Springfield
The following provides a general overview of the 2009 Springfield CSI effort (as described in their application for grant funds).PROBLEM:
Gang and youth violence issues exacerbated through easy access to major transportation thoroughfares and proximity to the major urban centers of Boston, New York, Albany, Hartford, and New Haven; the high poverty rates; and poor economic conditions.
Gang and youth violence at the public schools continues to be a major problem.
The DA�s Office estimates 1,100 gang members in the city.
The City Gang Unit has identified 5 hybrid street gangs with membership estimated to be between 185-200 individuals.
The City Gang Unit has also identified the presence of national gangs (about 200 individuals) involved in the trafficking and distribution of drugs and firearms.
Many of the gangs use blighted neighborhoods as their base for gang activity and fights are commonplace to protect turf.
Gang recruitment moving into middle schools throughout the City
Use steering committee meetings to share information, coordinate gang intervention strategies, use data collection to improve accountability and clarify roles of each partner, and increase referrals of high-risk and gang-involved youth.
Ensure police and service providers coordinate strategies to eliminate or diminish self-identified silos that each has worked in previous years.
1. Conduct deployments that will blanket hot-spot neighborhoods with police, street outreach workers, and service providers to publicly demonstrate the union of police and service providers, send a clear message to gang members that violence will not be tolerated, and refer youth to Shannon programs.
2. Will use OT for extra patrols and gang investigations.
1. Link with houses of correction and DYS to train individuals in violence reduction techniques and provide job training in such fields as the culinary arts, computer repair, sheet metal work, nursing, and auto body repair.
2. Provide adult basic education and GED preparation.
3. Coordinate with DA's office for diversion programming to provide health education, substance abuse, and gang awareness classes.
4. Provide out-of-school activities such as tutoring, recreation, college tours, peer leadership programs, and safe spaces to hang out.
Hired a program director to coordinate Shannon CSI programs and assist in identifying each partner's role.
Improved ability to identify gang members and recruiting patterns through suppression efforts, data collection, and information sharing.
Massachusetts Career Development Initiative worked with 100 at-risk youth ages 16-21 referred from DYS, schools, SPD, providing GED prep, vocational skills, adult basic education, job training, and paid internships.
Springfield PD and Hampden County DA worked together to increase the number of prosecuted gang cases.
Outreach workers contacted 300 high-risk or gang-involved youth, enrolling 64 in case management, referring 80 to other Shannon CSI programs, and assisting families/victim of violent crimes.
After-school programs have provided a number of safe places and positive social activities for youth.
Spectra Management Services and the Puerto Rican Cultural Center provided 61 full-time employment opportunities to re-entry offenders from the Sheriff�s Department with additional 100 offenders currently in job readiness programs.