Highly successful, GRIP works with gang members who wish to leave gangs as well as with youth at risk for joining gangs. GRIP's goal is to reduce the number of gang-involved youth by availing them with services and healthy alternatives to gang life. The model includes a broad spectrum of programs designed to deal with the full range of personal, family, and community factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency and gang activity. Through its many partners, GRIP provides GED programs, prenatal and infancy health services, after school activities, summer camps, and truancy and dropout prevention programs.

GRIP works to prevent youth from joining gangs in a variety of ways. The primary prevention strategy targets high-crime and high-risk areas with "one-stop" resource centers. The Southside GRIP One Stop Center is located in the Communities at Southwood, at 4606 Southwood Parkway, Apartment A. The Southside One-Stop has computers which can be used by clients to develop computer literacy.

GRIP EXTENDS ITS REACH
Operational in two sectors of Richmond's Southside for over five years, GRIP is expanding to begin serving the communities of Richmond's Northside as well.

On July 20, 2009, Trinity Baptist Church -- located in the heart of GRIP's newest service area -- hosted an event that celebrated the program's accomplishments and extended reach. In addition to many GRIP partners and Northside residents, the event at Trinity was attended by Attorney General Bill Mims; Mayor Dwight Jones; Commonwealth's Attorney Mike Herring; Assistant Police Chief David McCoy; Assistant U.S. Attorney in Charge Stephen Miller; Resident Agent in Charge Brian Swan of the Richmond Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and Sheriff C. T. Woody.

FIVE-PRONGED APPROACH
The Gang Reduction and Intervention Program has a five-pronged approach: primary prevention, secondary prevention, gang intervention, gang suppression, and reentry services/programs for those being released from jail or prison.

One-Stops, besides being anchors for primary prevention, also serve as information centers for other services which are available in the community.

In secondary prevention programs, service providers work with children aged 7-15 who may be at risk of joining gangs. These programs, such as health and mental health services, job skills training, and family and individual counseling, are provided by a variety of community groups, as well as the Richmond Police Department.

Intervention targets active gang members. Gang members and recruits are aggressively recruited into assessment, intervention, and monitoring programs. An outreach worker and a trained Intervention Team handle a caseload of gang-involved youth.

Suppression efforts include the targeting of gang leaders by local, state, and federal law enforcement officers, who prosecute and remove them from the community using federal charges, aggressive prosecutions, and enhanced sentences.

The reentry component focuses on gang members as they return to their communities from prison or jail. A key part of the plan is information sharing among confinement facilities, probation and parole officers, and community intervention service providers. In addition, prisoners are matched with mentors, job training assistance, and mental health programs while they are incarcerated, which is then continued after they are released.

KUDOS
The crime statistics cited above are evidence that GRIP is effective in the community. The program has also received ample recognition for its accomplishments. GRIP was named a "Best Practices" program by the United States Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in 2008. Most recently, GRIP has been named by the International Chiefs of Police as one of the three winners of the Motorola Webber Seavey Award: Quality in Law Enforcement. The Webber Seavey Award is presented annually to agencies and departments worldwide in recognition of promoting a standard of excellence that exemplifies law enforcement's contribution and dedication to the quality of life in local communities.

This program helps law enforcement agencies worldwide and the communities they serve by redefining the concept of law enforcement and how it is routinely performed. The Office of the Attorney General looks forward to continuing to work with all of its partners on expanding the GRIP initiative throughout Richmond.

Amy Wight Kube is Gang Reduction & Intervention Program Director,
Office of the Attorney General, Commonwealth of Virginia.

Thea Boland is GRIP Project Assistant