NCF