Northern District of Ohio's FY 2007 Anti-Gang Project

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 Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services will use its grant award to fund sub-grants to its Northern District Anti-Gang Initiative partners, the City of Lima and the City of Youngstown. The City of Lima's Family and Children First Council (FCFC), which facilitates a coordinated response and allocation of resources to address community-wide quality of life issues impacting families and their children, will establish the Anti-Gang Task Force committee with volunteers from existing FCFC members. The City of Lima's goals are to reduce the occurrence of violent gang-related incidents through both reactive and proactive efforts supported by enforcement planning coordinated with federal, state, and local law enforcement and informed by data and real-time intelligence, as well as reduce violence through proactive prevention programming coordinated through Family & Children First agencies in concert with the United Way's Community Impact School Success initiative and area schools. These goals will be met by implementing anti-gang special operations, establishing information exchanges, working with juvenile court staff, schools, and youth services, and introducing electronic monitoring/sanctions, among other efforts.

The City of Youngstown Police Department will conduct daytime curfew sweeps during the school year at hotspots around the city. In addition to assessment of youth by Juvenile Probation Officers, the city also will institute a 'Gang Court,' similar to a drug court. A minor misdemeanor ticket will be issued to the student and the parent, and both the student and parent will be required to appear in court. At court time, the option will be given to the student and parent to either pay the $146 fine or attend anti-gang counseling, provided by either Meridian Counseling Services or Community Light, a community-based program.

NCA/NCF