Polk County Gang Prevention Initiative

The OJJDP FY 10 Earmarks Program furthers the Department's mission by providing grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance authorized by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, to organizations identified in the Conference Report to accompany the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-117), H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 111-366 at 702-714.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) project will focus on the prevention and intervention of youth under the age of 18 becoming involved in gang activity. One new Detective position will be funded by this grant. Through educational efforts and community partnerships, the project will provide healthy alternatives to gang membership. Education will also be provided to community stakeholders, i.e., parents, teachers, school administrators, and community members, all of which have interaction with youth, to recognize identifiers of possible gang association and influence. This will allow community members to be proactive in combating gang membership, thereby reducing the gang recruitment pool. Progress will be measured by the number of youth who participate in and complete the programs as well as not offending or reoffending as a gang member. Community youth will be identified as candidates for the presentations/programs by a review of incident and or arrest reports or personal referral. NCA