The proliferation of gang problems in large and small cities, suburbs, and even rural areas over the past two decades led to the development of a comprehensive, coordinated response to America's gang problem by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The OJJDP response involves five major components:

	Implementation and operation of the National Youth Gang Center.
	Demonstration of the Comprehensive Community-Wide Approach to Gang Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression in selected communities.
	An independent evaluation of the demonstration program.
	Training and technical assistance regarding community-wide responses to gangs.
	Targeted acquisition and dissemination of gang materials via the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse.

What's Its Purpose?

The National Youth Gang Center assists State and local communities in the collection, analysis, and exchange of information on gang-related demographics, legislation, literature, research, and promising program strategies.

What Does the National Youth Gang Center Do?

The National Youth Gang Center:

	Identifies promising gang prevention and intervention program strategies.
	Analyzes gang-related legislation.
	Collects and analyzes statistical data on gangs.
	Collects and reviews gang literature.
	Coordinates activities of the Youth Gang Consortium, a collection of Federal, State, and local agency representatives who wish to ease gang program development, information exchange, and service delivery between agencies.

For more information, contact John Moore, Senior Research Associate, National Youth Gang Center, Institute for Intergovernmental Research, P.O. Box 12729, Tallahassee, FL 32317, 850-385-0600, [email protected], www.iir.com/nygc.

Combating Fear and Restoring Safety in Schools	Juvenile Justice Bulletin   ·  April 1998