1998-017-GRANT APPLICATION-JUVENILE OFFICER-JUVENILE GANG OFFICER

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In addition to working with other agencies to provide family and individual counseling for "at risk" youths, and helping to enlist these youth in activities such as the Boys Club and Police Athletic League, we are also teaching the G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education and Training) curriculum in our local middle schools. Our local schools have embraced the thought of having an officer teaching the G.R.E.A.T. program to the student population of our city. At this time, 392 students have completed the program. 7. Explain how the proposed project activities will address the problem stated in Question A -L We believe that by working with other agencies to provide individual and group counseling to "at risk" juveniles and their families, these juveniles will learn new ways to deal with the root issues that lead to becoming involved in gangs. We also believe that by enlisting these "at risk" juveniles in Boys Club and Police Athletic League activities we will be providing a positive alternative to life on the streets as a gang member. Additionally, we feel that by teaching the G.R.E.A.T. curriculum to each student in our middle schools we will arm each student with the tools necessai), to resist the temptation of joining a gang. The Juvenile /Gang Officer also speaks to junior high and high school teachers about the causes and warning signs of gang activity. We feel that by providing this much needed information to our schools they will be better able to help us fight gang activity in our schools and in our city. 8. List the measures that the project will use to determine the effectiveness of the project and its impact on the stated problem. Since the development of gang identification criteria, we feel that we have a more realistic analysis of local gang activities. We have been able to concentrate on juveniles who are actually engaged in gang activity. We feel that we have an accurate view of total gang membership as it correlates to reported criminal activity and juvenile arrests. This information, along with pubic feedback, will help us to determine the effectiveness of this program. 9. Provide all available current information for each of the effectiveness measures listed above. We believe the effectiveness of this program is evident in the statistical date previously mentioned in this application. In 1996, the 439 juvenile arrests were significantly up from 1995's arrest of 338 juveniles. In 1997, there were 425 juvenile arrests. we