Hello Everyone,
Evelyn here,
with an update on the Attorney General Office’s plans for the education of, prevention of, and rehabilitation strategy for gang members of this state.
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Bill McCollum
Attorney General
News Release
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January 30, 2008
MCCOLLUM: EDUCATION, PREVENTION, REHABILITATION
KEY TO STATE GANG STRATEGY
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF MULTI-PRONGED
STRATEGY RELEASED FROM GANG STRATEGY SUMMIT BREAKOUT GROUPS
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today released the
full recommendations from his December Gang Reduction Strategy Summit
which featured speakers and presentations from members of the Attorney
General’s Gang Reduction Strategy Executive Group. The Summit consisted of
six breakout groups targeting community resources, infrastructure and
implementation; intervention; suppression and deterrence; prosecution and
criminal justice system enhancements; rehabilitation and re-entry; and
risk-based prevention.
“At the end of the day, gangs cannot continue to exist if we can keep
our youth from joining these criminal organizations,” said Attorney
General McCollum. “We need to reduce and eventually stop the growth of
gangs before we can declare a victory for our state, and education and
prevention will be key factors in that effort.”
Last week, the Attorney General joined legislative leaders to
announce tough anti-gang legislation. The proposed bill includes
streamlined definitions for gang members and stronger sentences for
criminal gang organizations. The Attorney General today recognized the
importance of a heavy-handed approach for those already indoctrinated as
active gang members, but also emphasized that slowing and eventually
stopping the growth of gangs in Florida will depend significantly on
preventing recruitment through education and rehabilitation for former
members.
One of the key recommendations is to establish a process for gang
prevention and intervention that will engage multiple community sectors.
The focus on neighborhood and community involvement will be essential in
the cooperative anti-gang efforts as communities rally collectively
against criminal gangs. Other important recommendations suggest the need
for parent resources, including support groups, as well as the proposal
for vocational or educational programs which could divert at-risk youth
from gang recruitment.
Drug trafficking and abuse remain one of the key factors in the
growth ofgangs in Florida. Additional recommendations from the summit
include recognition that rehabilitation and re-entry efforts aimed at
Florida’s juvenile and adult inmates must begin much earlier in their
incarceration and be more comprehensive if those efforts are to be
successful. Participants in the summit also acknowledged that the
successful effort to reduce gang and drug activity will be closely tied to
finding ways to reduce the demand for illegal drugs.
The full recommendations from the Strategy Summit are available
online at http://www.safeflorida.net/safestreets. The Executive Group will
now turn its attention to developing Florida’s statewide strategy, based
on the recommendations from the Summit's breakout groups and other expert
sources. The strategy report is expected to be released later this spring.
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Evelyn out
