Gangs have become increasingly more violent over time and have increased their activity in drugs and other illegal activities to support the gang and help recruit new gang members, often from U.S. middle and high schools. In this scenario, you have been asked to begin a gang initiative with a community that has suffered an increase in gang activity over time.
Your police department closely follows the community policing paradigm, meaning that it has realized the importance of working with the community as a whole to resolve long-term problems that have often stymied efforts led only by the police in the past. Recently, one of these community groups came to you, as police chief, and asked that you respond to what it feels is an increasingly dangerous gang problem in the community. There have been several serious incidents of violence and drive-by shootings, along with the increase in drug traffic and attempts to gain new gang members in your local middle and high schools.
You recognize that increasing patrols and arrests in the area will only solve the problem short term or perhaps just displace the problem, so you want to seek a more long-term solution.
For this assignment, your police department has picked you to write an action plan that addresses this problem in the community. Your action plan should include, but is not limited to, the following:
- Several initiatives that will assist in rectifying the problems, including the following:
- Educational initiatives
- Local initiatives
- How can the negative effects of violence on children be lessened?
- Do you believe that there should be a limitation on the violent video games children are permitted to play?
- What type of assistance will you ask from the community as a whole?
- What role will the department itself take?
- How will you measure the effectiveness of your plan?