Gangs
Knowing what to do starts with knowing what works, and what hasn't. CrimeSolutions helps practitioners and policymakers understand what programs & practices work, are promising, or haven't worked yet.
On this page you can find programs and practices related to Gangs. Select "Search Filters" to narrow down the list by rating, extent of evidence, and many other aspects of the programs or practices. Skip to Practices
CrimeSolutions’ ratings are assigned from standardized reviews of rigorous evaluations and meta-analyses. While we encourage you to learn more about this process, you don’t need to in order to benefit from it. Our clear ratings and profiles can help you determine if a program or category of program is worth pursuing.
Icon | Rating | Program Rating Description | Practice Rating Description |
---|---|---|---|
Effective | Implementing the program is likely to result in the intended outcome(s). | On average, there is strong evidence that implementing a program encompassed by the practice will achieve the intended outcome. | |
Promising | Implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s) | On average, there is some evidence that implementing a program encompassed by the practice will achieve the intended outcome. | |
No Effects | Implementing the program is unlikely to result in the intended outcome(s) and may result in a negative outcome(s). | On average, there is strong evidence that implementing a program encompassed by the practice will not achieve the intended outcome or may result in a negative outcome. |
Programs
Showing Results For:
Topic: gangsTitle | Evidence Rating | Topics | Summary | RCT | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Program Profile: Supervision with Immediate Enforcement (SWIFT) Court for Gang-Involved Individuals (Texas) |
|
Drug testing, Probation, Community corrections, Corrections, Recidivism, Crime prevention, Gangs, Gang Crime | This is a specialized court program that targets high-risk gang-affiliated individuals with felony convictions for intensive supervision, with the goal of reducing recidivism. The program is rated Promising. Gang members who participated in the program had a statistically significant lower likelihood of probation revocation than gang members who did not participate. But there were no statistically significant differences in new arrests between the groups. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Geographically Based Focused Deterrence Intervention (Midwest) |
|
Gang Crime, Gun violence, Law enforcement, Crime prevention | This was a focused deterrence intervention designed to reduce the presence of gun violence and gang activity. The program is rated Promising. There was a statistically significant reduction in confirmed shots fired, residents’ reports of hearing gunshots, and residents’ reports of seeing gang activity. However, there was no statistically significant impact on calls for service for shots fired. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Detroit (Mich.) Ceasefire |
|
Gang Crime, Gun violence, Databases, Problem-oriented policing, Crime prevention, Victimization, Gangs, Arrests, Victims of crime | This is a focused deterrence police strategy that was designed to reduce gang- and group-related violence in Detroit, Mich. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant differences found for weapons arrests or shooting victimizations for participants in two age groups (15–24 and 25–34). The program did show a statistically significant reduction in all arrests and violent arrests for individuals who attended the Detroit Ceasefire call-in meetings. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Philadelphia (Pa.) Focused Deterrence Strategy |
|
Gang Crime, Gun violence, Violent crime, Crime prevention, Gangs | This was a focused deterrence violence-reduction strategy involving enforcement and services to targeted individuals to address gun and gang violence. The program is rated Promising. There were statistically significant reductions in community-level criminal shootings in treated areas, compared with matched comparison areas, and in shootings around treated gang territories, compared with areas around matched comparison gang territories, at 2 years’ postimplementation. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Safe and Successful Youth Initiative (SSYI) (Massachusetts) |
|
Gang Crime, Assault, Gun violence, Homicide, Violent offenders, Jobs and workforce development, Crime prevention, Victimization, Victims of crime, Juvenile (under 18), Young adults (18-24), Gangs | This secondary violence prevention program targets young men most likely to commit or be victim of gang or gun crime to reduce their incarceration and victimization from violent crime. The program is rated Promising. SSYI youths were statistically significantly less likely to be incarcerated compared with comparison group youths. SSYI–funded cities had statistically significant reductions in all measured city-level crime victimization rates, compared with comparison cities. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Ceasefire (Oakland, Calif.) |
|
Gang Crime, Gun violence, Homicide, Violent offenders, Problem-oriented policing, Policing strategies, Violent crime, Crime prevention, Victimization, Victims of crime | This is a focused-deterrence group violence reduction strategy (GVRS) designed to reduce or control gun violence in Oakland, Calif. The program is rated Effective. The intervention was shown to reduce total shootings, gang-involved shootings, suspected gang-involved shootings, and gang shooting victimizations in treatment block groups relative to matched comparison block groups. These differences were all statistically significant. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Operation Thumbs Down (Los Angeles, Calif.) |
|
Gang Crime, Sensors/Surveillance, Surveillance, Warrants, Gangs, Crime prevention, Arrests | An FBI-led, anti-gang strategy in Los Angeles, California, designed to reduce neighborhood-level violent crime through the identification, disruption, and dismantling of violent street gangs. This program is rated Effective. Results indicated a statistically significant 22 percent reduction per month in violent crime between the treatment areas and the comparison areas. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Group Violence Reduction Strategy (New Orleans, Louisiana) |
|
Gang Crime, Youth gangs, Violent offenders, Surveillance, Community policing, Problem-oriented policing, Policing strategies, Homicide, Crime prevention, Gun violence, Assault, Violent crime | This focused deterrence strategy in New Orleans, Louisiana, aims to reduce gang violence and homicide. The program is rated Effective. There were statistically significant reductions found in overall homicide, firearm-related homicide, gang member-involved homicide, and firearm assault from the pretest to the posttest period. Further, New Orleans showed significantly decreased homicide rates after the program was implemented, compared with 14 cities with similar violent crime rates. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative (CAGI) |
|
Gang Crime, Gun violence, Homicide, Community policing, Reentry, Corrections, Crime prevention | A crime focused initiative, designed to address gang-related gun homicides in selected cities. The initiative involved a comprehensive model of suppression (enforcement), prevention, and reentry. The program is rated Promising. There was a significant reduction in gun homicides related to gang crime in cities that implemented the initiative. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Global Positioning System for High-Risk Gang Offenders (California) |
|
Gang Crime, Parole, Community corrections, Gangs, Crime prevention | This program monitors and tracks the movement of those on parole categorized as high risk for gang involvement or activity. The program is rated Promising. They are monitored by the GPS program had statistically significantly less arrests for new offenses and violent offenses, compared with control group people on parole. However, treatment group participants had higher odds of technical violations. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Operation Hardcore (Los Angeles, CA) |
|
Gang Crime, Youth gangs, Assault, Homicide, Prosecution, Witnesses, Case Management, Violent crime, Crime prevention, Juvenile detention | This program consists of a judicial intervention, which seeks to improve the prosecution of gang-related crimes. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group cases were associated with a statistically significant greater number of convictions and incarcerations of gang members, and a lower number of case dismissals and rejections, compared with control group cases. However, there was no statistically significant effect on the rate of pleas. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Little Village Gang Violence Reduction Project (Comprehensive Gang Model) |
|
Gang Crime, Youth gangs, Probation, Community policing, Problem-oriented policing, Young juvenile offenders, Property crime, Crime prevention, Drugs, Violent crime | This is a comprehensive gang violence reduction program designed for the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group youth who participated in the program had statistically significant reductions in total violent crime, serious violent crime, and drug crime arrests, compared with control group youth. However, there was no statistically significant difference in property crime arrests or total arrests. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Gang Reduction Program (Los Angeles, California) |
|
Gang Crime, Youth gangs, Assault, Gun violence, Youth/peer courts, Violent offenders, Dropout/expulsion, Truancy, Community policing, Problem-oriented policing, Databases, Children exposed to violence, Property crime, Immigrants, Minorities, Case Management, Youth development, Treatment, Juvenile detention, Crime prevention, Juvenile (under 18), Mentoring, Child health and welfare | This is a comprehensive, multiyear program designed to reduce youth gang crime and violence. The program is rated Promising. The target area demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in calls for shots fired and gang-related incidents compared with the comparison area. However, there were no statistically significant impacts on calls for vandalism, incidents of serious violence, gang-related incidents of serious violence, or student attendance. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Project Safe Neighborhoods (Chicago, Ill.) |
|
Gang Crime, Assault, Gun violence, Homicide, Prosecution, Determinate sentencing, Mandatory sentencing, Evidence, Process serving, Corrections, Community corrections, Crime prevention, Violent crime, Gangs, Law enforcement operations, Problem-oriented policing | This is a comprehensive antiviolence initiative that uses collaborative strategies to alter perceived costs and benefits of gun violence and is intended to reduce illegal gun offending. The program is rated Promising. Treatment areas experienced a statistically significant reduction in homicide and gun-related homicides, but no reduction in gang-related homicides. In addition, offender notification forums were associated with statistically significant reductions in recidivism rates. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) |
|
Youth gangs, School safety, Juvenile delinquency, Child health and welfare, Juvenile (under 18), Crime prevention, Gang Crime | This is a school-based, gang- and violence-prevention program, which is designed to teach youth to avoid gang membership and to develop positive relationships with law enforcement. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group students had a statistically significant lower likelihood of being in a gang, compared with control group students, at the 1-year follow up. However, there were no statistically significant differences between groups in delinquency or in violent offending. Date Posted: |
Randomized Controlled Trial | ||
Program Profile: Operation Ceasefire (Boston, Mass.) |
|
Gang Crime, Youth gangs, Weapons violations, Gun violence, Homicide, Violent offenders, Warrants, Community policing, Problem-oriented policing, Trauma, Young juvenile offenders, Crime prevention, Assault | This is a problem-solving police strategy, which was designed to reduce gang violence, illegal gun possession, and gun violence in communities in Boston, Mass. The program is rated Effective. There were statistically significant reductions in youth homicide, citywide gun assaults, calls for service, and recovered new guns following implementation of the intervention. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Operation Peacekeeper (Stockton, Calif.) |
|
Gang Crime, Youth gangs, Gun violence, Homicide, Violent offenders, Community policing, Problem-oriented policing, Young juvenile offenders, Crime prevention | This is a focused-deterrence policing initiative designed to reduce gun homicide in Stockton, Calif., by providing gang-involved youth with positive alternatives to violence. The program is rated Promising. The intervention was associated with a statistically significant 42 percent decrease in the monthly number of gun homicides, compared with pre-intervention trends. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Indianapolis (Ind.) Violence Reduction Partnership (IVRP) |
|
Gang Crime, Gun violence, Homicide, Community policing, Problem-oriented policing, Violent crime, Crime prevention, Gangs | This is a policing program that targeted high-risk persons who chronically commit offenses to reduce gun violence in Indianapolis, Ind. The program is rated Promising. There was a statistically significant reduction in the number of average monthly homicides and gang-related homicides in Indianapolis, in the 2 years following the implementation of the program. Date Posted: |
None | ||
Program Profile: Operation Ceasefire: Hollenbeck Initiative |
|
Gang Crime, Weapons violations, Assault, Gun violence, Homicide, Kidnapping, Robbery, Community policing, Patrol, Problem-oriented policing, Trauma, Crime prevention, Law enforcement operations, Law enforcement | This was a policing initiative that targeted specific gangs in the Hollenbeck area of Los Angeles, California, through aggressive enforcement and problem-oriented policing. The program is rated Promising. There was a statistically significant reduction in overall violent crimes in targeted blocks, compared with matched comparison blocks. However, there was no statistically significant effect on gang crimes or gun crimes. Date Posted: |
None |
Title | Evidence Rating | Topics | Summary | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Practice Profile: Gang Membership Prevention Programs |
|
Youth gangs, Gangs, Gang Crime, Crime prevention | This practice includes programs that are designed to deter youth from joining gangs. Programs can be delivered either to a universal population (i.e., all youth regardless of risk level), or to youth identified as being at-risk for gang membership. Programs include preventive awareness strategies and gang membership prevention strategies. The practice is rated Promising for reducing the likelihood that youth will join a gang. Date Posted: |