National Gang Center

This program furthers the Department’s mission by supporting state and community responses to gang-related crime and violence, including gang activity by youth. Funding will support activities of the National Gang Center (NGC), which provides training and technical assistance to OJP-funded programs and communities across the country to address the issues of youth gun and gang violence. NGC tracks current research and trends on gangs and maintains a database of comprehensive information on the development and implementation of effective gang prevention, intervention, and suppression strategies. This program is authorized under the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2020, Pub. L. No. 116-93; 133 Stat. 2317, 2407.

The Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) will continue its delivery of services for the National Gang Center (NGC) through the following activities: (1) enhance operations of the NGC website; (2) provide opportunities for virtual peer-sharing experiences among stakeholders in communities with emerging and entrenched gang issues; (3) provide onsite and online training in street gang investigations, gang desistance, and the Comprehensive Gang Model; (4) provide coordination for the G.R.E.A.T. National Program; (5) track research and trends for the development of practitioner-oriented publications and resources; and (6) provide technical assistance to OJJDP-funded project sites addressing gun and gang violence.

Activities under this program plan are designed to advance the professional knowledge base of law enforcement, criminal and juvenile justice practitioners, direct-service providers, policymakers, and community members as they strengthen their capacities to strategically coordinate responses in stemming gang and gun violence. To measure progress toward these activities, IIR will collect all performance measurement data required by OJJDP. In addition to metrics that count the number of people and organizations served, IIR will employ an assessment process that incorporates the use of qualitative and quantitative techniques to determine the depth and breadth of lessons learned, strategies and best practices implemented, policies changed, and knowledge gained. Output and short-term outcome measures will be reported every 6 months through the OJP Performance Measurement Platform.

CA/NCF

This program furthers the U.S. Department of Justice’s mission to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling gang-related crime and violence to ensure public safety in a manner that preserves the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. Training and Technical assistance (TTA) provided by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP's) National Gang Center (NGC) supports evidence-based and data-driven intervention-, prevention-, and deterrence-focused initiatives that aim to reduce violence. The goal of NGC is to provide TTA to communities on developing evidence-based strategies or promising models to prevent and deter youth from joining gangs and reduce youth gang violence. 

Research demonstrates that gang members are disproportionately involved in criminal and violent behavior. No single suppression or prevention strategy alone will reduce gang crime and violence. Critical components of NGC strategies include: comprehensive, community-based, gun and gang violence interventions designed to reduce risk factors that lead to joining a gang; promotion of positive intervention supports for gang-involved individuals, to include those returning from incarceration; implementation of focused and strategic enforcement; and support for victims of gang violence.

The Institute for Intergovernmental Research proposes to manage the operations of the NGC by implementing the following TTA services.

Enhance content for the NGC website, which serves as a one-stop shop for publications and practitioner-oriented resources on youth and street gangs.
Identify, track, and disseminate relevant gang-related current events, research, and trends to facilitate nationwide peer networking opportunities to expand what is known about successes, challenges, and innovations in reducing gang-related community violence.
Deliver specialized law enforcement and prosecution training to local jurisdictions to enhance agencies’ capacities to identify and counter criminal gang-related activities.
Deliver virtual training to an array of multidisciplinary audiences interested in implementing a strategic framework for reducing gang and gun violence.
Provide national TTA support to the Gang Resistance Education And Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program.
Develop publications and resources that provide sound guidance for developing data-driven responses for community violence.
Provide tailored TTA to OJJDP-funded grantees implementing youth violence prevention and reduction programs, including youth gang suppression, youth gang desistance/diversion, and victims of gang violence programs.

Activities under this comprehensive TTA plan are designed to advance the professional knowledge base of practitioners across law enforcement, justice, public and social services, schools, and other community sectors. TTA also serves to strengthen the organizational capacities of local government and community-based organizations focused on preventing and reducing gun and gang-related community violence.

The National Gang Center (NGC) serves as OJJDP’s resource for supporting delinquency prevention through the special-topic lens of gun and gang violence. Through this award, NGC’s primary focus will be the provision of training and technical assistance (TTA) to the suite of OJJDP-funded comprehensive gang and youth violence prevention and reduction programs. TTA will support evidence-based and data-driven intervention, prevention, and deterrence-focused initiatives that aim to reduce violence in communities disproportionately impacted by violent crime. Emphasis will be placed on close collaboration among service providers, law enforcement, and community-based organizations.

NGC will also continue its broader service to the field by assisting justice and community stakeholders in navigating the myriad of evidenced-based and community-informed youth-focused intervention and gang-related programs that aim to prevent youth from joining gangs, reduce youth violence, and protect public safety without creating collateral consequences for youth. These include a one-stop-shop website for publications and practitioner-oriented resources; direct engagement with the field; the delivery of webinars, podcasts, and trainings; and administrative support for the Gang Resistance Education And Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program.