NCJ Number
174694
Journal
Security Journal Volume: 11 Issue: 2-3 Dated: December 1998 Pages: 311-313
Date Published
1998
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The plan developed and operated in El Monte, Calif., for juvenile gang prevention since 1974 involves a joint effort by the El Monte Police Department and the Boys' Club of the San Gabriel Valley to locate jobs for the gangs' identifiable leaders.
Abstract
The underlying idea was to remove leadership from gangs by introducing them to economic dependency and family responsibility, thereby diverting them from criminal activity during a vulnerable adolescent maturational period. The police aimed to assist gang members who had any desire to go straight and to focus enforcement efforts on those who would not try to conform to normal social behavior. The members of the police department's community relations unit become a blend of police officer, social worker, and community organizer. The police and several volunteers helped obtain job leads, contacted gang members and raised the issue of prospective employment, trained gang members in application procedures and the interview process, arranged transportation to interviews and the first day of work, and counseled job applicants with work adjustment problems. The program evolved into a long-term, complex, and comprehensive approach that rested on informal arrangements without regular official meetings. The central organizations, the Boys' Club and the police department, have developed a set of complementary strategies and programs, along with schools, courts, probation, and community businesses. More than 100 businesses participate in the program. The program has helped thousands of gang members obtain unsubsidized jobs in the private sector.